Chapter 4 - THE SECRET IN THE VAULT
Hook: The secret security tape was supposed to save her. But when Mia opened the file, she uncovered a chilling dark secret about Arthur's death."Toby, send me the file right now!" Mia urged, her hands shaking so hard she almost dropped the phone.
"I’m trying, but the file size is massive. I’m uploading it to a secure drive. Meet me behind the old library downtown in one hour. I’ll give you the flash drive directly," Toby said, his voice laced with panic. "Don't tell anyone. I think someone is following me."
The line went dead.
Mia immediately called Elaine Porter, who instructed her bodyguards to sneak Mia out through the back window of her house to avoid the reporters. Ten minutes later, Mia was in the back of a black SUV, speeding through the rainy streets toward the abandoned town library.
The rain was pouring in sheets when they arrived. The alleyway behind the library was pitch black. Mia, wrapped in a dark coat, stepped out of the vehicle while the bodyguards scanned the area.
"Toby?" she called out softly.
A figure emerged from the shadows. Toby looked terrified, soaking wet, holding a small silver flash drive. "Here. Take it. I watched the first twenty minutes. Arthur was completely sane, Mia. He literally tells the lawyer that his children tried to have him committed to a mental asylum last year just to take his money early. That completely destroys their case!"
"Thank you, Toby. You have no idea what this means to me," Mia said, hugging the boy.
"There’s something else, Mia," Toby said, his eyes wide with fear. "Keep watching until the very end of the file. The day before Arthur died... someone else came into the diner to see him. Someone who wasn't supposed to be there."
Before Mia could ask what he meant, a loud screech of tires echoed through the alley. A dark sedan slammed to a halt just twenty feet away. Two men in black suits jumped out.
"Get the girl! Secure the drive!" one of them shouted.
Elaine’s bodyguards moved instantly, tackling one of the men to the ground while the other bodyguard shoved Mia back into the SUV. "Go! Go! Drive!" the guard yelled to the driver. The SUV accelerated violently, leaving the chaotic brawl behind in the dark alley.
Safe inside the speeding vehicle, Mia immediately plugged the flash drive into Elaine’s laptop. Elaine leaned over her shoulder as the video file loaded.
The screen showed the familiar interior of the diner. The date stamp was from three weeks ago—the day Arthur finalized his will. On the video, Arthur’s voice was strong, resonant, and full of emotion.
"I am doing this because my children are monsters," Arthur told Elaine on the tape. "They don't care if I live or die. They want my wealth to fund their corrupt empires. Mia Reynolds is the only person who treated me like a human being. I give her my fortune gladly."
"This is perfect!" Mia cried out in relief. "We won! This proves he was completely sane!"
"Wait," Elaine said, her face turning dead-pale as she stared at the screen. "Look at the time stamp. Look at the next video file. It’s from the night before he passed away."
Mia clicked the next file. The diner was empty, except for Arthur sitting in his usual booth near closing time. The back door opened. A man walked in, sitting across from Arthur. The camera captured his face perfectly under the neon light.
It was Julian Harris.
On the audio, Julian was furious. "You think you can cut us out, old man? I found out about the will change. You’re going to fix this, or I swear to God, I’ll make sure you don't wake up tomorrow."
Arthur shook his head, refusing. Julian then reached across the table, grabbed Arthur’s medicine bottle from his coat pocket, and swapped it with a identical bottle from his own suit pocket.
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"Enjoy your last cup of coffee, Dad," Julian whispered with a psychotic smile before walking out.
Mia gasped, covering her mouth in sheer horror. "He didn't die of natural causes," she whispered, her voice choking. "Julian murdered his own father."
