Chapter 6
I found Mom and Melissa at Samuel’s office.
The flash drive from the safe-deposit box sat in the center of the conference table.
Mom was crying.
Melissa stood by the window with both arms folded.
She looked at me as I entered.
“You know.”
It wasn’t a question.
I closed the door.
“Tell me why.”
Mom looked older than she had the night before.
“Your father died before he could repair the trust.”
“That doesn’t answer me.”
“He left half the voting shares to each of you. But if Melissa’s identity became public, there would have been an investigation into Sarah’s death, the hospital, the birth records, everything.”
“So you erased her?”
“I protected her.”
Melissa turned around.
“You stole my inheritance.”
“I kept you alive.”
“From whom?”
“Evelyn.”
Melissa laughed bitterly.
“Evelyn found me anyway.”
“Because Ryan led her to you.”
Mom stood.
“Thomas believed Evelyn was working with Calvin. After Calvin died, she disappeared. I thought the danger was over.”
Samuel placed a folder in front of us.
“Diane signed a directive transferring Melissa’s shares into a holding company. She believed it was temporary.”
I opened the folder.
The holding company was called Red Cedar Partners.
Its current managing director was Ryan Cole.
My husband had gained access to my sister’s stolen inheritance before he married me.
I stared at Mom.
“When did you sign this?”
“Four years ago.”
“The month after Dad died.”
“Yes.”
“And six months before I met Ryan.”
She nodded.
The handwritten date on the altered amendment finally made sense.
The signature page came from the guardianship agreement.
The transfer documents came later.
Ryan had combined pieces of both to create a weapon.
Melissa sat across from Mom.
“How much?”
Mom closed her eyes.
“Your shares were worth about eighteen million then.”
“And now?”
Samuel answered.
“Close to forty-two million.”
Melissa went silent.
I had inherited the same amount, but most of it remained tied to Hale Industries.
I lived comfortably.
I had never imagined my sister should have owned half.
Mom reached for her.
Melissa pulled back.
“No.”
“I was going to return it.”
“When?”
“When the investigation was safe.”
“It has been four years.”
“I didn’t know Red Cedar had changed managers.”
“How could you not know?”
“Because Ryan sent reports under another name.”
I thought of Ryan working late.
The locked office.
The bank transfers.
“He was taking money.”
Samuel nodded.
“At least six million is missing.”
My phone buzzed.
A message from Ryan.
The family coordinator scheduled his first visit with the children for six that evening.
I had eight hours.
“We need to go home,” I said.
Naomi shook her head.
“Not without police.”
“I need clothes for the children.”
“Someone can collect them.”
“I need to see what Ryan left behind.”
Samuel understood.
“He may have records in the house.”
Naomi did not like it, but she arranged for an off-duty officer and a private forensic accountant to accompany us.
When we arrived, Ryan was gone.
The kitchen had been cleaned.
No cake.
No papers.
No sign that my marriage had ended there.
The officer waited downstairs while the accountant examined Ryan’s home office.
I packed clothes.
Then I noticed that Lily’s favorite stuffed rabbit was missing.
She never slept without it.
I searched beneath her bed.
Instead of the rabbit, I found a small black phone.
It was powered off.
I took it downstairs.
The accountant put it in a protective bag.
“A burner phone,” he said.
“Why was it in my daughter’s room?”
He did not answer.
In Ryan’s desk, we found a hidden compartment.
It was empty except for a hotel key card and a receipt from a storage facility in Fort Worth.
The rental was under Melissa’s name.
She stared at the signature.
“I didn’t sign this.”
The accountant photographed it.
Then a car door slammed outside.
Ryan entered through the front door.
He stopped when he saw us.
“What are you doing in my office?”
“My office too,” I said.
He looked at the officer.
“This is an unlawful search.”
The officer shook his head.
“Mrs. Cole owns the residence.”
Ryan spotted the storage receipt.
His face tightened.
“That’s Melissa’s.”
“No, it isn’t,” she said.
He turned toward her.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“Why? Afraid your plan requires us to hate each other?”
“You already hated her.”
The words landed hard.
Melissa’s face changed.
Ryan smiled.
“You spent your whole life resenting Emily.”
“Because you fed every insecurity I had.”
“I met you two years ago. That resentment is much older.”
He was right.
I remembered birthdays when Melissa thought my presents were better.
The year Dad made me company spokesperson and gave Melissa a minor charity role.
The arguments after his funeral.
Ryan had not created those wounds.
He had simply found them.
Melissa’s eyes filled with shame.
I stepped beside her.
“Whatever happened before, she’s with me now.”
Ryan looked between us.
“You won’t stay that way.”
He handed me a padded envelope.
“This arrived for you.”
There was no return address.
Inside was a memory card and a note.
ASK YOUR MOTHER WHO DROVE THOMAS HOME.
Mom read it and collapsed into a chair.
Melissa caught her.
“What does it mean?”
Mom’s lips trembled.
“The night your father died, he called me from his office. He said he had proof against Evelyn.”
My father had supposedly died after losing control of his car on a rain-slick highway.
“Who drove him?” I asked.
Mom looked toward Ryan.
“Ryan did.”
I felt the blood leave my face.
Ryan laughed.
“That is insane.”
Mom pointed at him.
“You came to the house after midnight. You said Thomas had asked you to return a company car.”
“I had never met Thomas.”
“You introduced yourself as Daniel Reed.”
Ryan’s expression barely moved.
But Melissa saw it.
“What?” she whispered.
Mom continued.
“You wore glasses. Your hair was longer. But it was you.”
Ryan looked at the officer.
“This woman is confused.”
“I remember your voice,” Mom said. “I remembered it the first time Emily brought you home. Thomas was dead, and Emily was in love. I convinced myself I was wrong.”
I stared at her.
“You suspected him from the beginning?”
“I had no proof.”
“You let me marry him.”
“You were happy.”
“I married the man who may have killed Dad!”
Lily’s voice came from the front door.
“Mom?”
Everyone froze.
The family coordinator stood behind both children.
Ryan checked his watch.
It was six.
I had lost track of time.
Lily ran toward me.
The coordinator blocked her gently.
“This is Mr. Cole’s scheduled period.”
Ryan walked forward and crouched.
“Hi, princess.”
Lily did not move.
Noah stared at the envelope in my hand.
Then he looked at Ryan.
“You found Grandpa’s video.”
Ryan’s smile disappeared.
“What video?”
Noah looked at me.
“The one Grandpa made for Mom.”
I knelt.
“What are you talking about?”
“Daddy showed it to Aunt Melissa.”
Melissa shook her head.
“I never saw a video.”
Noah pointed toward the black phone in the evidence bag.
“It was on that phone.”
Ryan moved suddenly.
The officer stepped in front of him.
The forensic accountant powered on the phone using a portable charger.
A password screen appeared.
Noah spoke quietly.
“Grandpa’s birthday.”
The code worked.
There was one video file.
It showed my father sitting at his desk.
He looked exhausted.
He looked afraid.
“If you are watching this,” he said, “Ryan Cole has entered my family.”
Ryan lunged for the phone.
The officer grabbed his arm.
My father continued speaking.
“Ryan is not responsible for Calvin’s crimes.”
Ryan stopped struggling.
Then Dad looked directly into the camera.
“But he is working with Evelyn Mercer. And I believe they intend to use my daughters to finish what Calvin started.”
The screen went dark.
Everyone stared at Ryan.
He slowly pulled free of the officer.
Then he looked at me.
“You want to know the best part?”
May you like
His voice was almost calm.
“Your father recorded that video the night he died.”
