Chapter 4 - The Confession in the Dark
The rain had stopped by evening, leaving the Manhattan skyline glittering against a bruised purple sky through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls of my father’s private office.
I sat alone at the massive mahogany desk, the desk where my father had negotiated multi-billion-dollar acquisitions, signed global treaties, and built an empire from the ground up. In front of me sat the vintage micro-cassette player and the original autopsy report that Victor had managed to retrieve from the county coroner's office before the digital records were scrubbed.
The door clicked open softly, and Victor stepped into the room, carrying a single manila folder.
"Gavin is currently being held at the federal detention center without bail," Victor said quietly, placing the folder on the corner of the desk. "His mother has already hired three different defense attorneys, but none of them are touching the case once they saw the financial trail. They’re looking at twenty years for corporate fraud, embezzlement, and conspiracy."
I didn't look up from the desktop. "And the toxicology report?"
Victor’s expression hardened. "Confirmed. The digitalis levels in your father's blood weren't accidental. It was administered in high doses over a three-day period—starting right around the time Gavin and your mother hosted that private dinner party at the estate."
A cold shudder ran down my spine. I remembered that night vividly. Celina had insisted on serving my father a special imported vintage wine, personally pouring his glass while smiling warmly and talking about the upcoming wedding anniversary.
They hadn't just stolen the company. They had poisoned my father in his own home.
"I want every asset they own frozen by morning," I said, my voice dangerously steady. "Every car, every bank account, every piece of jewelry Celina wears, and every square inch of property registered in their names. Strip them down to nothing, Victor. Just like they did to me."
"It's already in motion," Victor nodded. "By tomorrow afternoon, the Barrett family won't even be able to buy a cup of coffee without our authorization."
He turned and walked toward the door, pausing with his hand on the brass knob. "You did well today, Naomi. Your father would have been proud."
"Thank you, Victor."
When the door clicked shut, the office fell into absolute silence.
May you like
I reached out and pressed play on the micro-cassette recorder one last time, listening to my father’s voice fill the empty room, reminding me that the battle was only just beginning. Because while Gavin and Celina were behind bars, there was still one more person who had known about the plot—someone inside our own inner circle who had helped them slip the poison into his glass.
And I was going to find out who it was.
