Chapter 6 - The Money Warren Never Recovered
Douglas denied it immediately.
“That was never proven.”
Rita laughed bitterly.
“You spent fifteen years saying that as if it made you innocent.”
I gripped the kitchen island.
Warren had never told me.
Not once.
Four hundred thousand dollars was not a forgotten argument.
“Explain.”
Douglas looked toward the foyer.
Malcolm quietly closed the door.
Douglas’s shoulders dropped.
Years earlier, Warren had invested in a boutique coastal development with Douglas and two other partners.
The project collapsed.
At least, that was what everyone had been told.
According to Douglas, environmental delays and financing problems destroyed it.
According to Warren, nearly four hundred thousand dollars vanished through consulting fees paid to a company Douglas secretly controlled.
Warren threatened litigation.
Then stopped.
“Why?” Carter asked.
Douglas looked at Kendall.
“Because she had just started dating you.”
I felt physically sick.
Warren had chosen not to start a war that might destroy Carter’s relationship.
My husband had sacrificed money for family peace.
Exactly what I had spent years doing.
Exactly what Kendall expected me to continue doing.
Carter sat down hard.
“Dad knew?”
“Yes,” I said quietly.
“And he said nothing to me?”
“He probably thought he was protecting you.”
My son stared at the floor.
“I’m starting to hate that word.”
So was I.
Douglas pointed toward the scattered documents.
“This has nothing to do with today.”
“It has everything to do with today,” Malcolm said.
“If Warren documented his concerns, there may be information about your past financial conduct in that bank box.”
Douglas’s eyes narrowed.
“I don’t care what’s in it.”
He cared.
Too much.
I could see it.
I also understood something else.
“How did Warren’s letter get into your carton?”
Douglas didn’t answer.
“Kendall?”
“I don’t know.”
Rita finally whispered, “He went through your office.”
My head snapped toward Douglas.
“When?”
“Last Christmas.”
Kendall looked horrified.
“Dad?”
Rita continued.
“Donna was outside with the children. Carter and Kendall were helping in the kitchen. Douglas disappeared upstairs.”
“I was looking for a bathroom.”
“You were gone twenty minutes.”
Douglas spun toward her.
“Enough!”
“No. Not enough.”
Rita’s voice broke.
“I spent my entire marriage believing loyalty meant helping you hide every bad choice you made.”
Her tears came freely now.
“It doesn’t.”
Douglas stormed toward the door.
This time nobody stopped him.
He dragged his suitcase after him.
“Rita!”
She didn’t move.
He stared at her.
“You coming?”
Rita looked down at her luggage.
Then at me.
“No.”
Douglas’s face went blank.
“What?”
“I’m not going anywhere with you tonight.”
He left alone.
The front door slammed.
For several seconds, the only sound was Rita crying.
Then my phone buzzed.
A security notification.
Motion detected upstairs.
I frowned.
Everyone who had entered the house was standing in the kitchen.
I opened the camera.
My upstairs study appeared.
The desk drawer was open.
Then a figure crossed the screen.
A teenage boy.
I didn’t know him.
Carter leaned over my shoulder.
“Who is that?”
Before I could answer, the camera showed the boy holding something he had just removed from my safe.
May you like
A small brass key.
The key to Warren’s bank box.
