Chapter 11: The Bride Had Been Hiding More Than an Affair
Daniel sat down slowly.
“Lauren has the recording?””
Detective Carter nodded.
“We believe she has a copy.””
Thomas shook his head.
“That doesn't make sense. She was trying to obtain the trust, not destroy the people who could give it to her.””
The detective opened her notebook.
“According to the financial records, Lauren contacted Mr. James Whitmore several times over the past year. She also received money from accounts connected to him.””
I looked at Daniel.
He stared at the floor.
“Was she working with my uncle?””
“That's what we're investigating.””
Robert reached for his son's hand.
“Danny, I'm sorry.””
Daniel looked up.
“Why are you apologizing?””
“Because I wanted you to have a normal life. Instead, I left you surrounded by people who wanted to use you.””
Daniel shook his head.
“You didn't leave us. They took you away.””
Robert's eyes filled with tears.
I touched his shoulder.
“We're together now. That's what matters.””
But Detective Carter wasn't finished.
“There's something else. Lauren appears to have arranged a meeting with James for tomorrow morning. The location is a private storage facility outside Charlotte.””
Daniel stood.
“What are they meeting about?””
“The recording, possibly. We don't know yet.””
Thomas looked at Robert.
“Do you know what was on the original recording?””
Robert nodded slowly.
“I heard it once. Before my memory became worse.””
“What did it say?””
Robert looked toward the window.
“It recorded the conversation between James and Victor Shaw.””
Daniel leaned forward.
“And?””
Robert closed his eyes.
“James told Victor that if Robert survived, none of them would be safe.””
The room fell silent.
Then Robert added:
“But Victor said something else.””
“What?””
“He said James wasn't the one who had given the final order.””
Detective Carter stepped closer.
“Who did?””
Robert looked at me.
Then at Daniel.
“I never found out.””
That evening, Daniel and I sat beside Robert's bed.
Thomas had gone downstairs to speak with the police.
The residence was quiet.
Outside, the trees moved gently in the evening wind.
Robert held my hand.
“Margaret?””
“Yes?””
“Do you still have the little blue dress?””
I smiled through my tears.
“The one I wore when we first met?””
He nodded.
I laughed softly.
“You remember that?””
“Of course.””
“You spilled coffee on it.””
He smiled.
“I was nervous.””
“You told me it was the most beautiful dress you'd ever seen.””
“It was.””
I rested my head against his shoulder.
For a few minutes, we were twenty-five again.
Then Robert whispered, “Did you ever remarry?””
I looked up.
“No.””
“Why?””
I brushed the silver hair away from his forehead.
“Because I was already married to the man I wanted.””
He closed his eyes.
Daniel watched us quietly.
Then his phone vibrated.
He checked the screen.
His expression changed.
“Mom.””
I sat up.
“What?””
“It's Lauren.””
He showed me the message.
Daniel, I know you hate me right now. But there's something you need to understand. Your mother isn't innocent in all this.
I felt my stomach tighten.
Daniel typed a reply.
What do you mean?
The response came almost immediately.
Ask her why she received money from your father's company after he died.
Daniel looked at me.
I shook my head.
“I never received money from the company.””
Another message appeared.
I have bank statements. Meet me tomorrow. Alone.
Daniel put the phone down.
“She's trying to manipulate me.””
Robert slowly shook his head.
“Maybe.””
I looked at him.
“What do you mean?””
Robert's expression had become serious.
“After the accident, there was one thing I never understood. Someone was making regular deposits into an account connected to Margaret.””
I stared at him.
“What account?””
“I don't know. I was told the money was being sent to support you.””
“By whom?””
Robert hesitated.
“James.””
I stood.
“That's impossible. I never received anything.””
Thomas entered the room just in time to hear the last sentence.
“What money?””
Robert explained.
Thomas frowned.
“Margaret, did you ever receive payments from Reed-Bennett Construction?””
“No.””
“Did you have a joint account with Robert?””
“Yes. But I closed it after his death.””
Thomas nodded.
“Do you remember the bank?””
“First National.””
Thomas took out his phone.
“I'll check the records.””
Daniel looked at him.
“Can you do that?””
“Not without authorization. But Detective Carter can request them.””
He stepped into the corridor.
I sat beside Robert again.
“Why would James say he was sending money to me?””
Robert looked exhausted.
“Because he needed you to believe the company was taking care of you.””
I shook my head.
“I never asked him for anything.””
“I know.””
Daniel looked toward the door.
“Then Lauren knows about these payments?””
“Possibly,” Robert said.
Daniel's phone vibrated again.
This time, it was a photograph.
It showed an old bank statement.
The account holder was listed as:
*MARGARET BENNETT.*
The transaction history showed monthly deposits for twenty-two years.
Each deposit was exactly $8,500.
Daniel stared at the screen.
“Mom, that's over two million dollars.””
I felt dizzy.
“I never saw that money.””
He enlarged the photograph.
The account number was familiar.
It belonged to the joint account Robert and I had opened when Daniel was born.
But I had closed it after the funeral.
Or at least, I thought I had.
Daniel looked at the final transaction.
It had been made just three days earlier.
The description read:
*FAMILY SUPPORT — FINAL PAYMENT.*
I covered my mouth.
“Someone has been using my name.””
Robert gripped my hand.
“Margaret, I think I know why.””
He reached for the notebook.
“Look at the final page.””
Daniel turned it over.
There was a handwritten entry dated six months before the accident.
If anything happens to me, the money sent to Margaret must remain untouched. It is not for her. It is evidence.
Daniel frowned.
“Evidence of what?””
Robert looked toward Thomas.
Thomas's face had gone pale.
“Robert,” he whispered, “you never told me that.””
Robert looked at me.
Then he spoke the words that made my blood run cold.
“The money was never meant to support Margaret.””
May you like
He paused.
“It was meant to pay the person who helped keep me hidden.””
