Unravelling The Truth

Celeste didn't sleep that night.

She sat at her dining table, a cup of tea long gone cold beside her, staring at the slip of paper Margaret had given her. Nathaniel Wren. Judge Harold Wren. Victor Langford. Councilman Richard Vaughn. The names felt heavier now, weighted with new meaning. These weren't just men from the past—they were part of an ongoing cover-up, one that someone was still desperate to protect.

Her phone sat on the table, dark and silent after the ominous "Last warning" text. Whoever had sent it had erased their tracks. Just like the security footage from the garage.

Someone was watching them.

Someone who had power.

Celeste exhaled and pulled out James Holloway's journal. If they were going to fight back, they needed to find the cracks in the story before the people behind this tried something worse than threats.

She flipped to a section near the middle, where James had written about his frustration with the official investigation.

February 23, 1952

Four years, and still no one will listen. The fire was no accident. The insurance payout was too convenient. The testimonies were too inconsistent. The police won't re-open the case because the ones who signed off on it are the same ones who'd be implicated if the truth came out. And Vaughn—he was a young attorney then, but he knew exactly what he was doing when he buried Evelyn's case.

Celeste's fingers tightened on the journal.

Vaughn had been involved from the start.

And he had been protecting someone.

She grabbed her laptop and began searching through public records, anything she could find on Vaughn, Langford, and the Wren family. After an hour of digging, something caught her eye—a decades-old newspaper article about a sealed legal dispute between Wren Industries and an unnamed party in 1951.

She clicked on the archived document. Most of the details had been redacted, but one name stood out in the court filings.

Victor Langford.

Langford had been Nathaniel Wren's financial partner. What had happened between them that led to a lawsuit?

Celeste's heart pounded as she highlighted the case number and took a screenshot. It wasn't much, but it was another loose thread—one that might lead to the truth.

She picked up her phone and dialled Adrian.

He answered on the second ring, his voice rough with exhaustion. "You didn't sleep either, did you?"

"No." She hesitated. "I found something."

By the time Celeste arrived at Adrian's office, the sun was rising, casting a golden glow over Port Bellingham. She hadn't realized how much time had passed until she stepped into the conference room and saw Adrian already setting up his laptop, dark circles under his eyes.

"Tell me everything," he said, gesturing for her to sit.

She slid her laptop across the table, pulling up the sealed court case. "In 1951, Victor Langford sued Nathaniel Wren. I can't see the full details because it's still sealed, but that means there was something between them that the courts wanted to keep hidden."

Adrian frowned. "That's not normal for a business dispute. Why seal it unless it involved something bigger?"

"Exactly." Celeste leaned forward. "What if Langford knew about the fire? What if he had something on Wren, but instead of exposing him, he tried to use it to his advantage?"

Adrian's jaw tightened. "And Vaughn, as an up-and-coming attorney, could have been involved in handling that lawsuit. If he buried evidence once, he could have done it again."

Celeste nodded, her pulse quickening. "We need to get inside that case file."

Adrian rubbed his chin, thinking. "If it's still sealed, we won't be able to access it through normal legal channels."

Celeste hesitated. "But Margaret might know something."

Adrian gave her a sharp look. "You trust her?"

"I don't know." Celeste sighed. "But she's the only one who has been trying to help us, in her own way."

Adrian exhaled, then nodded. "Let's pay her another visit."

Margaret Holloway's house sat on the edge of Port Bellingham, nestled between dense trees that made it feel isolated.

Celeste had expected Margaret to be wary when they arrived, but the older woman simply sighed and stepped aside, letting them in.

"I figured you'd be back," Margaret said, leading them into a cluttered sitting room. "You found something."

Adrian crossed his arms. "Langford and Wren had a legal battle in 1951. We think it's connected to the fire."

Margaret's expression tightened. "It is."

Celeste's breath caught. "You knew?"

Margaret sat down, rubbing her temples. "I suspected. My father spent years trying to track down the truth. He believed Langford had evidence—proof that Wren set the fire on purpose. But before he could use it, the case was sealed, and Langford disappeared from public life."

Celeste exchanged a look with Adrian. "Disappeared?"

Margaret nodded. "He left Port Bellingham suddenly, right after the lawsuit. No one saw him again."

Adrian's voice was grim. "Someone shut him up."

Margaret met his gaze. "And now they're trying to do the same to you."

A heavy silence settled over the room.

Celeste spoke first. "How do we unseal the case?"

Margaret hesitated. "That's… difficult."

"But not impossible," Adrian pressed.

Margaret exhaled. "There's a way. But you won't like it."

Celeste sat up straighter. "Tell us."

Margaret looked them both over, then finally said, "You need to go to the state archives in Olympia. The original case file is there, under strict protections. But if you can access it—" She paused. "It might have the evidence you need."

Celeste's heart pounded.

The truth was within reach.

Adrian nodded. "Then we're going to Olympia."

Margaret hesitated before reaching for a small wooden box on the coffee table. She opened it and pulled out an old key.

"This belonged to my father," she said, pressing it into Celeste's hand. "He used it for his safe deposit box at a bank in Olympia. If he found anything before he died… it might still be there."

Celeste's fingers curled around the key. "Thank you."

Margaret's expression softened. "Be careful."

The drive to Olympia took nearly two hours. Celeste spent most of it staring out the window, her thoughts racing.

If James Holloway had found something before he died, it meant they were closer than ever to proving the truth. But it also meant whoever was behind this would do anything to stop them.

Adrian drove in silence, gripping the wheel tightly.

When they finally arrived in Olympia, they had two stops to make—the state archives and the bank where James Holloway had stored his files.

Adrian parked outside the archives first. "We start here."

Celeste nodded, but an uneasy feeling settled in her gut.

Someone had been watching them.

And if they knew what Celeste and Adrian were after—

They might not be the only ones looking for these records.

As they stepped into the building, she felt it again.

That familiar, cold sense of being watched.

Someone was here.

And they weren't alone.