Chapter 5 - THE BRIDE WHO DIDN’T KNOW HER HUSBAND
Lily was not answering.
Evelyn felt every second like pressure against her ribs.
Vincent’s team reached the bank first.
Too late.
Nathan Cole had used Lily’s identification to access B-417.
The box was empty.
Security footage showed him leaving with a flat black case.
Lily was beside him.
Alive.
Upset.
But walking willingly.
“That matters,” Vincent said.
Evelyn looked at him.
“How?”
“He hasn’t kidnapped her yet.”
“Yet?”
“I’m not comforting you badly.”
She almost laughed despite herself.
Then Mara found the black case in older trust records.
Inside should have been bearer certificates representing the Mercer Restitution Account.
Original value: forty-two million dollars.
Invested over nineteen years.
Current estimated value:
One hundred sixty-eight million.
Evelyn stared.
“No.”
Vincent looked equally stunned.
His father had taken money stolen from the Moretti organization and placed it into a trust intended for Helen Hart.
Why?
The answer waited in another letter.
Anthony wrote:
Helen,
Thomas Mercer took more than money. Three men died covering his theft. I cannot return what happened. I can only keep the recovered assets away from men who would use them the same way.
If Evelyn reaches thirty and Thomas’s family has not found her, transfer the account to her quietly.
Evelyn’s throat tightened.
Her mother had been protecting her from a fortune she never knew existed.
Grant had married her just before she turned thirty.
She was now thirty-one.
Timing.
Everything became ugly.
Vincent said:
“He knew when the trust matured.”
“How?”
“His father may have told him.”
“Thomas is dead.”
“So we believe.”
Of course.
Evelyn looked at him.
“Please don’t tell me another dead parent is alive.”
Vincent almost smiled.
“I’ll try.”
Marco entered.
“We found Nathan’s car.”
“Where?”
“Wellesley commuter lot.”
Empty.
Inside were Lily’s shoes.
Her bouquet.
And blood on the passenger seat.
Evelyn stopped breathing.
“Whose?”
“Unknown.”
She stood.
Vincent stepped in front of her.
“Don’t.”
“My sister—”
“We find her faster if you stay functional.”
“I am functional.”
“You’re shaking.”
“I can shake and function.”
That answer made something flash in his eyes.
Respect.
“Fair.”
Then Evelyn’s phone rang.
Nathan.
She answered immediately.
“Where is Lily?”
Nathan sounded panicked.
“I’m sorry.”
“Where is she?”
“Grant took her.”
Vincent moved closer.
“Put him on speaker.”
Nathan continued.
“I thought Grant only wanted the documents.”
“You thought?”
“He said the money belonged to his family.”
“You helped him?”
“Yes.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Lily had married a man who betrayed her before the cake was cold.
“Where are you?”
“I’m hiding.”
“From who?”
“Grant.”
Nathan’s breathing came fast.
“I opened the case. The certificates weren’t there.”
Everyone froze.
“What?”
“The case was empty except for a note.”
Vincent frowned.
“What note?”
Nathan read:
IF A MERCER OPENS THIS BOX, THE REAL ACCOUNT HAS ALREADY MOVED.
Evelyn looked at Mara.
Her mother had anticipated them.
Nathan continued:
“Grant lost it. He hit Lily.”
Evelyn’s vision narrowed.
“He what?”
“I tried to stop him.”
Blood in the car.
Nathan’s.
“I got her into my car. We made it to the station.”
“Then?”
“Grant’s men were waiting.”
Vincent’s expression hardened.
“How many?”
“Three.”
“Where did they take her?”
“I don’t know.”
Evelyn’s hand shook so violently the phone tapped against the table.
Nathan whispered:
“Evelyn, I’m sorry.”
“You should be.”
“I know.”
“Why did you marry her?”
Silence.
Then:
“At first? Because Grant offered to fund my firm.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“At first?”
“I fell in love with her.”
“How convenient.”
“I know how it sounds.”
“It sounds like truth arrived too late.”
Nathan cried.
Maybe.
She didn’t care.
Then he said:
“Grant mentioned a second location.”
“What?”
“A boathouse in Marblehead.”
Vincent looked at Marco.
Teams moved.
Nathan continued:
“He said Lily is leverage until you sign something.”
Evelyn whispered:
“I’m not signing anything.”
“Good.”
Nathan’s voice became urgent.
“Because he doesn’t need your signature anymore.”
“What?”
“He has a video.”
“A video of what?”
“Your mother.”
Evelyn stopped.
Nathan continued:
“Grant showed it to me months ago.”
Helen Hart.
Alive?
No.
Evelyn couldn’t take another dead parent.
Nathan corrected:
“It was recorded before she died.”
The footage showed Helen naming the location of the real restitution account.
Grant had possessed the video for months.
“Where?” Evelyn asked.
Nathan hesitated.
“Inside the Moretti family foundation.”
Vincent went completely still.
“What foundation?”
Nathan answered:
May you like
“The Harbor Children’s Trust.”
The same charity where Evelyn and Vincent met eleven months earlier.
