Chapter 4 - THE MOTIVE NO ONE SAW
Douglas had been my father’s business partner—and his biggest failure. For years, Dad had bailed him out of bad investments, covered his gambling debts, and given him chance after chance to do better. But Douglas had grown bitter and greedy. He’d wanted full control of their company, and he’d known that if Dad died, Mom would inherit everything. If Mom were gone too… the fortune would pass straight to him as the closest living adult relative.
That night, he’d come to ask for one last massive loan. When Dad refused, an argument turned deadly. He’d planned every detail: timing the attack for when the house was quiet, using a knife from Mom’s own kitchen, placing it where police would find it first, and leaving her robe stained with evidence she could never explain.
He’d counted on everyone seeing exactly what he wanted them to see—a wife pushed too far, a crime of passion, a case closed fast. He’d counted on no one remembering a toddler who’d stood at the top of the stairs.
