Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW EVERYTHING
My mother was seventy-four years old.
She lived alone in a quiet suburb outside Chicago.
When I called her at midnight, she answered immediately.
“Elena?”
“Mom, we need to talk.”
Silence.
Then:
“Did you find the box?”
My heart stopped.
Dominic looked at me.
“She knew,” I whispered.
My mother sighed.
“I was hoping you would never open it.”
“Dad's recording said Daniel knows I'm alive.”
“I know.”
“And Uncle Robert is alive.”
Another silence.
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
“How long have you known?”
“Six years.”
My voice cracked.
“You lied to me.”
“I was protecting you.”
“From whom?”
“Everyone.”
That answer frightened me more than anything else.
We drove to her house before dawn.
She opened the door wearing a pale robe, her face exhausted.
The moment she saw Dominic, she nodded.
“I always wondered when you would finally tell him.”
“Tell me what?” Dominic asked.
She stepped aside.
“Come in.”
In the living room, she opened an old cabinet.
Inside was a collection of newspaper clippings.
My father's death.
The Hayes company.
Daniel's appointment as CEO.
And one article about a warehouse fire.
The date was six months before my father died.
“What happened here?” I asked.
Mom pointed to a photograph.
“Your father discovered someone was stealing from the company.”
“Daniel?”
“No.”
I looked at her.
“Robert?”
She shook her head.
“Both of them.”
My stomach tightened.
“Then why did Dad blame Daniel?”
“Because Daniel was only the visible part of it.”
She handed me another photograph.
A group of men stood outside a private club.
Among them was Robert.
Preston's father.
And a third man.
Dominic stared at him.
“That is my father.”
I looked at him.
His face was unreadable.
“My father knew your family?”
“Yes.”
Mom nodded.
“They were all part of an investment group called Monarch.”
“What did it do?”
“Officially? Real estate and transportation.”
“And unofficially?”
Mom's eyes filled with fear.
“They manipulated companies into bankruptcy, bought their assets cheaply, and used stolen information to destroy competitors.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“Your father helped them?”
“My husband tried to leave.”
“That's why he died?”
Mom didn't answer.
She didn't have to.
Then she looked at me.
“Your father discovered they intended to use your trust.”
“My trust?”
“Yes.”
She pulled out a document.
“Your grandmother established it before you were born. It gave you controlling rights over several family assets.”
I stared at the pages.
“That means Daniel never had full control.”
“Correct.”
“Then why hasn't anyone challenged him?”
“Because the original trust document disappeared.”
I looked at the black ledger in my hands.
“You mean this?”
Mom's face went pale.
“No.”
“What?”
“That ledger proves the fraud.”
She leaned closer.
“But the original trust proves ownership.”
“Where is it?”
She whispered:
“Your father gave it to someone he trusted.”
“Who?”
My mother looked at Dominic.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then she said:
“His closest friend.”
Dominic's face changed.
“Who?”
My mother whispered a name.
“Marcus Vale.”
Dominic's father.
The room became completely silent.
My husband stepped backward.
“My father died twelve years ago.”
“I know.”
“And you think he had the trust?”
“He did.”
Dominic looked at me.
“Then someone else must have it now.”
My mother nodded.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
She reached into the cabinet.
Before she could answer, a gunshot cracked outside.
The window shattered.
Dominic pulled me to the floor.
Security rushed into the room.
My mother screamed.
When the noise stopped, we heard tires racing away.
Dominic ran to the window.
On the street, a black sedan disappeared around the corner.
My mother slowly stood.
Her hands were trembling.
She looked at me.
“They know we found the ledger.”
May you like
Then she whispered the final part.
“And now they know where the trust is.”
