Chapter6
1986 Words
The car disappeared down the road, leaving Michael standing alone in the driveway.
He looked at the childhood photograph in his hand again.
ONE OF YOU IS NEXT.
His fingers tightened around the picture.
He wanted to believe it was only a threat. Someone trying to scare them.
But after everything that had happened, Michael was no longer sure of anything.
He quickly went inside and locked the door.
Across the hallway, Prince stood silently near the staircase.
“You're still awake?” Michael asked.
Prince looked at him.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
Michael held up the photograph.
Prince's expression changed immediately.
“Where did you get that?”
“It was outside my room.”
Prince walked toward him and took the picture.
For a few seconds, he said nothing.
Then he turned the photograph over.
His eyes narrowed.
“What?” Michael asked.
Prince didn't answer.
“Prince.”
“I know this handwriting.”
Michael's heart skipped.
“Whose?”
Prince looked at him.
“My father's.”
Michael stared at him.
“That can't be possible.”
“I wish it wasn't.”
Prince walked toward the living room and dropped the photograph onto the table.
Michael followed him.
“What would Dad mean by writing this?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
Prince turned sharply.
“I said I don't know.”
“You always know more than you tell us.”
Prince stared at his brother for a moment before looking away.
Michael crossed his arms.
“Tell me what you're hiding.”
Prince laughed quietly.
“You really want to know?”
“Yes.”
“You might regret asking.”
Before Michael could respond, footsteps came from the staircase.
Chad appeared.
“What are you two doing?”
Prince immediately covered the photograph with his hand.
“Nothing.”
Chad noticed the movement.
“What is that?”
Michael looked at Prince.
“Ask him.”
Chad walked closer.
Prince slowly moved his hand away.
The moment Chad saw the photograph, his face became pale.
“Where did you get this?”
“Someone left it outside Michael's room,” Prince replied.
Chad picked it up.
He stared at the words for several seconds.
Then he whispered, “This is bad.”
Michael frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Chad looked at both of them.
“We need to stop talking about this in the open.”
“Why?” Michael asked.
“Because someone is listening.”
The three brothers suddenly became silent.
A soft sound came from upstairs.
All three looked toward the staircase.
“Did you hear that?” Michael whispered.
Prince moved toward the stairs.
Chad grabbed his arm.
“Don't.”
Prince looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because if someone is actually here, we don't know who we're dealing with.”
Prince pulled his arm away.
“I've dealt with worse.”
Chad's eyes hardened.
“That's exactly what I'm talking about.”
Prince stared at him.
Michael looked between them.
“What does that mean?”
Neither brother answered.
Then Prince walked away.
“I'm going to my room.”
Michael watched him disappear.
There was something different about Prince tonight.
Something he had never seen before.
Fear.
The next morning, Detective Chris arrived at the Williams mansion before sunrise.
He had barely slept.
The photograph Michael had shown him kept running through his mind.
Five young boys.
One missing girl.
A dead father.
And now a threat against the family.
Chris stood beside Maya as officers searched the outside of the mansion.
“Any sign of the person who left the photograph?” Maya asked.
“Nothing.”
“Security cameras?”
“Still nothing useful.”
Maya sighed.
“Whoever is doing this knows exactly how to avoid being seen.”
Chris looked toward the road.
“Or someone inside the family is helping them.”
Maya looked at him.
“You think one of the brothers is involved?”
“I think we shouldn't trust anyone yet.”
A car pulled into the driveway.
Prince stepped out.
Chris watched him carefully.
“That's him,” Maya said.
“Prince Williams.”
Chris nodded.
Prince walked toward them.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Yes,” Chris said. “I'd like to ask you a few questions.”
Prince smiled slightly.
“About my father?”
“Among other things.”
Prince glanced at Maya.
“Can we do this somewhere private?”
Chris followed him inside.
They entered the study.
Prince sat down.
Chris remained standing.
“Tell me about your relationship with your father.”
“It was complicated.”
“How?”
“He didn't approve of the people I knew.”
“Your criminal connections?”
Prince's smile disappeared.
“You've been asking questions.”
“That's my job.”
“My father was obsessed with controlling everyone around him.”
“Were you angry with him?”
“Sometimes.”
“Enough to kill him?”
Prince stared directly at him.
“No.”
Chris studied his face.
“Where were you the night he died?”
“At home.”
“Anyone with you?”
“No.”
“Convenient.”
Prince leaned back.
“You think I killed him because I don't have an alibi?”
“I think everyone is a suspect until I know otherwise.”
Prince nodded slowly.
“Fair enough.”
Chris placed a photograph on the table.
It was an image of the woman wearing the red scarf.
“Do you recognize her?”
Prince looked at it.
For the first time, his confidence disappeared.
Chris noticed.
“You know her.”
Prince looked away.
“I've seen her before.”
“Where?”
“Not here.”
“Where, Prince?”
Prince remained silent.
Chris waited.
Finally, Prince said, “She works for someone I know.”
“Who?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because the moment I tell you, you won't just be investigating my father's murder anymore.”
Chris stepped closer.
“What exactly are you involved in?”
Prince looked at him.
“You don't want to know.”
Chris smiled without humor.
“That's usually what people say when there's something worth knowing.”
Prince stood.
“My father had enemies.”
“So do you.”
Prince said nothing.
Chris picked up the photograph.
“Did your father know this woman?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying again.”
Prince's jaw tightened.
Chris noticed his phone vibrating.
Prince looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“Who is it?” Chris asked.
“No one.”
The phone stopped.
Then it rang again.
Prince stepped outside the study.
Chris watched him through the slightly open door.
Prince answered.
“What?”
A man's voice came from the other end.
Chris couldn't hear everything.
But he heard Prince say:
“I told you I'm out.”
There was a pause.
Prince's voice became lower.
“Don't involve my brothers.”
Chris's eyes narrowed.
Prince ended the call and returned.
“Who was that?”
“I said it was nothing.”
Chris stared at him.
“Your father was murdered. Your family is being threatened. A mysterious woman keeps appearing around your home, and now you're receiving secret calls.”
Prince looked at him coldly.
“You think I'm the killer.”
“I think you know more than you're saying.”
Prince walked toward the door.
“Then keep investigating.”
He stopped.
“But be careful what you uncover.”
He left.
Chris remained in the room.
Something about that conversation bothered him.
Prince wasn't afraid of being arrested.
He was afraid of someone else.
That afternoon, Michael found Stephen sitting alone beside the pool.
The same pool where their father had been found.
Stephen stared at the water.
“You okay?” Michael asked.
Stephen nodded.
“I just needed some air.”
Michael sat beside him.
“Did you know Prince was involved with dangerous people?”
Stephen looked at him.
“I knew.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Prince would never forgive me.”
Michael looked toward the mansion.
“Everyone knew something except me.”
Stephen sighed.
“It's not just Prince.”
Michael looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
Stephen lowered his voice.
“Our father wasn't the man we thought he was.”
Michael remembered the photograph of Amara.
“Because of Amara?”
Stephen looked surprised.
“You know about her?”
“Yes.”
Stephen looked around before answering.
“I only heard her name once.”
“When?”
“Years ago. I overheard Dad arguing with someone.”
“Who?”
Stephen shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Before Michael could ask another question, a phone rang.
It was Stephen's.
He looked at the screen.
His face changed.
“Who is it?” Michael asked.
Stephen didn't answer.
He stood and walked away.
Michael followed.
Stephen answered.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then his expression became tense.
“Who is this?”
Another pause.
Stephen's hand tightened around the phone.
“What do you want?”
Michael couldn't hear the other person.
Then Stephen suddenly said:
“Leave my family alone.”
The call ended.
Michael stared at him.
“What did they say?”
Stephen looked at him.
“They know about Amara.”
That evening, Detective Chris sat in his office going through everything he had collected.
Richard Williams.
The five sons.
Amara.
Daniel Carter.
Margaret.
The woman in the red scarf.
And now Prince's mysterious connections.
He opened a file containing information about Prince.
Most of it was ordinary.
Until he reached one page.
There was a company listed under a different name.
Chris read the document twice.
Then he picked up his phone.
“Maya?”
“Yes?”
“I need you to look into a company called Blackstone Holdings.”
“What's the connection?”
“Prince.”
There was silence.
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
Chris looked at the file again.
“But I think we're about to find out.”
At the Williams mansion, Prince stood alone in his bedroom.
He opened a hidden compartment inside his wardrobe.
Inside was a small black box.
He removed it.
For several seconds, he simply stared at it.
Then he opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
A photograph of Richard Williams standing beside a younger man.
And between them stood a little girl.
Amara.
Prince's breathing became unsteady.
He turned the photograph over.
There was a message written on the back.
If anything happens to me, protect her.
Prince closed his eyes.
His father had known Amara was alive.
And Prince had known too.
A knock came at the door.
Prince quickly hid the photograph.
“Who is it?”
No answer.
He walked toward the door.
Another knock.
This time, a voice whispered from the other side.
“Prince.”
He froze.
He knew that voice.
It was the same person who had called him earlier.
Prince slowly opened the door.
The hallway was empty.
But on the floor was a black envelope.
He picked it up.
There was only one sentence inside.
You should have told your brothers the truth.
Prince stared at the message.
Then he noticed something else.
A small photograph had fallen from the envelope.
He picked it up.
His face went completely pale.
It was a picture of Amara.
But this time, she wasn't alone.
Standing beside her was the mysterious woman in the red scarf.
And written across the bottom were four words:
SHE KNOWS WHO KILLED HIM.
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