Chapter 10 - Richard Explained The Red Case
Richard was eventually detained and questioned over the mansion entry,
document theft, and related conduct.
He admitted taking the red case.
Inside, he said, were Sophia’s original ledger and a sealed red letter
addressed to Emma.
When Emma appeared in the office, Richard panicked and fled.
He later placed the case in Claire’s car when police activity began
around the mansion.
By the time officers found it, the contents were gone.
Security footage showed another figure approaching Claire’s unattended
vehicle.
Daniel Cross.
Daniel admitted removing the ledger because he feared it would disappear
into an evidence archive before the public learned the truth.
He surrendered it.
But he denied taking Emma’s letter.
Richard insisted the letter existed.
Claire never saw it.
Then Emma remembered.
“The red paper.”
Nathan knelt beside her.
“What red paper?”
“The man dropped it by Mommy’s picture.”
Sophia’s portrait hung in the upstairs gallery.
Nathan removed it from the wall.
Behind the backing board was a thin red envelope pushed through a tear.
On the front:
FOR EMMA, ON HER FIFTH BIRTHDAY.
May you like
The letter had been inside the mansion the entire time.
Less than twenty feet from where Emma had been chained.
