Chapter 5 - Whispers in the Dark
Richard Bennett’s pristine facade cracked for a fraction of a second. The lawyer beside him quickly leaned in, whispering urgently into his ear. Richard cleared his throat, regaining his cold composure.
"The boy is confused," Richard said dismissively. "He’s eight years old and clearly traumatized by tonight’s events. Detective, I strongly suggest you focus your efforts on finding out how a mentally ill woman was allowed to live in secret on my son-in-law's property without proper care."
"Oh, we are investigating that, Mr. Bennett," Elena replied, her eyes locked on his. "Along with the black SUV registered to your security firm that was parked on Maple Street two hours ago."
Richard didn't flinch, but his lawyer’s posture stiffened.
"We have nothing further to say," the lawyer interjected, handing Elena a business card. "Any further inquiries regarding Mr. Bennett or his family must go through my office."
Richard glanced at Laura one last time. "Don't destroy this family, Laura. You don't know what you're doing."
"You destroyed it six months ago, Dad," Laura said, her voice dropping to a harsh, cold tone. "Get out."
Without another word, Richard turned and strode out of the hospital, his attorney following close behind.
Elena immediately pulled out her phone and dialed her partner, Detective Marcus Vance (no relation to Julian), who was back at the station reviewing security footage and financial records.
"Marcus," Elena spoke into the phone. "I need a full warrant for Richard Bennett’s home, his personal vehicles, and the private security firm he contracts—Vanguard Security. I also need every file you can find on the hit-and-run death of Julian Vance from six months ago."
"Elena," Marcus’s voice came through the receiver, sounding urgent. "You're not going to believe what I just found on the guesthouse crime scene sweep. We processed the laptop Daniel was keeping in his home office."
"What was on it?"
"Mia wasn't just hiding in that guesthouse, Elena. She was working. She had an encrypted flash drive hidden inside that makeshift cradle. She's been compiling Julian's old files on Richard Bennett's illegal land acquisitions and bribed officials. She had the entire paper trail."
Elena felt a surge of hope mixed with dread. "Where is the flash drive now?"
"We have it in evidence," Marcus replied. "But there’s a catch. It’s protected by a high-level military-grade encryption key. We need a password, or it’ll take our tech team weeks to crack it."
Elena looked across the waiting room. Laura was sitting with Noah, wrapping her arms around her son while he ate a small sandwich the nurses had brought him. Elena walked over and knelt in front of the young boy.
"Noah," Elena said gently. "You were so smart tonight. You remembered everything Aunt Mia told you."
Noah nodded slowly, chewing his sandwich. "She talked to me a lot when Uncle Daniel brought her dinner. She told me stories about stars and oceans."
"Did she ever tell you a secret code or a special word?" Elena asked softly. "Something she told you to remember?"
Noah paused, his eyes staring blankly at the floor as he searched his memory. "She gave me a drawing yesterday. A drawing of a bird."
"A bird?"
"Yeah. A big blue bird with long wings. She told me if anyone ever asked for her treasure, I should tell them the bird’s name."
Laura looked at her son in surprise. "Mia loved birds when we were kids... Noah, what was the name of the bird?"
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Noah looked up, his bright brown eyes meeting Elena’s.
"Albatross," Noah said. "She said it was the bird that flies through the worst storms and always finds its way home."
