Chapter 3 - The Piano’s Secret
“Mr. Reed,” I whispered.
He didn't move.
He was staring at the blank screen, his broad shoulders shaking.
I stepped forward, leaving the children near the doorway.
“Nathaniel.”
He finally looked up.
His eyes were bloodshot, filled with a rage I had never seen before.
“Two years,” he choked out. “I mourned an accident for two years.”
He stood up abruptly.
He marched toward the grand Steinway piano in the center of the room.
I rushed over to help him.
Together, we lifted the heavy wooden lid.
We looked inside the intricate machinery of the instrument.
“Where is the sounding board?” I asked.
“Underneath the strings,” he replied, his voice deadly calm now.
He reached his long arms inside.
He felt along the dark edges near the back.
His fingers snagged on something.
A layer of black duct tape.
He ripped it away.
A small, waterproof document pouch fell onto the polished wood with a heavy thud.
Nathaniel unzipped it.
Inside were three USB drives and a small, leather-bound notebook.
He flipped through the pages.
I saw rows and rows of handwritten numbers, dates, and offshore account routing codes.
Evelyn’s handwriting.
“She did it,” Nathaniel whispered. “She tracked every single stolen dime.”
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway outside.
Heavy footsteps.
Coming right toward the ballroom.
“Mr. Reed?” a voice called out.
My blood ran cold.
It was Marcus.
He was supposed to be in New York until tomorrow.
Nathaniel’s eyes snapped to mine.
He shoved the ledger and the USB drives into my apron pockets.
“Hide them,” he mouthed.
May you like
He quickly shut the piano lid just as the ballroom doors swung fully open.
Marcus stood there, holding a briefcase, looking around the room with cold, calculating eyes.
