Chapter 2 - THE SECRET AGREEMENT
Nobody moved.
Richard walked slowly into the living room.
My mother looked like she had seen a ghost.
“You can't be here.”
Richard smiled.
“I've been here for years.”
My father had supposedly buried him ten years earlier.
But according to Richard, that story was a lie.
He had survived his heart attack.
He had disappeared because someone had tried to kill him.
“Who?”
Richard looked at my mother.
“Your father.”
I stared.
“My grandfather?”
Richard nodded.
“Your grandfather wanted control of the company.”
“And my mother helped him?”
“She was afraid.”
I looked at Evelyn.
“Is that true?”
She finally spoke.
“Your grandfather threatened me.”
Richard continued.
“He told her that if she didn't cooperate, he would destroy the family.”
My mother had helped move company assets.
She had signed documents.
She had hidden money.
But there was something Richard didn't know.
My mother had also been stealing from Claire.
“Why Claire?”
Richard's expression changed.
“She wasn't supposed to be involved.”
The attorney interrupted.
“She was.”
He opened another document.
Claire's inheritance had been transferred into a private investment account.
The account was connected to Richard.
I looked at my wife.
“Did you know?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
Richard sighed.
“I didn't know either.”
My mother suddenly screamed.
“You don't understand!”
I turned toward her.
“Then explain.”
She began crying.
For the first time in my life, I saw my mother truly afraid.
“Your father wasn't the man who died.”
“What?”
She looked at me.
“Your father knew Richard was alive.”
I froze.
“My father knew?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he lie?”
“Because he was trying to protect you.”
I couldn't believe it.
“From what?”
She looked at Claire.
“From the company.”
Silence.
Richard looked confused.
“What are you talking about?”
My mother whispered:
“The company wasn't bankrupt.”
Richard's face changed.
“What?”
“The collapse was staged.”
My father had discovered that someone inside the company was stealing millions.
He created a fake collapse to identify the person responsible.
But the plan went wrong.
Someone discovered the investigation.
And my father disappeared.
Everyone believed he had died.
But my mother had known he was alive.
I stared at her.
“Where is Dad?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Richard looked at her.
“You said he was dead.”
“I thought he was.”
Then the attorney's phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then looked at me.
“There's been a development.”
“What?”
“They found a storage facility registered under your father's name.”
My heart raced.
“Where?”
“Two hours from here.”
I looked at Claire.
She squeezed my hand.
“I'll come with you.”
“No.”
“I've already been dragged into this.”
She looked at me.
“I'm not staying behind.”
I nodded.
My brother grabbed his coat.
“I'm coming too.”
Richard stepped forward.
“So am I.”
My mother remained behind.
I looked at her.
“Call the police.”
She didn't answer.
Then I realized something.
She was staring at the clock.
Not at us.
May you like
At the clock.
As if she knew exactly what would happen next.
