Chapter 6 - The Darkest Secret
I walked slowly toward the fireplace, my heart pounding violently against my ribs.
David kept himself securely between me and Richard, anticipating a sudden, violent attack.
I took the old, yellowed document from Ashley's shaking hands and began to read.
It was a highly detailed, extremely confidential police report from twenty years ago.
The report detailed the horrific, fatal car crash that had tragically killed both of my parents.
I had always been told it was a terrible accident caused by black ice on a mountain road.
But clipped directly behind the police report was a massive financial transaction ledger.
It clearly showed Richard Reynolds paying the lead accident investigator a massive bribe of two million dollars.
There was also a signed contract proving Richard had illegally seized my parents' initial tech patents immediately after their deaths.
My parents did not die in a random, tragic winter accident.
Richard Reynolds had them brutally murdered so he could steal the revolutionary software that eventually built his empire.
The man who had just tried to steal my children was the same monster who had made me an orphan.
Tears of pure, blinding fury completely blurred my vision.
"You murdered my parents for money," I whispered, staring directly into Richard's cold eyes.
Richard did not look sorry, nor did he attempt to deny the horrific accusation.
He simply straightened his expensive suit jacket and sneered at me.
"Your father was a brilliant programmer, but he was a terrible, weak businessman," Richard stated arrogantly.
"I simply took what he was too cowardly to properly monetize."
David stepped forward, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.
"You are going to die in a federal prison, Richard," David promised him darkly.
"I highly doubt that," Richard replied, his voice completely devoid of emotion.
Richard suddenly reached blindly into the dark cavity of the hidden wall safe.
May you like
He pulled out a heavy, black semi-automatic handgun and pointed it directly at my children.
"Nobody is leaving this house alive today," Richard announced coldly.
