Chapter 9: My Mother's Secret
I couldn't take my eyes off the signature.
My mother had been dead for eleven years.
Yet the document showed her authorizing payments three months after my father's death.
“That isn't possible,” I whispered.
Richard adjusted his cufflinks.
“Your mother was more involved in the family finances than you realize.””
I looked at Sophie.
She was still holding the medical record.
Her face had gone pale.
“Are you saying my mother was being paid to stay away from Robert?””
Richard nodded.
“And after his death, the payments continued through an account associated with the Carter estate.””
Sophie looked at me.
“Did you know?””
“No.””
“Did your mother know about me?””
I swallowed.
“I don't know.””
She laughed once, bitterly.
“That's convenient.””
Vanessa stepped toward her.
“Sophie, none of us knew. We're discovering this together.””
Sophie shook her head.
“You've had thirty years to know each other. I've had thirty minutes.””
Richard closed his briefcase.
“This is precisely why I wanted to handle the matter privately.””
I turned toward him.
“You brought her here to make her believe we're against her.””
“I brought her here because she deserves to know the truth.””
“Then why did you tell her Robert was a distant relative?””
Richard's jaw tightened.
“Because she was young and her mother was ill.””
Sophie looked up.
“My mother died two years ago. She never told me about any of this.””
Richard's expression softened.
“I'm sorry.””
“No, you're not.””
Sophie dropped the document onto the desk.
“You're using me.””
Richard didn't respond.
I took out my phone.
“This meeting is over.””
Daniel stepped in front of the door.
“Nia, wait.””
I stared at him.
“Move.””
“Please. We need to talk.””
“About what? Your next forged signature?””
He glanced toward Richard.
Richard gave a small nod.
Daniel moved aside.
I walked out.
Vanessa followed.
Sophie remained inside for a moment, then hurried after us.
“Wait!””
We stopped near the elevator.
Sophie looked frightened.
“Can I come with you?””
I nodded.
“Of course.””
The elevator doors closed.
Nobody spoke until we reached the parking garage.
Then Sophie turned toward me.
“Do you really not know anything about my mother?””
I shook my head.
“My mother died when I was twelve. I thought she and my father had a normal marriage. They fought sometimes, like everyone, but I never knew about another family.””
Sophie stared at the floor.
“My mother raised me alone. She told me my father had died before I was born.””
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“Our father died when I was twenty-one. He visited me when I was young, but he disappeared after your mother became pregnant.””
Sophie looked at her.
“You knew about Nia?””
“No. I knew Robert had another daughter, but he never told me your name.””
I leaned against the car.
“Why would my mother make payments to your mother?””
Sophie shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Olivia called.
I answered immediately.
“Where are you?””
“Outside Daniel's office.””
“Are you safe?””
“Yes. We're leaving.””
“Good. Evelyn is waiting for you at her office. She wants to see the original documents.””
I glanced at the three women standing beside me.
“I'm bringing someone else.””
“Who?””
“My sister.””
I looked at Sophie.
She gave a small, uncertain nod.
We drove to Evelyn Harrison's office.
She was waiting in a conference room with two other people: a forensic document examiner and a financial investigator.
When I placed the original trust envelope on the table, Evelyn looked relieved.
“Thank goodness. Margaret told me you found it.””
I explained what had happened at Daniel's office.
Evelyn listened without interrupting.
When I finished, she turned to Sophie.
“Miss Reed, do you have identification showing your mother's name?””
Sophie nodded and handed over her driver's license.
Evelyn examined it.
“Your mother was named Elaine Reed?””
“Yes.””
“Did she ever mention Robert Carter?””
Sophie hesitated.
“Only once. When she was dying, she told me my father had wanted to meet me but someone had prevented it.””
I leaned forward.
“Did she say who?””
“No.””
Evelyn exchanged a glance with the financial investigator.
Then she opened the original trust agreement.
“There's something important here.””
She turned to the last page.
The three beneficiary names were listed clearly.
Nia Carter.
Vanessa Carter.
Sophie Reed.
Below them was a condition.
*Each beneficiary shall receive her designated share independently upon verification of identity. No beneficiary may act on behalf of another without express written authorization.*
Evelyn looked up.
“This means the attempted transfer involving your house cannot be justified by one person's authorization. The trust is designed to prevent exactly this kind of interference.””
I looked at the document.
“Then why did Daniel need Vanessa's signature?””
“Because he was trying to create the appearance of unanimous consent.””
“And Sophie?””
“He needed her too.””
The investigator opened his laptop.
“We've also reviewed the property filings.””
He displayed a chart.
Several properties had been transferred between companies over the past eighteen months.
One company was registered to Richard Reed.
Another was registered to a person named Daniel Carter.
A third belonged to Vanessa.
I looked at Vanessa.
“Did you know about this company?””
She shook her head.
“No. Daniel told me he was helping me establish an investment account.””
The investigator clicked another file.
“There's also a payment record.””
He enlarged the screen.
A series of transfers appeared.
The dates went back eleven years.
The account holder was listed as Robert Carter's estate.
The receiving account was under the name Elaine Reed.
Sophie's mother.
I stared at the screen.
“So Richard was paying her?””
“Possibly,” Evelyn said.
“But we need to establish who controlled the account.””
Sophie leaned forward.
“Can we find out?””
The investigator nodded.
“We've requested the original banking records. But there's something else.””
He opened another document.
“This is a transfer authorization from the week after Robert Carter died.””
My eyes moved down the page.
The authorization was signed by someone acting as estate administrator.
The name was unfamiliar.
*Margaret Ellis.*
I looked up.
“Margaret?””
Evelyn studied the document.
“Margaret was the accountant, not the estate administrator.””
“Then why is her signature here?””
The investigator zoomed in.
“Because someone appears to have used her identity to authorize a substantial payment.””
Sophie looked at the amount.
“Two hundred thousand dollars?””
I stared at the screen.
The payment had gone to Elaine Reed.
My mother's name was listed as the approving witness.
But there was another signature at the bottom.
A second witness.
I leaned closer.
My breathing stopped.
It was Daniel Carter.
The date was eleven years ago.
Daniel had been twenty-four.
I turned slowly toward Evelyn.
“Daniel was involved in my father's estate before I even met him.””
Evelyn nodded.
“That's what this document suggests.””
I felt dizzy.
My father had died eleven years ago.
Daniel had entered my life five years ago.
Yet his name appeared on financial documents from the week my father died.
He hadn't just known about the inheritance before our wedding.
He had been connected to it for years.
Sophie covered her mouth.
Vanessa began crying silently.
Then Evelyn opened one final attachment.
It was an old bank letter.
The letter confirmed that the two-hundred-thousand-dollar payment had been reversed.
Not because of insufficient funds.
But because the account holder had reported unauthorized access.
The report was filed by someone named Robert Carter.
I stared at the date.
It was the day before my father died.
Evelyn looked at me.
“Your father may have discovered the payment scheme before he passed away.””
My voice was barely audible.
“Then he knew someone was stealing from him.””
“Yes.””
“And he tried to stop it.””
“Yes.””
I looked at the three signatures again.
Margaret.
My mother.
Daniel.
Then I noticed a handwritten note in the margin.
It was written in blue ink.
*If anything happens to Robert, contact the third beneficiary immediately.*
Below it was a phone number.
Sophie picked up the page.
Her eyes widened.
“That's my mother's old number.””
Evelyn immediately photographed the document.
The investigator searched the number in his records.
After a few seconds, he looked up.
“There's a problem.””
“What?”” I asked.
“The number is still active.””
Sophie frowned.
“That's impossible. My mother died two years ago.””
The investigator shook his head.
“It's registered to someone else now.””
“Who?””
He turned the laptop toward us.
The current account holder's name appeared on the screen.
*MARGARET ELLIS.*
I stood.
“Margaret has the number?””
Evelyn immediately reached for her phone.
“I'm calling her.””
The call rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then someone answered.
But it wasn't Margaret.
A man's voice spoke.
“Ms. Harrison, I've been expecting your call.””
Evelyn froze.
“Who is this?””
The man laughed softly.
“You can tell Nia Carter that her father wasn't the only one who kept secrets.””
My heart pounded.
“Who are you?”” I shouted.
There was a pause.
Then he answered.
“I'm the man who helped Daniel marry her.””
The call disconnected.
Evelyn immediately contacted the authorities.
But my phone vibrated before she could finish.
A text message had arrived from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph.
My father was standing outside his house, holding me as a little girl.
Beside him stood Daniel.
Both were smiling.
On the back of the photograph, someone had written:
*He was there the night your father died.*
I stared at the picture.
Then I noticed something in the background.
A second man stood beside the garden gate.
A man I recognized from the photograph Vanessa had shown us.
Richard Reed.
And in his hand was a small black medical bag.
My father's death certificate had listed a sudden cardiac event.
But suddenly, I was no longer sure that my father had died naturally.
I looked at Evelyn.
“Find out who sent this.””
She nodded.
Then she examined the photograph again.
Her face changed.
“Nia,” she whispered, “there's something else you need to see.””
She turned the picture over.
May you like
Beneath the handwritten message was a second sentence.
*Ask your mother what happened in the hospital before your father died.*
