Chapter 14: The Last Lie Before the Truth
Edward stood behind Nia with one hand gripping her shoulder.
She looked exhausted.
Her hair was tangled, her blouse torn, and a dark bruise covered her cheek.
But the gun in her hand was steady.
"Put it down, Nia," I said.
She shook her head.
"Don't come closer.""
Edward smiled.
"Listen to your wife, Marcus.""
I stared at him.
"You've been doing this for years.""
"Doing what?""
"Stealing from my family. Forging documents. Manipulating my father.""
Edward laughed.
"Your father was a difficult man. He made promises he couldn't afford to keep.""
Ethan stepped forward.
"You're the reason my mother died.""
Edward looked at him.
"Your mother made her own decisions.""
"She was afraid of you.""
"She was afraid of everything.""
Ethan's fists tightened.
I moved between them.
"Edward, what do you want?""
He glanced at the metal box.
"The original trust documents.""
Margaret stepped forward.
"They're already protected.""
Edward's smile disappeared.
"Then perhaps I should ask differently.""
He looked at Nia.
"Tell him.""
Nia's hand began trembling.
"Marcus, I'm sorry.""
"Don't.""
"Please.""
"You have spent months lying to me. Don't stand here and tell me you're sorry because you're frightened.""
Her eyes filled.
Edward tightened his grip on her shoulder.
"Enough.""
He reached into his jacket and removed a folded document.
"This is a release agreement. Marcus signs away his disputed interests, Ethan receives a settlement, and everyone walks away.""
I stared at him.
"You expect me to believe that?""
"No. I expect you to understand that you have very little choice.""
Daniel slowly moved his foot.
Edward immediately noticed.
"Don't.""
He pointed toward the stairs.
"One more movement, and this becomes much worse.""
I looked at Nia.
"Why are you helping him?""
She shook her head.
"I'm not.""
Edward laughed.
"Your wife has been helping me since the beginning.""
"That's not true," Nia whispered.
Edward's expression hardened.
"Careful.""
I looked at her.
"Then tell me the truth.""
She lowered the gun slightly.
"Samuel has been controlling everything.""
Edward rolled his eyes.
"Samuel is a doctor. Nothing more.""
Nia turned toward him.
"Don't lie anymore.""
He grabbed her arm.
She winced.
"Let go of me.""
"You're forgetting who paid for your lifestyle.""
I stared at him.
"What does Samuel have on you?""
Nia looked at me.
"My mother.""
I waited.
"She knew what Samuel was doing at the hospital. She helped him change the medical records.""
Edward interrupted.
"That's enough.""
Nia continued.
"She believed he was protecting the family. He told her that your father was planning to destroy everything, that Ethan would challenge the estate, and that the only way to secure the money was to control the trust.""
"Did she know about the medication?""
Nia's eyes filled.
"Yes.""
The answer hit harder than I expected.
"And you?""
She looked down.
"I found out after we got married.""
"Then why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I had already signed documents. I had already moved money. Samuel threatened to report me and make sure I went to prison.""
I shook my head.
"You could have come to me.""
"I was afraid.""
"You were afraid of losing money.""
She flinched.
"No. I was afraid of losing everything.""
I looked at her.
"You already lost me.""
Her face crumpled.
Edward suddenly pulled her backward.
"Enough family drama.""
He pointed toward the documents.
"Marcus, sign.""
I didn't move.
Then Ethan spoke.
"Edward, you have one problem.""
Edward turned.
"What?""
Ethan raised the cassette recorder.
"The recording.""
Edward's expression changed.
He looked toward the device.
"You have no idea what you're doing.""
Ethan pressed play.
Samuel's voice filled the basement.
"You should have stayed out of this.""
Then Elaine's voice.
"If anything happens to me, tell my son the truth.""
Edward lunged toward Ethan.
But Daniel moved first.
He pushed a wooden chair into Edward's path.
Edward stumbled.
The gun slipped from Nia's hand.
It struck the concrete.
One of the officers shouted.
"Police! Drop your hands!""
Everything happened at once.
Edward tried to reach for the weapon.
Ethan tackled him.
The officer rushed down the stairs.
Daniel pulled Nia away.
I stood frozen for half a second before helping Ethan hold Edward down.
The older man struggled violently.
"You have no idea what you've destroyed!"" he shouted.
Ethan pressed his knee against Edward's back.
"You destroyed it yourself.""
The officers handcuffed him.
Nia sank against the wall.
I looked at her.
"Where is Samuel?""
She wiped her face.
"At the private clinic.""
"Which clinic?""
"Northbridge Medical Center.""
Daniel immediately contacted the investigator.
Within minutes, police units were dispatched.
But Nia wasn't finished.
"There is something else," she said.
I turned.
"What?""
She looked toward Edward.
"He wasn't the one who sent the photograph.""
Edward laughed from the floor.
"Don't.""
Nia continued.
"Samuel sent it. He wanted Marcus to come here because he believed the original documents were hidden beneath the house.""
I frowned.
"Why?""
"Because he needed to destroy the recordings.""
Ethan looked at the cassette recorder.
"And the body?""
Nia's face became pale.
She pointed toward the metal compartment.
"There's another room beneath the basement.""
Everyone turned.
The officer examined the floor.
A concealed metal hatch was hidden beneath an old rug.
It took several minutes to open.
When the hatch finally lifted, a narrow staircase appeared.
The air rising from below smelled damp and metallic.
One officer descended with a flashlight.
Then he called up.
"We need the forensic team.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"What did you find?""
The officer looked at me.
"Human remains.""
Ethan gripped the railing.
Nia began crying.
I turned toward her.
"Who?""
She couldn't speak.
Edward, still handcuffed, lowered his head.
Then he whispered:
"Elaine.""
Ethan made a sound I will never forget.
It wasn't a scream.
It was the sound of a man discovering that the person he had mourned for years had never been allowed to rest.
He sat on the basement floor.
I knelt beside him.
"I'm here.""
He shook his head.
"My mother was here?""
I nodded.
The forensic team arrived shortly afterward.
They secured the area and began documenting the remains.
The officers also found a small metal pendant near the body.
Ethan recognized it immediately.
"My mother wore that every day.""
He held it in his palm.
Then he looked at Nia.
"Why?""
Nia was crying so hard she could barely speak.
"Samuel told my mother that Elaine had been transferred to another hospital. He said she died there.""
"Did Patricia know?""
Nia nodded.
"Yes.""
"Did she help hide her?""
Nia closed her eyes.
"Yes.""
I looked at Edward.
"And my father?""
Edward said nothing.
But Nia answered.
"Samuel changed his medication. Edward arranged the paperwork. My mother made sure nobody investigated.""
The room went silent.
Then one of the officers approached.
"We've received confirmation. Dr. Samuel Bennett has been located.""
"Where?""
"At Northbridge Medical Center.""
"Is he under arrest?""
The officer hesitated.
"Not yet.""
He looked at his phone.
"He's dead.""
The news reached us twenty minutes later.
Samuel Bennett had been found in his private office.
An apparent suicide.
But before his death, he had sent one final email to the authorities.
It contained a confession.
He admitted to altering medical records, arranging unauthorized medication substitutions, and working with Edward Hayes to manipulate the Carter family estate.
He also named Patricia as an accomplice.
But there was one sentence that caught my attention.
The financial scheme was not my idea. I was instructed by the person who first introduced me to the Carter family.
I looked at Daniel.
"Who introduced him?""
Daniel opened the attachment.
A scanned document appeared.
At the bottom was a signature.
Not Patricia's.
Not Edward's.
Not Nia's.
It belonged to someone I had trusted for years.
My father's personal financial adviser.
*RICHARD COLLINS.*
The same doctor who had originally treated my father.
The same man who had supposedly died in a car accident six months earlier.
I stared at the signature.
Then Daniel whispered:
"Marcus, I don't think Samuel was the mastermind.""
I looked toward Nia.
She had gone completely still.
Because she recognized the name.
May you like
And she whispered:
"Richard Collins isn't dead.""
