Chapter 6 - MY MOTHER'S CONFESSION
My mother didn't answer immediately.
She sat down.
For the first time in my life, she looked frightened.
“Yes,” she whispered.
The word hit harder than anything else.
“You knew?”
“I knew your father was hiding money.”
“How much?”
“I don't know.”
“You knew about the fake insurance claims?”
“No.”
“The forged guarantees?”
“No.”
“The offshore accounts?”
She nodded.
“But I didn't know why.”
I stared at her.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father made me promise.”
“And you obeyed him?”
“I was afraid.”
Everyone had been afraid.
That was becoming the family excuse.
But I didn't care anymore.
“What did Dad want you to protect?”
She opened the letter again.
“He believed someone inside the company was stealing money.”
“Who?”
“He suspected Ryan.”
Ryan looked stunned.
“I was never involved.”
“I know that now.”
My mother took a breath.
“Your father was wrong.”
“About Ryan?”
“Yes.”
“Then who?”
She looked at Mark.
My husband lowered his eyes.
“Mark.”
My stomach dropped.
“You knew?”
She nodded.
“He was already involved before you married him.”
Mark whispered:
“That's not true.”
My mother looked at him.
“You were twenty-two.”
“You're lying.”
“You met Denise's accountant.”
Mark's face changed.
I realized there was another secret.
“What happened when Mark was twenty-two?”
My mother answered:
“He discovered the accounts.”
“And?”
“He didn't expose them.”
“Why?”
“Because he was paid.”
I stared at Mark.
“How much?”
“Thirty thousand dollars.”
My husband covered his face.
I felt numb.
Thirty thousand dollars.
That was the price of his silence.
But then Mom continued.
“Your father found out.”
“What did he do?”
“He threatened to turn Mark in.”
Mark looked at me.
“I was young.”
“You were twenty-two.”
“I made a mistake.”
“And then you married me.”
“I loved you.”
I shook my head.
“Did you?”
He stepped toward me.
“Yes.”
“Then why did you keep doing this?”
He couldn't answer.
My mother finally revealed the worst part.
“Because after your father died, Mark became the only person who knew where the original ledger was.”
I looked at him.
“You had it?”
He nodded.
“Where?”
He looked toward Denise.
She whispered:
“Don't.”
Mark closed his eyes.
“In the nursery.”
My heart stopped.
“My baby's room?”
He nodded.
“Inside the wall.”
I immediately went upstairs.
The nursery smelled like baby powder and fresh paint.
Lily was asleep in her bassinet.
I looked around.
The crib.
The dresser.
The rocking chair.
Then I noticed a small section of drywall that didn't match the rest.
Daniel entered behind me.
“That's it.”
He carefully removed the panel.
A metal box was hidden inside.
Inside was the original ledger.
And beneath it was a second envelope.
This one was addressed to me.
I opened it.
The first line made my blood freeze.
Your husband was never the target.
He was the bait.
I looked at Daniel.
“What does that mean?”
He read the next page.
Someone has been using the Whitaker family for years.
They don't want the business.
They want the people who own it.
I felt dizzy.
“Who?”
The letter contained a list.
Bankers.
Insurance executives.
Attorneys.
One judge.
One police captain.
And at the bottom:
DENISE WHITAKER.
Then another name.
MARK WHITAKER.
Then a final name.
Unknown.
No identity.
Only initials.
R.V.
Daniel stared at the page.
“Those initials are familiar.”
“Who?”
He didn't answer.
Then we heard a crash downstairs.
My mother screamed.
I ran toward the stairs.
A man was standing in the living room.
He held the ledger.
And he was smiling.
“Give me the envelope,” he said.
I froze.
Because I knew him.
He had attended my wedding.
He had held Lily after she was born.
May you like
He was Mark's attorney.
And now he was pointing a gun at my mother.
