Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Carried Two Deaths
Nora Reed had spent her entire life believing her grandmother was a gentle woman who made spaghetti and knitted scarves.
Now Dominic was accusing her of murder.
She stared at him.
"You're lying."
Dominic didn't answer.
I stood between them.
"Explain yourself."
Dominic looked exhausted.
"Vincent Vale had enemies. Evelyn was one of them."
"Why?"
"Because she knew he ordered your mother's death."
I felt sick.
"Then why didn't she go to the police?"
"She tried."
Nora's expression changed.
"What?"
Dominic continued.
"Her original statement disappeared. The detective handling the case was on your father's payroll."
I clenched my jaw.
Another crime.
Another lie.
Another piece of the empire I'd inherited.
Dominic looked at Nora.
"Evelyn spent years gathering evidence."
"Then why would she kill Vincent?" I demanded.
Dominic hesitated.
"Because he threatened her family."
Nora stepped forward.
"My grandmother would never murder anyone."
Dominic looked at her.
"People do terrible things when they're afraid."
I raised my hand.
"Enough."
I looked toward the cassette recorder.
"We have evidence. We don't need speculation."
Nora nodded.
For the first time, I saw her truly frightened.
Not of me.
Of the possibility that the woman who raised her had lived a life filled with secrets.
We brought the recorder to my study.
A technician transferred the aging tape to a digital file.
The audio crackled.
Then my mother's voice filled the room.
"My name is Margaret Vale. I'm recording this because I believe my husband intends to kill me."
My knees weakened.
Nora reached for the chair beside me.
I sat.
My mother continued.
"Vincent has been stealing from employee pension funds and using our shipping companies to conceal the transfers."
I closed my eyes.
"I confronted him. He said I was putting our family in danger."
A pause.
"But the real danger is what Arthur will become if nobody stops this."
My throat closed.
Then I heard another voice.
My father's.
"Margaret, turn that thing off."
She refused.
"Not until you promise to leave Arthur out of this."
A chair scraped.
Then Vincent spoke the words that destroyed me.
"The boy belongs to me. He'll inherit everything, including the blood."
The recording ended abruptly.
I covered my face.
For twenty-three years, I'd believed my mother wanted me to become stronger.
Ruthless.
Feared.
But she'd wanted the opposite.
She'd wanted me free.
Nora sat quietly beside me.
Then the technician opened a second file.
This recording was dated six years earlier.
The night my father died.
A man's voice spoke.
"Vincent, the accounts are empty."
My father's voice answered.
"Then take it from the workers."
The first man replied:
"Arthur will find out."
Vincent laughed.
"Arthur believes whatever I tell him."
I recognized the other voice.
Dominic.
Then came a third voice.
Evelyn Reed.
"Not anymore."
A sharp noise followed.
Someone shouted.
The recording stopped.
May you like
And Dominic whispered:
"Arthur, your father wasn't the only person who died that night."
