Chapter 10 - The Unseen Traitor
The basement archives of the Meridian building were dark,
smelling faintly of old paper and dust.
Ethan and I stood before rows of heavy steel filing cabinets with a security guard.
I used my old master key card,
which the system hadn't deactivated yet,
to open the main gate.
"The records from nineteen-ninety-nine should be in the back row,"
I said,
guiding the way.
My flashlight beam cut through the darkness,
illuminating boxes labeled with forgotten corporate names.
We searched for an hour,
our fingers getting covered in grey dust as we pulled files.
Finally,
Ethan gasped,
pulling out a thick leather-bound ledger from a rusted drawer.
"I found it,"
he announced,
laying the heavy book onto a nearby metal table.
"This is the household staff payroll for the Wright estate during the year you disappeared."
I leaned in close,
scanning the list of names with my analytical auditor's eyes.
There were chefs,
gardeners,
drivers,
and nannies listed with their monthly salary figures.
Suddenly,
a specific name caught my eye,
making my heart stop completely for a second.
"Look at this entry,"
I pointed,
my finger trembling against the old paper page.
"Nanny supervisor: Martha Marsh,
paid fifty thousand dollars in a single lump sum."
"Martha Marsh was the woman I knew as my mother,"
I whispered,
tears stinging my eyes.
"The woman who raised me in that tiny apartment,
the woman who died when I was twelve."
"But look at the authorization signature at the bottom of her payroll check,
Ethan."
Ethan looked close,
and his entire face went completely pale under the flashlight beam.
The signature was clear,
written in a bold,
familiar hand that we both recognized instantly.
It was the signature of Alan Morrison,
our trusted family doctor who had helped me escape.
"No,"
Ethan breathed,
stumbling back against the metal shelving units in total disbelief.
"Doctor Morrison was our father's best friend,
he delivered both of us safely."
"He was the one who told us about your identity at the hospital last week!"
"Don't you see the play?"
I realized,
the horrible truth falling into place like puzzle pieces.
"He didn't find me by accident through a blood panel,
Ethan."
"He always knew exactly where I was,
because he was the one who hid me away."
"He used Martha Marsh to take me from this house twenty-five years ago."
"And he only brought me back now because he needed to stop Eleanor from stealing the trust."
"He wanted the inheritance for himself,
using my baby as his ultimate ticket to wealth."
A soft clicking sound echoed from the dark doorway of the archive room behind us.
We turned around slowly,
our flashlights illuminating a figure standing in the shadows of the entrance.
Doctor Morrison stood there,
holding a small silver object in his hand that gleamed dangerously.
He was no longer looking like the kind,
gray-haired doctor who had cried over my baby.
His face was cold,
calculating,
and completely devoid of any human warmth or kindness.
"You always were too smart for your own good,
Vivian,"
the doctor said softly,
May you like
stepping into the light.
"Just like your father before he had his unfortunate accident."
