Chapter 8 - The Wallet's SecretI stopped.
“What?”
Mr. Graves stepped closer.
“What did she write?”
I handed him the letter.
He read the final lines.
His expression changed.
“What does it say?” I asked.
He looked at me.
“The wallet.”
“What about it?”
“Your mother put it there.”
I stared at him.
“She did what?”
“The wallet wasn’t lost.”
He took a slow breath.
“She wanted you to find it.”
“But why?”
“Because she knew you’d return it.”
I suddenly remembered my mother’s words.
Doing the right thing matters most when nobody’s watching.
My eyes filled with tears.
She had known.
She had trusted me.
She had trusted that I would do exactly what she raised me to do.
Mr. Graves looked at the eviction notice sticking from my backpack.
“And now I understand the notice.”
“What does it have to do with anything?”
He took the pink paper from my backpack and unfolded it.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then he stopped.
“There.”
He pointed to the bottom.
I looked.
There was a signature.
Victor Hale.
Dr. Mercer went pale.
“He’s alive?”
Mr. Graves nodded slowly.
“Apparently.”
“Who is Victor Hale?” I asked.
Mr. Graves’s voice became quiet.
“The man who ordered Rebecca’s disappearance.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“The man who stole millions from my company.”
May you like
He looked toward the door.
“And the man who has been trying to find your mother for twelve years.”
