Chapter Nine: The Storage Room
1112 Words
Sophie’s POV
I didn't like the idea of going to the storage facility
Everything about it felt wrong
The location was outside the main part of the city, far away from the busy streets.
Nathan drove
Luke followed in another car
Michael insisted on coming with us
I wasn't sure how I felt about that
Part of me wanted him there
Another part of me kept remembering what Joseph had said
He thought he saw Michael entering our house.
I didn't know what to believe anymore.
When we arrived, the building looked abandoned.
The gate was rusty the windows were dusty.
There was barely any sign that anyone had been there recently.
Nathan got out of the car
“Stay close”
I looked at him
“I can take care of myself”
“I know”
“Then stop telling me to stay close”
He gave me a small smile
“I'm not going to stop”
I sighed
We walked inside
The air smelled old
Luke switched on his flashlight
“According to the records, the storage unit is at the back”
Michael walked beside me
“You've been here before?”
“No”
“You're sure?”
He looked at me
“Yes”
I nodded
We continued
There were dozens of old storage rooms
Some had broken locks others were covered in dust.
Finally, Luke stopped
“This one”
The lock had already been broken
Nathan looked at Michael
Michael looked confused
“I didn't do that”
Nathan didn't respond
He pushed the door open
Inside were several boxes
Some were marked with the Luckwood name
Others carried the Maxwell name
I felt a strange pressure in my chest
Our families had once worked together before everything went wrong
Before the hatred
Before Nathan and I became enemies
Before our marriage.
I walked toward one of the boxes.
There was a date written across it.
Twenty years ago
I opened it
Inside were photographs
Old contracts
Letters
Financial statements
I picked up a photograph
My father stood beside Nathan's father
They were smiling
They looked happy
I stared at it for a long time
“I've never seen this”
Nathan stood beside me
“Neither have I”
I looked at him
“Your father looks happy”
“He was”
“And mine?”
Nathan looked at my father
“They were friends”
The word felt strange
Friends
Not enemies
Not rival families
Friends
Something had destroyed that
But what?
Luke began sorting through the documents
“Look at this”
We gathered around him
He held up a letter
The handwriting was old
The paper was faded
“What does it say?” I asked
Luke read silently
Then his expression changed
“What?”
He handed it to Nathan
Nathan read it
His face became unreadable
“What?”
He passed it to me
I read the first line
I know what happened to the money
My heart raced I continued
The letter was written by Nathan's father
It was addressed to my father
He claimed he had discovered evidence that the missing money had not been stolen by either of them.
Instead, someone had moved it through several accounts.
Someone inside the company
Someone they both trusted
I looked up
“Who?”
Nathan shook his head
“The letter doesn't say”
I continued reading
There was another line.
If anything happens to me, don't trust the person closest to you.
I froze
“That's it?”
Luke nodded
“That is where the letter ends”
I looked at Nathan
“What happened after this?”
“My father died”
“And your family believed mine caused it”
“Yes”
I looked down at the letter
“Maybe he was trying to tell your father the truth”
“Maybe”
A noise suddenly came from outside
We all turned
Nathan immediately stepped in front of me.
Luke moved toward the door
Michael looked around
“Did you hear that?”
“Yes”
Luke opened the door nbody was there he walked outside
A few seconds later, he returned
“Nothing”
Nathan looked at the floor
There were footprints fresh ones
My stomach tightened
“Someone was here”
Luke nodded
“And they weren't ours”
Michael stepped closer
“Maybe they left before we arrived”
Nathan looked at him
“Maybe”
There was something in his voice
Suspicion
I noticed
Michael noticed too
“What?”
Nathan shook his head
“Nothing”
We continued searching.
After several minutes, I found another box hidden behind the others.
It was smaller Inside was a black notebook I opened it.
The first pages contained names
Dates
Numbers
Then I saw a familiar name
Cam Phillip
My heart stopped
“Cam”
Nathan immediately came closer
“What?”
I showed him
Cam's name appeared several times
Payments
Meetings
Transfers
Dates
Some of them were from years before he became CEO of Luckwood Tech.
Nathan's jaw tightened
“This is important”
I turned another page
Then I saw another name
Michael
I froze
My brother's name was written beneath Cam's I looked at him.
He stared at the notebook
“What is that?”
I didn't answer
He stepped closer
“Sophie”
“Why is your name here?”
Michael looked confused.
“I don't know”
Nathan took the notebook
Michael's expression changed
“You think I did something?”
“I didn't say that”
“You didn't have to”
I looked between them
“Stop”
Michael looked at me
“I didn't know about this”
“Then explain it”
“I can't”
“Why?”
“Because I don't know what it means”
I believed him
At least, I wanted to suddenly Luke's phone rang.
He answered
Then his expression changed
“What?”
He listened
“Are you sure?”
He ended the call
Nathan looked at him
“What happened?”
Luke looked at us
“The police just found Lara”
My heart stopped
“Where?”
Luke hesitated
“At an apartment”
Nathan stepped forward
“Is she alive?”
“Yes”
I exhaled
“But there's something else”
“What?”
Luke looked at me
“They found another person there”
My heart started beating faster
“Who?”
Luke shook his head
“They haven't identified them yet”
Nathan looked at me
And somehow, I knew.
Whatever was happening wasn't over.
It was getting closer.
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