Chapter 4
I thought I’d heard every family secret by now.
I was wrong.
“You have a sister?” I stared at her. “You never mentioned a sister.”
“Because she’s dead to me.” My mother tried to sit up, fell back against the pillows. “She was dead to all of us. Thirty years ago, she disappeared. Took money from my father’s business. Ruined him. And then she vanished.”
Sarah stepped forward.
“Evelyn. If she’s your sister, then she’s Richard’s sister-in-law. She would have known about the inheritance from your father. She would have known how the family finances worked.”
My mother nodded slowly.
“Victoria was always the smart one. The charming one. The one who could talk anyone into anything. My father adored her. Gave her everything. And then she stole two hundred thousand dollars from his company in the middle of the night and left a note saying she was starting a new life in Europe. The scandal destroyed him. He had a heart attack six months later and died.”
She paused.
“I haven’t spoken her name since the funeral.”
I tried to process this.
An aunt I’d never known existed.
Who’d stolen from my grandfather.
Destroyed him.
And now, thirty years later, she was back.
Using my father to steal from my mother.
Almost killing her in the process.
“How is this possible?” I said. “If she’s been gone thirty years, how did she find Dad? How did she convince him to do… all this?”
“Because she knows exactly what buttons to push.” My mother’s voice was bitter. “She knew Richard always resented me for having money he didn’t earn. She knew he felt small next to me. She would have fed that. Made him believe I was going to leave him with nothing. Made him believe drugging me was the only way to protect himself.”
“And the money?” Sarah asked. “The two hundred and fifty thousand that was transferred?”
“That’s just the beginning.” My mother closed her eyes. “There were seven accounts total. Four million dollars. If Victoria has access to them, she could drain every last cent before the banks even realize what’s happening.”
I pulled out my phone.
“I’ll call the bank first thing in the morning. Freeze everything.”
“It won’t work.” My mother shook her head. “She’s already ahead of us. She’s been planning this for months. Probably longer. By the time the sun comes up, the money will be gone. Laundered through three different countries. Impossible to trace.”
I looked at Sarah.
She was already typing on her phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Running Victoria’s name through every database I can access. Public records. Property deeds. Corporate filings. If she’s been back in the country, there will be a trail.” She looked up. “Your mother’s maiden name?”
“Crawford.”
Sarah typed faster.
Five minutes later, she stopped.
“Got something. Victoria Crawford. Born 1967. Boston address until 1995, then nothing until… two years ago. She incorporated a consulting firm in Delaware called Crawford Strategic Solutions. Listed address is a PO box. But there’s a secondary contact name.”
She turned the screen toward me.
*Megan Hale.*
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Megan Hale.
My cousin.
My father’s brother’s daughter.
The girl I’d grown up with.
Who’d been working as my mother’s personal assistant for the last three years.
“No.” I shook my head. “Megan? That’s not possible. She’s family.”
“Family steals from family all the time, Daniel.” Sarah’s voice was gentle but firm. “She had access to everything. Your mother’s bank statements. Her passwords. Her schedule. She would have known exactly which accounts had the most money. Exactly when Evelyn was alone.”
My mother was staring at the ceiling.
“Megan,” she whispered. “I gave her a job when no one else would. I paid for her apartment. I treated her like a daughter.”
“And she’s been working for Victoria this entire time,” Sarah said. “Two generations of Crawford women. Planning to take everything you have.”
I stood up.
I needed to move.
I needed to do something.
“Where is Megan now?”
Sarah was already checking.
“Her apartment in Cambridge. I have the address.”
“Let’s go.”
“Daniel.” My mother grabbed my wrist. “Be careful. If Victoria is really behind this, she won’t hesitate to hurt you. She never has.”
I squeezed her hand.
“I’ll be fine. Sarah’s with me.”
We drove to Cambridge in twenty minutes.
Megan’s apartment was on the third floor of a brick building near Harvard Square.
The lights were on.
I banged on the door.
No answer.
I banged louder.
“Megan! Open up! It’s Daniel!”
Still nothing.
I tried the handle.
Unlocked.
I pushed the door open.
The apartment was dark inside except for the glow of a laptop on the kitchen table.
“Megan?”
We stepped inside.
The place was a wreck.
Drawers pulled open.
Clothes scattered across the floor.
Empty suitcases by the door.
She’d been packing in a hurry.
And she was gone.
On the kitchen table, next to the open laptop, was a single envelope.
With my name written on it in Megan’s handwriting.
I opened it.
Inside was a note.
*Dear Daniel,*
*By the time you read this, I’ll be on a plane. Victoria told me you’d figure it out eventually. She said you were always the smart one in the family. Too bad you were also the most trusting.*
*Your mother had it coming. She destroyed Victoria’s life thirty years ago. She called her a thief and a liar and turned the whole family against her. All because Victoria wanted what was rightfully hers—half of everything your grandfather left behind. Evelyn changed the will, you know. After he died. She made sure Victoria got nothing. Not a dime. Not even a photograph.*
*So we took it back. Every last penny. Your father was easy to manipulate. He hated feeling like he lived in Evelyn’s shadow. All we had to do was tell him she was going to divorce him and leave him penniless, and he did whatever we asked. The pills were his idea, actually. Said it was kinder than a messy divorce.*
*Don’t bother looking for us. We’re going somewhere no one will ever find us. And don’t worry about your father. He’ll take the fall for everything. That was the deal from the beginning.*
*One last thing. Tell your mother Victoria says hello. And that she finally got her revenge.*
*— Megan*
I dropped the note.
Sarah picked it up.
Read it quickly.
“Your mother changed the will,” she said quietly. “Thirty years ago. She cut Victoria out entirely.”
“According to Megan.”
“Either way, it explains everything. Victoria’s motive. Megan’s involvement. Why your father went along with it.” She looked around the ransacked apartment. “They’re gone, Daniel. The money, Megan, Victoria. All of it.”
I stared at the open laptop.
The screen was black.
But the power light was still on.
I hit a key.
The screen woke up.
And I froze.
It was showing a live feed.
May you like
From a camera.
Pointed directly at my mother’s hospital room.
