The Photograph He Tried to Bury

Chapter 15 - The Man in the Elevator

Evelyn confronted Daniel in the lobby of the federal courthouse.

He looked exhausted. His suit hung loosely, and there were shadows beneath his eyes. Two attorneys stood nearby, but he asked them to wait outside.

“Mara says you took the memory card,” Evelyn said.

Daniel did not deny it.

“Why?”

“Because the metadata did not only implicate my father.”

“Who else?”

“Your mother.”

Evelyn felt the floor shift beneath her.

Daniel explained that Anne had copied several files years after Richard’s death. She had altered account labels to hide money she moved into a private fund.

“How much?”

“Three hundred thousand dollars.”

“For herself?”

“For you.”

The money had paid for Evelyn’s education, her mother’s medical bills, and the down payment on the small apartment Evelyn owned before marrying Daniel.

Evelyn shook her head. “My mother worked two jobs.”

“She did. The money covered what the jobs could not.”

“So you stole evidence to protect her reputation.”

“I took it to separate her files before Victoria could use them to destroy the entire case.”

“You had no right.”

“No.”

Again, the same word. But this time Evelyn heard something different. Daniel was not using agreement to end the argument. He was standing inside the consequence.

“Where is the card?”

“In the courthouse evidence office. I surrendered it this morning with a statement explaining what I did.”

Evelyn stared at him.

“You broke into Thomas’s house.”

“I used the old service entrance. I did not know he was there. He fell when the alarm sounded.”

“Do you understand that every time you decide to protect someone with another lie, you become your father?”

Daniel flinched.

“Yes.”

The elevator doors opened.

A federal marshal approached. “Mr. Mercer, they are ready for you.”

Daniel turned to leave.

Evelyn stopped him. “Did you tell them everything about my mother?”