Chapter 8 - THE WOMAN MY FATHER TRIED TO ERASE
The photograph was thirty-two years old.
My mother stood beside William Bennett, smiling while she held me as a newborn.
I recognized her immediately.
Catherine Cole.
She died when I was twelve.
Or at least, that was what my father told me.
I stared at the photograph.
"Why was your grandfather holding me?"
Nora looked equally confused.
Margaret slowly sat down.
For the first time since I'd met her, the formidable woman appeared frightened.
"Evan, there's something you deserve to know."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"Your mother and William were business partners."
I frowned.
"In the bakery?"
Margaret shook her head.
"No. In Cole Marine Holdings."
I stared.
"That's impossible."
"Your mother invested the original capital."
I laughed bitterly.
"My father founded the company."
"Your mother financed it."
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
Margaret continued.
"Catherine came from a family with substantial shipping interests. She invested money inherited from her grandmother."
I looked down at the photograph.
"Then why wasn't her name in the company records?"
Margaret hesitated.
"Because Charles insisted the business operate under his name."
My jaw tightened.
"Did she agree?"
"At first."
"And later?"
"She discovered financial irregularities."
The room went silent.
Another mother.
Another set of secrets.
Another woman whose work had disappeared beneath a powerful man's reputation.
I thought about everything I'd been taught.
Charles Cole built his empire alone.
He made every important decision.
He turned a struggling business into a fortune.
Apparently, the story wasn't entirely true.
"Did my mother leave any documents?" I asked.
Margaret nodded.
"William kept copies."
Nora stepped closer.
"What happened to Catherine?"
Margaret looked toward me.
Her expression softened.
"She discovered Richard Harper was diverting money."
I felt cold.
"And?"
"She planned to challenge the transactions."
"Then she died?"
Margaret nodded.
"Your father told everyone it was a car accident."
I stared.
"It was."
"That was the official conclusion."
I felt rage rise.
For years, I'd believed my mother's death was a terrible accident.
Now I was learning she'd been investigating the same people who wanted Nora's property.
But Margaret didn't accuse anyone of murder.
She simply handed me a folder.
Medical reports.
Insurance records.
A police investigation.
And several unanswered questions.
I took a slow breath.
"We need an independent review."
Margaret nodded.
"Yes."
Then Nora reached toward the photograph.
She studied my mother's face.
"She's beautiful."
My throat tightened.
"She was."
Nora smiled sadly.
"You have her eyes."
For some reason, those words hurt more than anything else.
I looked away.
Then my phone rang.
Marcus.
I answered.
"Boss, we found something about Richard Harper."
"What?"
"His people are moving money out of several companies."
My expression hardened.
"How much?"
"Millions."
"Where?"
Marcus hesitated.
"An offshore trust account."
I frowned.
"Whose trust?"
He swallowed.
"Catherine Cole's."
My mother's name.
Still attached to an account decades after her death.
And according to Marcus, the account had received a payment that morning.
May you like
From Bennett Events.
For exactly four million dollars.
