PART 4 — THE MAN IN THE BASEMENT
For several seconds, I could only stare at Phedra.
“The man she said killed me?”
Phedra nodded.
Her face had gone gray.
I pulled my chair closer to the hospital bed.
“Tell me everything.”
She wrapped both hands around the blanket.
“It was the night Selina told me you’d died.”
“Fourteen months ago.”
“Yes.”
“She took you to the shed?”
“Not immediately.”
Phedra shut her eyes.
“First she let me cry for almost an hour. Then she said there was something I needed to see before I signed any papers.”
“What?”
“Proof.”
“Proof of what?”
“That you were really dead.”
My stomach tightened.
Phedra continued.
“She walked me outside after midnight. Godfrey wasn’t home. She unlocked the shed and moved the mattress.”
“So you saw the hatch.”
“Yes.”
“Had you ever seen it before?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“She took me downstairs.”
Phedra’s breathing became uneven.
I reached for her hand.
“Take your time.”
She opened her eyes.
“There was one light hanging from the ceiling. A table. Two chairs. Shelves.”
“And the man?”
“He was tied to a chair.”
Every muscle in my body tightened.
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“What did he look like?”
“I couldn’t see him clearly at first. His face was swollen. There was blood on his shirt.”
“Did you know him?”
“No.”
“What did Selina say?”
Phedra swallowed.
“She said, ‘This is the man responsible for Damian’s death.'”
My skin prickled.
“What did he say?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“He couldn’t.”
“Why?”
“His mouth was taped.”
I stood so suddenly the chair scraped across the floor.
Phedra flinched.
“Sorry.”
I sat again.
“What happened next?”
“Selina removed the tape.”
Phedra stared at the wall.
“The man kept saying the same thing.”
“What?”
“That you weren’t dead.”
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“He said you were alive?”
“Over and over.”
“And what did Selina do?”
“She laughed.”
A cold sensation moved through me.
“Then?”
“She told me he was trying to confuse me because he didn’t want to be punished.”
“Did he give you his name?”
Phedra nodded slowly.
“What was it?”
“I couldn’t remember until tonight.”
She looked at me.
“Victor.”
Everything inside me went silent.
Victor Dane.
The coworker from Calgary.
The man found with my mother at the bus terminal.
The man who had worked beside me for almost two years.
The man who had been near the machine before my industrial accident.
Victor had been in my mother’s basement fourteen months ago.
I stood again.
This time I didn’t apologize.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“He said Victor?”
“Yes.”
“Did he say anything else?”
Phedra pressed her fingers against her temple.
“He kept begging Selina to call someone.”
“Who?”
“You.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“He had my number?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did Selina say?”
Phedra’s voice dropped.
“She said you would never answer him again.”
My throat tightened.
“What happened to Victor?”
“I don’t know.”
“You left him there?”
“Selina made me.”
“How?”
Phedra looked ashamed.
“She told me if I didn’t sign the papers, she’d leave him down there until he died.”
I stared at her.
“She threatened his life to force you to sign?”
Phedra nodded.
“She said if I cooperated, she’d let him go.”
“Did you believe her?”
“I didn’t know what to believe.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I thought my husband was dead. There was a bleeding man tied to a chair. Your mother kept saying I had to be strong.”
I squeezed her hand.
“What did you sign?”
“I don’t know all of it.”
“Try.”
“There were forms about property. Insurance. Something about your employer.”
“Anything about my death?”
“Yes.”
My pulse quickened.
“What?”
“A declaration.”
“What kind?”
Phedra whispered, “That I had been informed of your death.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
Selina hadn’t just forged documents.
She had used my grieving wife to create a witness.
“What else?”
Phedra hesitated.
“There was a document transferring something from me to Selina.”
“What?”
“I thought it was temporary.”
“Property?”
“Maybe.”
“Money?”
“I don’t know.”
I thought about the hidden account.
The million-dollar balance.
The pending $940,000 transfer.
Then another question struck me.
“Did Selina make Victor sign anything?”
Phedra frowned.
“I think so.”
“What?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you see him sign?”
“Yes.”
“Before or after you?”
“Before.”
My stomach dropped.
That meant there might be two sets of coerced documents.
One from Phedra.
One from Victor.
I immediately called the investigator.
She answered.
I told her everything.
She didn’t interrupt.
When I finished, she said, “Do not go near the shed.”
“Was anyone there tonight?”
“A forensic team is already securing it.”
“Did they find the basement?”
“We located the hatch.”
“And?”
A pause.
“There are signs the room was used.”
“Signs?”
“Furniture. Restraint points. Stains.”
Phedra heard that.
Her hand began shaking.
“Blood?”
The investigator answered carefully.
“Testing is underway.”
“What about fingerprints?”
“Also being processed.”
“Victor was down there.”
“We’ll ask him.”
“Ask him now.”
“Mr. Vale—”
“Please.”
Silence.
Then she said, “He’s already being interviewed.”
“Then tell him Phedra remembers.”
Another pause.
“I will.”
I ended the call.
Phedra stared at the phone.
“What if he denies it?”
“He won’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he already told them Selina paid him.”
“Paid him for what?”
“That’s what we’re about to find out.”
At 8:20 the next morning, we found out.
The investigator returned with another officer.
She closed the hospital room door.
“Victor confirmed he was held in the basement.”
Phedra covered her mouth.
“For how long?”
“Approximately two days.”
I stared at her.
“By my mother?”
“According to him, yes.”
“Why?”
The investigator sat.
“Victor says your mother had been paying him for years.”
My stomach tightened.
“For what?”
“Information.”
“What kind of information?”
“Your work schedule. Your injuries. Your bank details. Your travel plans.”
Phedra whispered, “Why?”
The investigator looked at me.
“Because Selina wanted documentation showing that Damian’s death in Canada would be believable.”
I felt sick.
“So she was planning to fake my death before the accident?”
“That’s what Victor claims.”
“Then what happened fourteen months ago?”
“He says your mother told him it was time.”
“Time for what?”
“To help stage evidence suggesting you had disappeared after a workplace incident.”
My mouth went dry.
“And he agreed?”
“For money.”
“How much?”
“Twenty thousand dollars.”
I laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“My life was worth twenty thousand dollars to him.”
The investigator continued.
“Victor says he became frightened when Selina began asking him to obtain documents containing your employee number and signature.”
“So he backed out.”
“Eventually.”
“Then she brought him here.”
“According to him, yes.”
“How?”
“He came voluntarily at first.”
“Why?”
“Selina told him she needed to discuss payment.”
“And then?”
“He says he was drugged.”
Phedra went completely still.
“The tea,” she whispered.
The investigator looked at her.
“We’re considering that possibility.”
I thought about Phedra’s blood.
The jar.
The hidden medication.
Selina had a method.
Weakness.
Confusion.
Control.
“What did she want Victor to sign?” I asked.
“A statement saying you had told him you planned to disappear permanently after the industrial accident.”
I stared at her.
“Why would that help?”
“If you were later declared missing or dead, it could support the idea that you had voluntarily vanished.”
“Then the insurance claim wouldn’t make sense.”
“Unless different documents were intended for different purposes.”
The room fell silent.
That was the brilliance of it.
And the insanity.
Selina wasn’t running one scheme.
She was running several.
If one story failed, another survived.
Dead in an accident.
Missing voluntarily.
Estranged from his wife.
No clear heir.
Documents transferring assets.
A widow who could be pressured.
A brother who could be bought.
Every version benefited her.
“What happened after Victor signed?” I asked.
“He claims Selina refused to let him leave.”
“Why?”
“Because she didn’t trust him anymore.”
“So she tied him up.”
“Yes.”
“And Phedra saw him.”
“Yes.”
Phedra began crying quietly.
The investigator leaned forward.
“Mrs. Vale, Victor remembers you too.”
Phedra looked up.
“What did he say?”
“He remembers trying to tell you Damian was alive.”
Phedra covered her face.
“I thought he was lying.”
“You were being manipulated.”
“But I left him there.”
“You were also under threat.”
Phedra shook her head.
“What happened after I left?”
The investigator’s expression changed.
“Victor escaped the following morning.”
“How?”
“Godfrey.”
I stared at her.
“My brother?”
“Victor says Godfrey unlocked the basement.”
That surprised me.
“Why?”
“He doesn’t know.”
I immediately called Godfrey.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Then the investigator said, “He’s currently being questioned too.”
“Did he admit it?”
“Not yet.”
I looked at the clock.
10:06 a.m.
Less than two hours before the family meeting.
The meeting Selina thought would determine who controlled my million-dollar settlement.
I looked at the investigator.
“Is the noon meeting still happening?”
She studied me.
“Yes.”
Phedra grabbed my wrist.
“Damian.”
I looked at her.
“Don’t go alone.”
“I won’t.”
“Your mother is dangerous.”
“I know.”
“No, I mean really dangerous.”
“So do they.”
I nodded toward the investigator.
“We’re not walking into her house blind.”
The investigator corrected me.
“The meeting won’t be at the house.”
“Where?”
“Godfrey’s auto shop.”
“Why?”
“Your mother requested it.”
“She can request things while being questioned?”
“She’s not currently under arrest on every allegation under review.”
My jaw tightened.
“So she’s free?”
“For the moment.”
“Why?”
“Because investigations require evidence, not anger.”
I hated the answer because it was correct.
“So what exactly do you want from the meeting?”
“The same thing you want.”
“Which is?”
“To see who arrives.”
That made me pause.
“You think Selina isn’t the only person involved.”
“We know she isn’t.”
“Victor.”
“Possibly more.”
“What about the unknown number messaging me?”
“We haven’t identified the sender.”
“Do you think they’ll come?”
“We’ll see.”
Phedra squeezed my hand.
“I don’t like this.”
“Neither do I.”
I bent down and kissed her forehead.
“But I need to finish it.”
At 11:35, I left the hospital.
At 11:56, I entered Godfrey’s auto shop.
Godfrey was already there.
He looked like he hadn’t slept.
Selina arrived two minutes later.
No designer dress this time.
No gold necklace.
No smile.
She walked in wearing a plain blouse and carrying a handbag.
She looked at Godfrey.
Then at me.
“Where is Phedra?”
“Safe.”
“You’ve poisoned her against me.”
I almost laughed.
Interesting choice of words.
Godfrey looked away.
Selina sat.
“Let’s get this over with.”
I placed the same notebook from yesterday on the table.
“The million-dollar settlement.”
Her eyes flickered toward it.
Even now.
Even after everything.
Money still worked on her.
“Yes,” she said.
“The settlement.”
Godfrey rubbed his hands together.
“So who gets control?”
I sat opposite them.
Before coming inside, investigators had fitted me with a recording device.
Officers were positioned nearby.
Everyone knew this could collapse at any moment.
But Selina didn’t.
At least, I hoped she didn’t.
I placed two envelopes on the table.
One in front of her.
One in front of Godfrey.
Selina frowned.
“What are these?”
“My decision.”
Godfrey reached for his.
“Don’t open it yet.”
He stopped.
Selina studied me.
“Where are the transfer papers?”
“Coming.”
Her fingers tightened.
“You said everything would be finalized today.”
“It will.”
Godfrey glanced at her.
There was open hatred between them now.
My trap had done exactly what I wanted.
They no longer trusted each other.
I leaned back.
“Before we begin, I want to thank both of you for the statements you submitted.”
Selina lifted her chin.
“I told the truth.”
Godfrey scoffed.
She turned on him.
“You stole from your own brother.”
“You handed me the money.”
“You begged for it.”
“You offered it!”
I raised a hand.
“Perfect.”
They stopped.
“That’s exactly why we’re here.”
Selina frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“I compared your statements.”
Silence.
“With what?” Godfrey asked.
“My bank records.”
Selina’s face changed.
Only slightly.
Godfrey looked at her.
I continued.
“Godfrey admitted to $47,000.”
He swallowed.
“The actual amount was $51,300.”
Selina smiled coldly.
“See?”
I turned to her.
“You claimed $22,000 went to Phedra’s medical care.”
Her smile disappeared.
“The direct payments I could verify totaled less than $1,900.”
Selina crossed her arms.
“Not everything leaves a paper trail.”
“True.”
“Some things were cash.”
“Then you should have receipts.”
“I don’t.”
“Convenient.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You invited us here to humiliate us?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“To choose the trustworthy person.”
Godfrey laughed bitterly.
“There isn’t one.”
Selina turned to him.
“Speak for yourself.”
I opened the first envelope.
Inside was a single page.
I slid it toward Godfrey.
His face went white.
It was a copy of the transfer showing $14,500 into his auto shop three days after Phedra’s diagnosis.
Then another.
And another.
And another.
“Damian—”
“You knew she was sick.”
“I told you, Mom said—”
“You knew.”
He looked down.
“Yes.”
I opened Selina’s envelope.
Inside were copies of the insurance documents.
She didn’t touch them.
“What is this?”
“You know.”
“I don’t.”
“Life insurance on Phedra.”
Her jaw tightened.
“Life insurance on me.”
Nothing.
“Forged signatures.”
Still nothing.
“Attempted claim after you told everyone I was dead.”
Godfrey stared at her.
Selina finally looked at me.
“You don’t understand how complicated things became.”
“Explain.”
“I was protecting this family.”
“From what?”
“From poverty.”
I actually laughed.
“You stole almost one hundred thousand dollars.”
“I invested.”
“In Godfrey.”
“He’s your brother.”
“In the house.”
“It’s mine too.”
“In yourself.”
“I raised you.”
“And Phedra?”
Selina’s face hardened.
“She was temporary.”
The words sat between us.
Godfrey looked shocked.
Even he hadn’t expected that.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
Selina realized she’d gone too far.
“Nothing.”
“Say it again.”
“I meant your marriage changed things.”
“No.”
I leaned forward.
“You said Phedra was temporary.”
Selina looked toward the garage doors.
I followed her eyes.
Someone was coming.
A black sedan pulled into the lot.
My pulse increased.
Right on time.
The unknown person?
The investigators outside would be watching.
The driver stepped out.
A woman.
Mid-fifties.
Gray suit.
Leather folder.
I’d never seen her before.
Selina stood.
“There you are.”
My stomach tightened.
“You know her?”
Selina ignored me.
The woman entered.
“Mrs. Vale.”
“Did you bring it?”
“Yes.”
Godfrey whispered, “Who is she?”
Selina snapped, “Quiet.”
The woman looked at me.
“You must be Damian.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Evelyn Marr.”
“What do you do?”
“I handle private financial arrangements.”
I looked at Selina.
“What kind of arrangements?”
Evelyn placed the folder on the table.
“The kind your mother established several years ago.”
Everything inside me sharpened.
“What arrangements?”
Selina said, “Damian, sign the settlement transfer first.”
I almost smiled.
“No.”
Her expression hardened.
“You promised.”
“I promised to announce who would control it.”
“Then announce.”
I looked directly at her.
“Nobody.”
Silence.
Godfrey sat back.
Selina didn’t move.
“What?”
“The million dollars isn’t going to you.”
Her face emptied.
“Or Godfrey.”
Godfrey cursed under his breath.
Selina slowly sat.
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“To your mother.”
“Yes.”
Her mouth trembled.
“You came home and deliberately deceived me.”
“I came home and found my wife starving in a backyard.”
“You don’t know what she did.”
“No.”
I leaned closer.
“But I know what you did.”
For the first time, I saw pure rage replace greed.
“You ungrateful son.”
“There she is.”
“I sacrificed my life for you.”
“So you tried to declare me dead?”
Her eyes flickered.
I caught it.
“So you did.”
“I filed paperwork because I believed something had happened to you.”
“While I was answering your calls?”
She went silent.
Godfrey stared at her.
Evelyn suddenly closed the folder.
“I don’t think I should be part of this.”
I looked at her.
“Sit down.”
She froze.
Selina said, “Leave.”
I repeated, “Sit.”
Evelyn looked toward the exit.
Then back at me.
“Mr. Vale, I don’t know what family dispute is occurring here.”
“Good.”
I pointed at the folder.
“Then tell me what’s inside.”
She didn’t answer.
Selina grabbed it.
I grabbed the other side.
For a second, we stared at each other.
Then Godfrey shouted.
“Just open it!”
Selina turned.
“Stay out of this!”
Godfrey stood.
“You’ve blamed everything on me since Damian came home.”
“You took the money!”
“You gave it to me!”
“You agreed to help!”
The room changed.
I slowly released the folder.
“What did he help with?”
Selina froze.
Godfrey froze too.
I looked between them.
“Help with what?”
“Nothing,” Selina said.
Godfrey laughed nervously.
“Right.”
I stared at him.
“You’ve been lying since I arrived.”
He wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“Godfrey.”
Selina whispered, “Don’t.”
That one word did it.
Godfrey looked at her.
Then at me.
“You want to know why I let Victor out?”
I said nothing.
Selina’s face drained.
“Godfrey.”
“He promised he’d leave the country.”
“Shut up.”
“He said if I helped him escape, he’d disappear.”
“Godfrey!”
“So I opened the basement.”
I nodded.
“Why was that good for you?”
He swallowed.
“Because I was scared Mom would make me do what she had asked Victor to do.”
The room went silent.
“What had she asked Victor to do?”
Godfrey stared at my shoulder.
At the old injury.
My stomach dropped.
“The accident.”
Selina lunged across the table.
Godfrey backed away.
I stepped between them.
“What about my accident?”
Godfrey pointed at Selina.
“She planned it.”
My ears rang.
Selina screamed, “HE’S LYING!”
Godfrey screamed back.
“YOU PAID VICTOR TO SABOTAGE THE MACHINE!”
I stopped breathing.
Everything disappeared.
The shop.
The table.
The folder.
The money.
Only that sentence remained.
You paid Victor to sabotage the machine.
I looked at my mother.
She was shaking.
“Is that true?”
“No.”
“Look at me.”
“I said no.”
“Victor was near the safety housing ten minutes before it failed.”
“I don’t know anything about machines.”
“You didn’t need to.”
“Godfrey is trying to save himself.”
Godfrey pulled out his phone.
“Then explain this.”
Selina’s face changed.
“What are you doing?”
Godfrey tapped the screen.
A voice recording began playing.
Selina’s voice.
Older.
Distorted slightly by bad audio.
But unmistakably hers.
“If the machine fails while he’s working, nobody will question an accident.”
My stomach turned.
Then Victor’s voice.
“What if he dies?”
Selina answered.
“That’s the point.”
Phedra’s face flashed in my mind.
The tea.
The insurance.
The forged death claim.
My settlement suddenly made horrible sense.
The industrial safety violation had produced compensation.
But Selina hadn’t planned for me to survive.
She’d planned for the accident to produce something else.
A body.
My body.
On the recording, Victor said, “I didn’t agree to murder.”
Selina replied, “You agreed to be paid.”
The audio stopped.
No one moved.
I stared at Godfrey.
“Where did you get that?”
“Victor sent it to me after he escaped.”
“When?”
“Fourteen months ago.”
“And you kept it?”
“Yes.”
“You never warned me?”
His eyes filled with shame.
“I was afraid.”
Again.
That word.
I looked at Selina.
She looked small now.
Not weak.
Not harmless.
Just exposed.
“You tried to kill me.”
“No.”
“The recording—”
“You were never supposed to be on that platform!”
I froze.
So did Godfrey.
Selina realized too late what she’d said.
“What?”
She shook her head.
“Nothing.”
“You were never supposed to be on that platform?”
She stepped backward.
“Damian—”
“Then who was?”
Nothing.
I moved closer.
“Who was supposed to be there?”
Her lips trembled.
Then Evelyn Marr spoke.
“Victor.”
Everyone turned.
Selina stared at her.
“You idiot.”
Evelyn’s face had gone pale.
I looked at her.
“What did you say?”
She clutched the leather folder.
“Nothing.”
“No.”
I stepped toward her.
“You said Victor.”
She backed away.
“Mr. Vale, I should leave.”
Outside, tires moved on gravel.
The investigators were closing in.
Selina heard it.
Her face changed.
“Give me the folder.”
Evelyn didn’t.
“Give it to me!”
Selina grabbed for it.
The folder hit the floor.
Papers spilled everywhere.
Godfrey bent down.
So did I.
One page stopped me cold.
EMPLOYEE DEATH BENEFIT ASSIGNMENT.
My name.
Victor’s name.
Phedra’s name.
Selina’s name.
All linked.
“What is this?”
Evelyn said nothing.
I grabbed another page.
PRIVATE TRUST AGREEMENT.
Another.
BENEFICIARY RESTRUCTURING.
Another.
INDUSTRIAL COMPENSATION ASSIGNMENT.
My hands began shaking.
“What is this?”
Evelyn finally spoke.
“A financial structure.”
“For what?”
She swallowed.
“For the event of your death.”
Selina closed her eyes.
“How much?”
Evelyn looked at her.
Then me.
“Across insurance, employer benefits, property rights and private accounts?”
“How much?”
“Approximately three million dollars.”
Godfrey sat down hard.
I stared at Selina.
“So the million-dollar settlement wasn’t the fortune.”
No answer.
“It was just one piece.”
Still nothing.
I looked at Evelyn.
“Why is Victor listed?”
“Because the original plan required a workplace witness.”
“And Phedra?”
“A surviving spouse.”
“And Godfrey?”
No response.
I turned to him.
“Godfrey.”
He looked sick.
“What were you supposed to be?”
He whispered, “Executor.”
I felt the final pieces locking together.
Victor stages the accident.
I die.
Phedra signs under pressure.
Godfrey handles the estate.
Selina controls everyone.
Three million dollars.
Maybe more.
“But I survived,” I said.
Evelyn nodded.
“And that disrupted everything.”
“So Selina declared me dead anyway.”
“Attempted to.”
“And when that failed?”
Evelyn looked at Phedra’s name on the papers.
My stomach sank.
“She changed the plan.”
Selina snapped, “Stop talking.”
Evelyn ignored her.
“Your wife became the problem.”
I stared at her.
“Because she knew I was alive.”
“Yes.”
“So why not kill her?”
Silence.
Then Evelyn said, “Because they still needed her signature.”
The message from last night came back.
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY PHEDRA WAS REALLY KEPT ALIVE FOR ELEVEN MONTHS…
I felt cold.
“Signature on what?”
Evelyn pointed toward the papers.
“A final release.”
“For what?”
“The trust.”
“What trust?”
Evelyn looked at Selina.
Selina suddenly ran.
She bolted toward the side exit.
The door opened.
Two investigators stepped inside.
“Selina Vale, stop!”
She froze.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Selina slowly raised her hands.
I should have felt relief.
Instead, I felt nothing.
Because Evelyn’s last sentence still hadn’t been explained.
“What final release?”
The investigator entered the room.
Evelyn looked at me.
“If Phedra signed it, she would surrender every claim she had as your surviving spouse.”
“But I’m not dead.”
“It wouldn’t matter if the documents established that you were.”
“Forgery.”
“Fraud.”
“Then why did they need her real signature?”
“Because certain assets required spousal consent.”
My eyes moved to Phedra’s name.
“What assets?”
Evelyn hesitated.
Selina shouted from across the room.
“Don’t tell him!”
That was enough.
I stepped closer.
“What assets?”
Evelyn finally answered.
“The land.”
“What land?”
“The land under your family home.”
I frowned.
“What about it?”
“It’s not just a residential property.”
I stared at her.
“What is it?”
“A commercial acquisition company has been trying to buy that entire area for three years.”
Godfrey’s mouth opened.
“What?”
Evelyn continued.
“They’re assembling multiple parcels for a logistics development.”
I looked at Selina.
“How much is the house worth?”
“Damian—”
“HOW MUCH?”
Evelyn answered.
“With the adjoining parcels tied to the same title structure, potentially over five million.”
Silence.
Five million.
Suddenly the granite countertops looked ridiculous.
The SUV looked cheap.
The auto shop looked like crumbs.
My mother hadn’t been spending my money because she was short-sighted.
She had been buying time while waiting for something much bigger.
“Whose name is on the title?”
I asked.
Evelyn swallowed.
“Phedra’s.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“The original land was inherited by your wife’s family.”
I turned toward the hospital in my mind.
Phedra had never mentioned inherited land.
Then I remembered.
Her father had died years before our marriage.
There had been a dispute over property.
I had assumed it was worthless farmland.
Selina hadn’t.
She had discovered what it could become.
“That is why Phedra was temporary,” I whispered.
Selina said nothing.
“She was never family to you.”
Nothing.
“She was a signature.”
Selina’s face hardened.
“That land could change all our lives.”
“It almost ended hers.”
“She was going to waste it.”
“It belongs to her.”
“She married you!”
“So?”
“That makes it family property.”
“No.”
I pointed at her.
“That made her useful to you.”
Selina screamed, “I MADE THIS FAMILY!”
Officers moved closer.
She ignored them.
“I kept everyone together! Your father left us with nothing! I built everything from scraps! Then that girl walks in with land she doesn’t even understand and suddenly she’s supposed to decide our future?”
There it was.
The real beginning.
Not my Canada job.
Not Godfrey’s shop.
Not even the insurance.
Phedra’s land.
Selina had seen her as money before Phedra ever became sick.
I looked at Evelyn.
“What happens to the pending $940,000 transfer?”
“It can be frozen.”
“And the hidden account?”
“Under investigation.”
“And the land?”
“That depends on whether Phedra signed valid transfers.”
My stomach dropped.
“What do you mean?”
Evelyn looked uncomfortable.
“Some documents may already have been registered.”
“When?”
“Over the last year.”
“While she was sick?”
“Yes.”
I looked at Selina.
She smiled.
Actually smiled.
Tiny.
Ugly.
Triumphant.
“You think you won because you found some papers?”
I stared at her.
“What did you do?”
“The land isn’t hers anymore.”
Every person in the room went still.
“What?”
Selina laughed.
“You came home four years too late.”
The investigator stepped forward.
“Selina, do not say anything further without counsel.”
But Selina couldn’t stop.
Not now.
She needed me to know.
“Phedra signed.”
“Under threat.”
“Prove it.”
“There are witnesses.”
“One criminal and one sick woman?”
My hands clenched.
“You poisoned her.”
“You don’t know that.”
“The lab does.”
Her smile flickered.
Then she recovered.
“The land is already transferred.”
“To who?”
She looked at Evelyn.
Evelyn looked away.
“To who?”
Selina smiled again.
“Ask your wife.”
My stomach dropped.
“Phedra doesn’t know.”
“Exactly.”
“What did you make her sign?”
Selina said nothing.
I stepped closer.
“What did you make her sign?”
The investigator blocked me gently.
“Damian.”
I stopped.
Selina leaned around the officer.
“Your precious wife signed the land into a company.”
“What company?”
She smiled.
“Vale Heritage Holdings.”
Godfrey frowned.
“I’ve never heard of that.”
Selina looked at him with contempt.
“Because you were never meant to.”
I stared at her.
“Who owns it?”
Her eyes met mine.
“You do.”
For a second, I thought I’d misheard.
“What?”
“The company is registered under your name.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I never created it.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“It absolutely matters.”
Selina laughed.
“You keep saying you never signed things.”
Her eyes glittered.
“Maybe you should start asking who has been signing for you.”
Victor.
The forged passport.
The employment documents.
The false insurance claim.
Someone had been using my identity for years.
Then Evelyn said quietly, “There is another director.”
I looked at her.
“Who?”
She hesitated.
Selina’s smile disappeared.
“Don’t.”
That one word made every instinct in me fire.
“Who?”
Evelyn reached into the scattered papers.
She pulled out a corporate registration document.
Two director names.
DAMIAN VALE.
And another.
I read it once.
Then again.
It made no sense.
“No.”
Godfrey leaned over.
His face changed.
“What the hell?”
Selina closed her eyes.
The second director was not Selina.
It wasn’t Godfrey.
It wasn’t Victor.
It was:
PHEDRA VALE.
I stared at the page.
“My wife?”
Evelyn nodded.
“On paper.”
“She doesn’t know this company exists.”
“Then someone used her signature.”
“Who controls it?”
Evelyn didn’t answer.
The investigator took the document.
“Who has banking authority?”
Evelyn looked toward Selina.
Selina said nothing.
“Who?” I demanded.
Evelyn swallowed.
“Not Selina.”
That shocked everyone.
Godfrey stared at my mother.
“You don’t control it?”
Selina’s face tightened.
Evelyn continued.
“She never did.”
I looked at her.
“Then who does?”
Before she could answer, the garage lights shut off.
Everything went black.
Someone screamed.
A metal door slammed.
Then an engine roared somewhere behind the building.
“POLICE! NOBODY MOVE!”
Flashlights exploded through the darkness.
I heard Godfrey shouting.
Selina yelling.
Tables scraping.
Then my phone vibrated in my pocket.
I pulled it out.
One new message.
Unknown number.
YOU FINALLY ASKED THE RIGHT QUESTION.
Another message.
SELINA WAS NEVER IN CHARGE.
My blood turned cold.
Then a photograph arrived.
Live.
Phedra.
In her hospital room.
Someone had photographed her through the doorway less than a minute earlier.
I shouted, “PHEDRA!”
The investigator grabbed my arm.
“What?”
I showed her the phone.
Her face changed instantly.
She called the hospital.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Then my phone buzzed a final time.
A video.
Five seconds.
Phedra sleeping.
The camera moved closer.
A hand entered the frame.
On the wrist was a gold hummingbird bracelet.
Not Selina’s necklace.
A bracelet.
A man’s hand.
Then the camera turned just enough to show half a face.
I knew that face.
I had seen it in old family photographs.
But the man in those photographs was supposed to have been dead for twelve years.
My father.
I stopped breathing.
Godfrey saw the screen.
He stumbled backward.
“No.”
Selina sank into a chair.
For the first time all day, she looked truly terrified.
I stared at her.
“You told us Dad died.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“You took us to his funeral.”
“No.”
“We buried him.”
Selina started crying.
Not fake crying.
Real.
Panicked.
“That wasn’t your father.”
Every sound in the shop disappeared.
I stared at her.
“What?”
She covered her face.
“That wasn’t him in the coffin.”
My legs nearly gave out.
Godfrey whispered, “Mom…”
Selina looked at both of us.
“He was supposed to disappear forever.”
My phone buzzed.
One final message.
NOON MEETING COMPLETE.
NOW BRING THE SETTLEMENT DOCUMENTS TO THE HOSPITAL.
COME ALONE.
OR PHEDRA LEARNS WHY YOUR FATHER CHOSE HER LAND BEFORE HE CHOSE YOU.
I stared at the words.
Then at Selina.
“What does Dad have to do with Phedra’s land?”
Selina began shaking.
I moved closer.
“Tell me.”
She whispered, “Everything.”
“What does that mean?”
Her eyes filled with terror.
“Your father didn’t meet Phedra after you married her.”
My heartbeat stopped.
Selina looked toward the photograph on my phone.
“He chose her years before you ever did.”
And in that moment, I understood that my mother’s greed had never been the true beginning of this story.
It had started with a man we had buried twelve years ago.
A man who was still alive.
A man who had just entered my wife’s hospital room.
And whatever waited inside that room would decide whether Part 5 ended with justice…
or another funeral…………………..
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