Chapter 132: The Last Phone Call

The investigation room fell completely silent.

Every pair of eyes remained fixed on Matthew St. Claire.

He had just mentioned something he had never shared before.

Matthew leaned back in his chair, staring quietly at the old photograph of Edward and Vanessa Sterling displayed on the investigation board.

He didn’t speak for a long moment. Amanda gently reached for his hand beneath the table. She knew exactly what memory he was about to revisit. It was one he had carried alone for twenty years.

Victor Reyes quietly switched on his recorder.

"Whenever you’re ready."

Matthew nodded slowly.

"There was something Edward once told me."

He folded his hands together.

"It was about a month before he died."

Everyone listened carefully.

"He visited my office. He didn’t look like himself."

Chris frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Matthew answered honestly.

"He looked... troubled. Not frightened. But distracted."

He kept staring out the window while we were talking."

Victor immediately began writing.

"What did he tell you?"

Matthew closed his eyes briefly, recalling every word.

"He said..."

"’Matt, one of our accountants approached me today.’"

Sarah glanced toward Victor.

Matthew continued.

"The accountant claimed there were irregularities in Sterling Corporation’s financial records."

"He believed money was disappearing."

Liliana’s breathing unconsciously slowed.

Matthew sighed.

"I asked Edward if he believed it. He smiled."

Then Matthew quietly repeated Edward’s answer.

"’It’s probably just a misunderstanding.’"

"’Arthur is handling those transactions.’"

"’He’ll explain everything.’"

Robert lowered his head.

"That sounds exactly like Edward."

Matthew nodded.

"He trusted Arthur without question. I even asked if he wanted me to recommend an independent auditor."

Edward laughed.

"’No need.’"

"’Arthur is family.’"

"He’d never betray us."

No one reacted. Everyone now knew how tragically wrong that belief had been.

Victor asked gently,

"Was that the last time the missing funds came up?"

Matthew nodded.

"Yes. He never mentioned them again. I assumed everything had been resolved."

Sarah quietly wrote another note.

"Or..."

"...he thought he had resolved it."

Matthew became unusually quiet. His fingers tightened around the edge of the table.

"There was something else."

Victor immediately looked up.

"The day Edward died."

Amanda slowly lowered her eyes. She had never forgotten that day.

Matthew spoke softly.

"The newspapers reported that Edward and Vanessa were traveling to inspect one of Sterling Corporation’s construction projects."

Robert nodded.

"That’s what we were told."

Matthew looked toward him.

"That part was true. They really were going there."

Victor asked,

"What project?"

Matthew answered,

"A housing development several hours outside Aurelia. One of Sterling Corporation’s biggest investments at the time."

Sarah flipped through several old newspaper clippings.

"It matches the records."

Matthew continued.

"Halfway through the trip, someone contacted Edward."

Victor leaned forward.

"Who?"

Matthew slowly shook his head.

"I don’t know. He never told me. He only mentioned that there was trouble."

"What kind of trouble?"

"He said some workers had started protesting. There were reports of unpaid wages. They wanted to speak directly with management."

Robert frowned.

"My brother would’ve gone."

Matthew nodded immediately.

"Exactly. He never ignored his employees. He believed if people were angry, the owner should be the first to listen."

Liliana smiled sadly.

"That sounds like Dad."

"It does."

Matthew agreed.

"So Edward and Vanessa changed their route. They decided to meet the workers personally."

Matthew looked down at his hands.

"The phone rang. It was Edward."

The room became perfectly still.

"I remember checking my watch. It was late afternoon. I answered immediately."

Matthew’s voice became quieter.

"At first, Everything sounded normal."

"’Matt,’"

"’we’re almost there.’"

"I asked how Vanessa was. He laughed."

"’Still telling me to drive slower.’"

Amanda smiled through her tears.

"That sounds like Vanessa."

Matthew smiled faintly.

"Then, the conversation changed."

His expression grew serious.

"I heard him become quiet."

Victor stopped writing.

Matthew continued.

"I asked what was wrong."

Edward didn’t answer immediately.

Then, he said something that has stayed with me for twenty years."

Matthew slowly repeated every word.

"’Matt...’"

"’I think someone’s following us.’"

A chill spread through the room. Chris unconsciously tightened his grip on Liliana’s hand.

Matthew continued.

"I immediately told him to stop somewhere crowded. Or Call the police. I told him to wait for help. He laughed."

Matthew’s voice cracked slightly.

"He actually laughed."

"’You’re worrying too much.’"

"’It’s probably nothing.’"

"But..."

Matthew swallowed hard.

"Then his tone changed again. He became very serious."

Matthew slowly closed his eyes.

"He said..."

"’If anything happens...’"

"’Take care of Liliana.’"

Silence.

"’Take care of Vanessa’s family.’"

"’Promise me.’"

Matthew’s breathing became uneven.

"I shouted at him."

"’Nothing’s going to happen!’"

"’Turn the car around!’"

"But..."

Matthew’s voice trembled.

"He only replied..."

"’Just promise me.’"

Amanda quietly wiped away tears.

Matthew nodded slowly.

"I promised. He thanked me. And then, the call ended."

No one spoke. No one even breathed loudly.

Victor finally broke the silence.

"How long after that call..."

"...did you receive the news?"

Matthew answered without hesitation.

"Almost exactly one hour."

The memory remained painfully clear.

"A police officer called. There had been a crash. Edward and Vanessa didn’t survive."

Matthew looked toward Liliana.

"I never believed it was simply an accident."

Victor raised an eyebrow.

"Because of that phone call?"

Matthew nodded firmly.

"Edward wasn’t easily frightened. He remained calm under pressure. If he believed someone was following him, then someone was."

Henry finally spoke from near the doorway.

"And if Edward sensed danger, he would’ve protected Vanessa and his daughter."

Sarah looked up from her notes.

"Which means the accident may never have been random."

Victor slowly stood and walked toward the investigation board. He took a red marker. And beneath the timeline, he wrote one sentence.

Last Phone Call — Edward believed they were being followed.

He underlined it twice. Then he turned back toward the room.

"We now know something investigators never considered twenty years ago."

He looked at every member of both families.

"If Edward himself believed he was being followed, then we are no longer investigating whether the crash was an accident."

He paused.

"We are investigating who wanted Edward and Vanessa Sterling dead and why they never intended for them to reach that construction site."

For the first time since the investigation began, the timeline on the wall no longer looked like a tragic family history.

It looked like the blueprint of a carefully planned murder. And somewhere beyond those photographs and documents, the person responsible had remained free for twenty years.