Chapter 6 - The Paper Chase
Midnight had passed when Julian and I pulled up to a small, secluded craftsman bungalow in the quiet suburban neighborhood of Ballard.
The house was dark, except for a faint blue light flickering in the living room window.
We didn't call the police. If Martha Gable realized we were coming with a warrant, she could destroy the physical contract in a paper shredder before officers could clear the front porch. We needed to talk to her before Lenora’s operatives realized we had unraveled the secret.
I walked up the wooden front steps and knocked firmly on the front door.
A few moments later, the curtains parted slightly. An elderly woman with silver hair and wire-rimmed glasses peeked out. When her eyes landed on my face, she gasped, stepping back from the window.
"Martha, please open the door," I called out through the wood, my voice steady and firm. "I know about the Mercer Island trust. I know about the vault key."
The door unlocked slowly, creaking open a few inches. Martha Gable stood in the hallway wearing a faded bathrobe, her hands trembling violently.
"Evelyn..." she whispered, tears instantly brimming in her pale blue eyes. "I'm so sorry... oh God, I'm so sorry..."
"Let us inside, Martha," Julian said gently, stepping up beside me.
Martha opened the door completely, allowing us into the warm, cluttered living room. On the coffee table sat an open briefcase filled with legal folders and a flight itinerary to Lisbon, Portugal, scheduled for tomorrow morning.
"They threatened my grandson, Evelyn," Martha sobbed, collapsing onto her sofa, burying her face in her handkerchief. "Lenora Vale came to my house two weeks after your father's funeral. She showed me photos of my grandson playing in the park. She said if I didn't give her Thomas's second key, they would ruin my family and ensure I spent the rest of my life in prison as an accomplice to financial fraud."
I sat down on the armchair across from her, my heart softening despite the betrayal. Lenora didn't just attack her enemies; she destroyed everyone around them.
"Where is the key, Martha?" I asked softly. "Did you give it to Lenora?"
Martha shook her head rapidly. "No! I couldn't do it! I knew what that patent meant to Thomas. He worked night and day on that compound! I lied to Lenora. I gave her a fake key to a decoy deposit box in Tacoma."
Julian leaned forward, his eyes bright. "Where is the real key, Martha?"
Martha reached into her bathrobe pocket and pulled out a small, heavy brass key attached to an old leather fob stamped with my father's initials: T.H.
"It's still in the primary vault at First Federal," Martha cried, handing the key to me with trembling hands. "The original contract is inside Box 408. It contains an addendum your father signed in 2002... an addendum Lenora never knew existed."
My heart did a violent leap in my chest. "An addendum?"
"Thomas found out that Richard Vale hadn't died in a boating accident," Martha explained, wiping her cheeks. "He discovered Richard had faked his death to escape federal tax evasion charges. Thomas bought out Richard's entire equity share secretly through a Canadian escrow account to keep the lab alive. The proof of that buyout is inside Box 408."
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I gripped the cold brass key in my palm, feeling a surge of overwhelming triumph.
"You're not going to Lisbon, Martha," I said, standing up and placing a warm hand on her trembling shoulder. "You're coming with us to the federal prosecutor's office tomorrow morning. And this time, Lenora Vale is going down forever."
