Chapter 8 - Marcus Wanted More Than Old Evidence
Marcus admitted modifying the hidden panel.
He claimed he never intended to trap Lily.
He wanted someone small enough to crawl through the cavity and retrieve
the key because he believed Evelyn’s desk contained directions to a
larger archive.
Investigators did not accept his justification as harmless.
A child had been endangered.
Marcus also had another motive.
His grandfather had lost a construction business after refusing to
participate in Robert Hayes’s bribery network.
Marcus grew up hearing that Robert destroyed his family.
He believed the hidden archive could prove it.
Peter Vance had hired Marcus because of his restoration experience,
unaware of the full plan.
But Peter was not entirely innocent.
He knew Marcus was searching the walls.
He looked away because he hoped Samuel’s old records would clear his own
father.
Again, everyone had a reason.
None justified putting Lily at risk.
The ledgers from Marcus’s motel showed payments to inspectors,
subcontractors, and a shell company called Northstar Development.
One signature appeared repeatedly.
Samuel Vance.
Peter’s father.
Peter went pale.
He had spent years believing Samuel was Robert’s reluctant accountant.
The records suggested deeper involvement.
Then Michael arrived.
Claire saw her brother for the first time in three decades.
He had her eyes.
He looked at her and whispered:
“Bluebird.”
Claire crossed the room and hugged him.
Then she stepped back.
“You don’t get to disappear into a hug.”
Michael nodded.
May you like
“I know.”
There were thirty years of questions between them.
