Page 148 of Love Notes & Lifelines
It starts off strong. Pieces coming from both her and Davis, then, presumably after his death, only from her. The worst of it is you can see her physical decline by her handwriting. The last few documents have shaky chicken scratch in the margins with ink that gets fainter by the sentence.
“They’ve been working on this for…for years,” I say, placing the final note from Cally on the floor. “It’s an actual timeline going back to before you were born.”
Beck nods, but he hasn’t spoken in almost thirty minutes. Not since he handed me the papers and the letter from Cally. We set the letter aside to organize these documents first.
“Why? Why would she go to all this trouble and not just give it to Sterling with her other letter?” His voice is hoarse and scratchy.
“Tabby said she was really confused and paranoid in her last few months. I’m sure that played a part.”
He lifts the new letter and holds it out to me.
“Do you want me to read it to you?”
He nods again, so I swallow down my emotions, take a seat next to him, and read Cally’s shaky handwriting out loud.
Baby Brother,
I’m sorry for all the lies. All I ever wanted to do was protect you. In his own way, Dad was doing the same thing. He shielded you and Mom the only way he knew how—by cutting you off early.
My only hope is that you’ll understand why we did it when you go through our evidence and remember who you were as a twenty-year-old—bright, determined, the best kid I’d ever met, but stubborn as hell and full of righteous indignation.
Davis found proof first. He brought it to me because, at the time, his father and sister were positioning everything to incriminate you. When Davis took over, he did everything he could to turn things around.
My tears stain the page, and my stomach hollows out, but I press on.
Vincent ran their family as though they were royalty, meaning with each child we had, the further down the ladder Danica fell. It was the perfect way to get rid of her, or at least keep her from hurting us. But when Davis died, she took over because our girls were too young.
You’ve done so well building what should have always been yours, Beck. I’m so proud of you. But she’s been preparing for a war her entire life.
Davis and I pulled everything we could, but we know it’s not enough to stop her. We’re missing something, and I ran out of time. I wanted to protect you, but now I need you to protect my girls, and please make sure they know how much I loved them. This isn’t how things were supposed to end. Iwas supposed to figure out the clues. I was going to finally get my brother back, but then cancer reached up from hell and I didn’t have the energy to finish. I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry for missing out on so much of your life. I’m sorry for shielding you from the truth. In my efforts to protect you, I may have hurt you more. But mostly, I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you this time.
And I’m sorry for making this harder for you. I don’t know who to trust most days. The poison in my body is making things more confusing, so I have to give you what I know in a way no one but you could get it. I just pray that you’re the one to find it.
In this folder, you’ll find everything Davis and I were able to piece together. There’s also a flash drive tucked away in Bear’s secret zipper. He’s always held my secrets—thank you for that. It’ll be hard for you to watch, but it’ll be enough to ensure Danica doesn’t gain custody. The problem is, once she sees all of this evidence, she’ll know we have her missing files, and she’ll do whatever necessary to save herself.
I’ve loved you since the day you were born. I will love you from heaven, and I hope one day you’ll forgive me.
I wanted to be your hero, but the truth is, you have always been mine.
Davis and I had to play the villain in your story in order to protect you in ours, and for that, I hope you’ll find a way to forgive us. Emmy and Ruby need you now, more than you ever needed me, and I hope you’ll shower them with all the love in the world, because that’s what you’ve always been to me—a physical representation of pure love.
From my heart to yours,
Cally
Tears stream down his face as he takes the flash drive and stands. He hovers over each piece of paper. The dates in thecorner of each look like either Cally’s handwriting or what I’m guessing is Davis’s.
“Do you know what it all means?” I ask, carefully placing my hand on his shoulder blade.
“Not all of it…” He leans down and draws one of the first pieces of paper to him, then bends again to stare at the next one in the row. “It looks as though Delacroix has been stealing from investors for years.” Another piece of paper, this one with his father’s name on it. “It appears Dad knew and was trying to turn on his partner. When he couldn’t get away cleanly, he gave Delacroix control of it all.”
I gasp. I can’t help it. “Did he know you’d see it as a betrayal?”
He holds up Cally’s letter. “I’m guessing he was counting on it.” He places the papers on the desk, then sits in one of the chairs and holds up a laptop, searching for the USB port.
I drag a chair next to him as he turns it on, navigates to the USB folder, and opens it.
The video is grainy, but I recognize Cally from the photos in the girls’ rooms. She’s so frail and crying on the stairs.
