Chapter 8: The Woman Who Had Been Watching Megan
Patricia Collins refused to meet us at the hotel.
She insisted on a location where nobody from the Peterson family would expect to find her.
At 2:15 that afternoon, Zoe's SUV pulled into the underground parking garage of a private office building near the Chicago River.
I carried Lily in my arms.
She had fallen asleep during the drive.
Zoe walked beside me, while Rebecca followed with a folder containing the fabricated warrant and the private security contract.
Daniel had arranged for two additional security professionals to accompany us.
"Do you know Patricia?"" I asked Zoe.
"Professionally. She's attended several Bennett Global events.""
"Is she involved in the acquisition?""
"No. Andrew is.""
"Then why would she know about the Peterson accounts?""
Zoe glanced toward the elevator.
"Because she's been investigating her husband.""
The elevator opened on the twenty-first floor.
A woman stood near the reception desk.
She was tall, elegant, and looked as though she hadn't slept in days.
Her blonde hair was pulled into a loose bun.
When she saw me, she approached immediately.
"Chloe?""
"Patricia?""
She nodded.
Then her eyes moved to Lily.
"Is that your daughter?""
"Yes.""
Patricia's expression changed.
"I heard what happened at Thanksgiving. I'm sorry.""
I stiffened.
"How did you hear about that?""
"Megan called Andrew after it happened. She was furious.""
"What did she tell him?""
Patricia hesitated.
"That you had attacked her and that your daughter had caused a scene.""
I almost laughed.
"Of course.""
Patricia led us into a private conference room.
On the table were several documents, a laptop, and a thick envelope.
She closed the door.
"I've been married to Andrew for eighteen years," she began.
"For most of that time, I believed he was an ambitious businessman who occasionally made questionable decisions.""
She opened the envelope.
"Then I found out about Megan.""
Inside were photographs.
Megan and Andrew at restaurants.
Megan and Andrew entering a hotel.
Megan and Andrew sitting together in a private dining room.
The dates stretched back nearly two years.
I looked away.
"Why are you showing me this?""
"Because their relationship wasn't just personal.""
She placed another document on the table.
It was a copy of an agreement between Andrew Collins and Peterson Development Holdings.
The document described an arrangement involving several properties and a planned transfer of assets.
"Andrew promised Megan that he would help the Peterson family restructure their real estate portfolio," Patricia explained.
"In exchange, he expected a financial interest in the properties.""
Zoe leaned forward.
"Was Bennett Global aware of this arrangement?""
"No. Andrew used a separate investment vehicle.""
"Was company money involved?""
Patricia nodded.
"I found transfers from an account connected to one of his investment subsidiaries.""
Zoe's expression hardened.
"That's serious.""
"There's more.""
Patricia opened her laptop.
She played an audio recording.
Megan's voice filled the room.
"Andrew, I don't care what Frank promised you. I want the house transferred before the end of the month.""
Andrew answered.
"That's not possible until the ownership issue is resolved.""
"Then resolve it.""
"Chloe still owns the company.""
Megan laughed.
"Mark said he can handle her.""
I stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
Andrew said, "You need to be careful. Frank is getting nervous. If Chloe discovers what her father left behind, the entire arrangement collapses.""
Megan replied:
"Then we make sure she never gets the chance.""
The recording ended.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then I asked the question that had been burning inside me.
"Did Megan know my father was alive?""
Patricia looked down.
"Yes.""
"How?""
"Andrew told her. He was present at a meeting with Frank when they discussed the old investigation.""
I gripped the edge of the table.
"Did she know about the accident?""
Patricia nodded slowly.
"She knew the official story was false.""
Zoe looked at her.
"Do you have evidence connecting her to the attempted murder?""
"Not directly. But I have something that might help.""
She opened another file.
It contained a photograph of a handwritten note.
The note was dated eleven years earlier.
Its message was short.
Michael must disappear before the documents reach the authorities. Frank has agreed to handle it. Make sure the daughter never gets involved.
The initials at the bottom were M.P.
I stared.
"Megan Peterson.""
Patricia nodded.
"That's what I believe.""
Rebecca immediately photographed the document.
"We need to establish where this came from and authenticate it.""
Patricia slid a small USB drive across the table.
"I have the original email chain. The note was attached to a message from Megan to Andrew.""
Zoe picked up the drive.
"Why are you giving us this?""
Patricia looked at me.
"Because I have a daughter.""
Her voice cracked.
"She's sixteen. I found out that Andrew has been telling Megan he wants to leave us and start a new life. He has been using our daughter's future inheritance to finance their arrangements.""
She wiped her eyes.
"I don't want my daughter growing up believing that people can destroy families and get away with it.""
I looked at her.
For the first time, I understood why she had been willing to risk everything by contacting me.
She wasn't just exposing an affair.
She was trying to protect her child.
"Thank you," I said quietly.
Patricia nodded.
Then she looked toward Lily.
"There's one more reason I called you.""
She pulled a photograph from the envelope.
It showed Megan standing beside a fireplace in the Peterson brownstone.
Andrew was behind her.
But something else was visible.
A framed photograph sitting on the mantel.
My father.
Alive.
I recognized the date written on the back.
It was from three weeks ago.
"Where did you get this?""
"Andrew sent it to Megan. He told her that Michael had been seen near the property.""
My heart began pounding.
"Was my father at the house?""
Patricia nodded.
"Apparently, he went there to retrieve something.""
"What?""
She handed me a final document.
It was a handwritten inventory of items supposedly stored in Frank's study.
One line had been highlighted.
*Original accident investigation file — concealed behind the grandfather clock.*
I looked at Zoe.
"The photograph Lily saw...""
"Could have been connected to this," she said.
I remembered Thomas telling us that Lily had found an envelope behind the photograph.
But why would a five-year-old's innocent question about a picture make Megan so furious?
Then Patricia answered.
"Andrew told me something else. Megan believed your daughter had seen the envelope because she recognized the man in the photograph.""
I looked at Lily.
"She's five. She wouldn't understand.""
Patricia shook her head.
"Maybe not. But your daughter apparently asked Megan why the man in the picture looked like the man in her grandmother's old photographs.""
My breath caught.
My grandmother had shown Lily photographs of my father.
Lily knew his face.
And Megan knew it.
Suddenly, the slap at Thanksgiving seemed less like an impulsive act of cruelty.
It seemed like an attempt to silence a child who had recognized a secret.
Zoe stood.
"We need to get that file.""
Rebecca immediately objected.
"We cannot enter the property and start removing documents. We need lawful access and proper preservation procedures.""
Patricia looked at her laptop.
"Then you'll want to see this.""
She opened a message from Andrew.
It had been sent less than an hour earlier.
*ANDREW: Frank says the study is being cleared tonight. The clock is going to storage. Whatever Michael left behind will disappear before Monday.*
I checked the time.
It was Saturday.
They were moving the evidence tonight.
Then Patricia read the next message.
Her face went pale.
*ANDREW: Megan says the little girl saw too much. Frank wants the problem handled before Michael comes back.*
I felt Lily stir in my arms.
I kissed her forehead.
And I made a decision.
"Rebecca, get the authorities involved.""
She nodded.
Zoe picked up her phone.
"Daniel, I want every relevant document sent to the investigators immediately.""
Patricia stood.
"Chloe, there's something you should know.""
I looked at her.
"Andrew didn't just have an affair with Megan.""
She swallowed.
"He was planning to marry her.""
I frowned.
"He's married.""
"Not anymore, apparently. He filed for divorce last week.""
Then she handed me one last photograph.
It showed Megan wearing a diamond engagement ring.
On the back, someone had written:
To my future wife. Once Chloe is out of the way, everything will finally belong to us.
May you like
I looked at the date.
It was three days before Thanksgiving.
