She Gave a Hungry Old Woman Her Last Meal — The Reward Changed Her Life Forever
Chapter 6
Three days later, someone broke into Emily’s apartment.
Nothing valuable was stolen.
Her television remained.
Her laptop remained.
Even the cash in her kitchen drawer remained untouched.
Only one thing was missing.
The wooden box containing her mother’s letters.
Emily called Daniel immediately.
He arrived within twenty minutes.
He looked around the apartment.
“They knew exactly what they wanted.”
Emily’s hands shook.
“My mother.”
Daniel nodded.
“More likely the letters.”
“Why?”
“Because the letters connect the names.”
He started searching the room.
“Did you make copies?”
“Of some.”
“Good.”
Emily opened her laptop.
The files were still there.
Daniel smiled.
“You’re smarter than you realize.”
She looked at him.
“Don’t patronize me.”
“I’m not.”
He pointed toward the screen.
“You just protected the case without even realizing it.”
The next morning, Emily received an email.
No subject.
No signature.
Only a sentence.
Your mother knew when to stop. You should too.
Emily stared at it.
She didn’t tell Eleanor immediately.
Instead, she printed it and placed it beside the old records.
The next clue came from a bank statement.
One of the shell companies had transferred money into an account belonging to a charity.
The charity was legitimate.
But the money disappeared almost immediately.
Daniel traced the account.
It belonged to Marcus Vale.
Emily felt sick.
“He’s still doing it.”
Daniel nodded.
“And now he knows someone has found the old records.”
“Then we move faster.”
Daniel studied her.
“You’re not scared?”
“I am.”
“Then why keep going?”
She looked toward the framed photograph of her mother.
“Because fear already took enough from my family.”
That answer stayed with Daniel.
And from that moment, he stopped treating Emily as a witness.
He started treating her as a partner.
