Chapter 2 - Beneath the Floorboards
I locked Natalie out of the office.
She pounded on the door twice.
“Daniel, you have no idea what you’re doing.”
Maybe she was right.
But I knew one thing.
My children were afraid of her.
And she knew something about my dead wife.
That was enough.
Owen pointed toward the corner behind my desk.
Two hardwood boards had been lifted.
Underneath them was a narrow cavity I had never known existed.
Inside sat a small metal box.
It was scratched.
Dusty.
And wrapped in a faded blue scarf.
I recognized the scarf immediately.
Laura used to wear it every winter.
My hands began shaking.
For four years, I had believed almost everything connected to her had been destroyed in the car fire.
I opened the box.
Inside was an old phone.
A brass key.
A flash drive.
And a white envelope with my name on it.
Daniel.
Laura’s handwriting.
I stopped breathing.
Ellie touched my arm.
“Daddy?”
I opened the envelope.
There was only one sheet of paper.
If you are reading this, something happened before I could tell you the truth myself.
Do not believe my death was an accident until you know what Grant Keller was hiding.
And Daniel, no matter what happens, protect the children from anyone who suddenly becomes too interested in helping you.
I read the last sentence again.
Then again.
Natalie had entered our lives two weeks after Laura’s funeral.
She had brought casseroles.
Helped with Ellie.
Picked Owen up from school.
Stayed when I could barely get out of bed.
Three years later, I married her.
Outside the office door, the pounding stopped.
The silence frightened me more.
I opened the door.
Natalie was gone.
The front door stood open.
Her purse was still on the kitchen counter.
Her phone was beside it.
She had left without either one.
Owen stood behind me.
“There’s more.”
I turned.
He was holding the old phone from Laura’s box.
Its screen had somehow flickered to life.
One unsent audio file appeared.
The date was four days before Laura died.
I pressed play.
Laura’s voice filled the room.
“Daniel, if you ever hear this, Grant knows I found the accounts.”
There was a pause.
Then another voice spoke in the background.
A woman’s voice.
Natalie’s.
May you like
“Laura, please.
You need to stop before he finds out.”
