Chapter 9: The Secret Behind My Father's Death
I played the recording again.
Sophia's voice came through the old speaker.
“Mr. Hale, you promised me that no one would ever find out who I really was.””
My mother covered her mouth.
Naomi slowly turned toward her.
“Margaret, do you recognize that voice?””
My mother nodded.
Then she shook her head.
“I don't understand.””
I leaned forward.
“Who is Sophia, Mom?””
Margaret stared at the recorder.
“I don't know.””
“That's her voice.””
“I know.””
“Then explain it.””
My mother began trembling.
“I met Sophia for the first time when she was introduced to you. I had never seen her before.””
Naomi rewound the tape.
“Let's listen to the full conversation.””
The recording continued.
My father's voice sounded tired.
“Sophia, your identity isn't the problem. Your motives are.””
“I'm doing this because I was promised something.””
“And I won't let you destroy my son to get it.””
A pause followed.
Then Sophia spoke again.
“Your son has already inherited everything. You could have made a different arrangement.””
My father answered firmly.
“Ethan built that company with Marcus. He deserves to know the truth.””
“What if he never finds out?””
“Then you and I will have a problem.””
The recording ended.
I stared at the device.
Sophia had known my father.
Not just known him.
She had been negotiating with him before he died.
“Naomi, find out when this recording was made.””
She examined the cassette label.
“There might be a date on the original tape.””
Peter checked the inside of the recorder.
A faded sticker was attached to the battery compartment.
November 14.
The year was partly scratched away.
My father's accident had happened on November 19.
Five days earlier.
I swallowed.
“Play it again.””
Naomi pressed the button.
This time, we listened more carefully.
Near the end, beneath the sound of my father's chair moving, another voice could be heard.
A man.
He spoke only one sentence.
“Margaret said she'll take care of the paperwork.””
My mother suddenly stood.
“Turn it off.””
I looked up.
“Mom?””
“Turn it off, Ethan.””
Naomi stopped the recorder.
I stared at her.
“What paperwork?””
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
“I don't remember.””
“You heard the recording.””
“I was frightened. I didn't know what they were talking about.””
“Who was the man?””
She shook her head.
I rolled closer.
“Mom, I'm trying to give you a chance to tell me the truth before someone else does.””
She began crying.
Then she sat down heavily.
“Your father discovered that Marcus had been moving money out of Hale Meridian. He told me he wanted to take everything to the police.””
“And you stopped him?””
“No.””
“Then what happened?””
Margaret looked toward the old photograph on the desk.
“He asked me to help him prepare documents. He said some of the company shares had been transferred without his knowledge. He wanted to reverse the transactions.””
“Did you?””
“I prepared some papers.””
“What papers?””
“A power of attorney.””
My stomach tightened.
“For whom?””
She looked at me.
“For Marcus.””
The room went completely still.
Naomi lowered her notebook.
“Why would you authorize Marcus to act on your husband's behalf?””
“He said he needed temporary authority to protect the company. Your father was planning to travel, and he wanted someone he trusted to handle the negotiations.””
“Did my father approve it?””
Margaret hesitated.
“I thought he had.””
“You thought?””
She covered her face.
“Marcus brought me the documents. He said your father had already signed them. I only needed to witness the signatures.””
Naomi leaned forward.
“Did you see your husband sign them?””
Margaret shook her head.
“No.””
I stared at my mother.
She had witnessed documents without checking whether my father had actually signed them.
Just as she had done with mine.
“Did you receive money?”” I asked.
Margaret nodded.
My heart sank.
“How much?””
“Ten thousand dollars.””
“For what?””
“He told me it was to cover some debts your father had left behind.””
I looked away.
My mother had accepted money from Marcus before my father's death.
Then she'd accepted money from him again after my accident.
I struggled to understand how many of the most important moments in my life had been manipulated by the same man.
Naomi placed the recorder on the desk.
“Mrs. Hale, we need to know whether you still have any of those original documents.””
Margaret opened her handbag.
“I kept something.””
She produced an old envelope.
Inside were three pages bearing my father's signature.
Naomi examined them.
“This may be very important.””
I looked at the first page.
It contained a list of company assets.
The second listed shareholders.
The third was a declaration of beneficial ownership.
One line had been highlighted in red.
*The Hale Family Trust — 51% voting interest.*
I frowned.
“What is this?””
Naomi read the document carefully.
“Ethan, according to this declaration, your father placed fifty-one percent of the company's voting shares into a family trust before his death.””
“But I own the majority shares.””
“You believe you do. The trust may have retained the underlying voting authority.””
“Who controls it?””
She turned to the last page.
There was a name.
*Temporary Trustee: Margaret Hale.*
I looked at my mother.
“You control fifty-one percent of Hale Meridian?””
Margaret shook her head.
“I thought the trust ended when your father died.””
Naomi studied the document again.
“It didn't.””
She quickly opened her laptop and searched the company's older shareholder records.
After several minutes, she found an archived trust registration.
Her eyes widened.
“Ethan, your mother is still listed as the acting trustee.””
My heart began beating faster.
“Then why has Marcus been running everything?””
“Because someone appears to have registered a substitute trustee appointment.””
Naomi opened the attached document.
It was dated six months earlier.
The same week as my accident.
The name of the newly appointed trustee was...
Marcus Vale.
I stared at the screen.
“Can he take my shares?””
“Not if this appointment is invalid.””
“Is it?””
Naomi enlarged the electronic signature.
Her expression hardened.
“The signature belongs to your mother.””
Margaret looked horrified.
“I never signed that.””
Naomi examined the verification details.
“This document was submitted through an account associated with your old email address.””
My mother shook her head.
“I haven't used that account in years.””
Naomi read the submission date again.
Then she looked up.
“This was filed two days before Ethan's accident.””
The same two days when someone had uploaded my medical authorization form.
The same period when Northstar received its first payment.
One plan.
Several documents.
One objective.
Take control of my health and my company at the same time.
I looked at my mother.
“Did you give Marcus access to your email?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
“Did you give Sophia your passwords?””
Margaret hesitated.
Then she quietly said, “Sophia helped me set up my phone after your accident.””
Naomi closed her laptop.
“We need to secure every account connected to the trust. Tonight.””
At 7:30 that evening, Naomi received confirmation from the corporate registry.
The trust was valid.
My mother's appointment as trustee had never been legally terminated.
Marcus's appointment appeared to have been submitted using an unauthorized digital signature.
For the first time, I had a way to challenge his control of the company.
But the situation was more complicated than we expected.
The trust documents contained a condition.
My father had added a clause stating that if the trustee became unable or unwilling to act, an independent successor would assume temporary authority.
The successor's name was Daniel Voss.
I stared at Naomi.
“Daniel?””
She nodded.
“The former compliance officer.””
“He's the person who gave us the accident footage.””
“And according to this document, your father selected him eleven years ago.””
I felt a strange mixture of relief and confusion.
“Then why didn't Daniel tell us?””
“He may not have known the appointment was still valid.””
I called his number.
It rang several times.
Finally, he answered.
“Ethan?””
“Daniel, I found something in my father's office.””
Silence.
“What did you find?””
“A declaration establishing a family trust.””
Another pause.
“Did you find the successor appointment?””
“Yes.””
Daniel exhaled.
“Then your father was right.””
“About what?””
“That someone would eventually try to take everything.””
I gripped the phone.
“Why didn't you tell me you were named successor trustee?””
“Because I only found out three months before your accident. And because someone threatened my family after I started reviewing the accounts.””
“Who?””
“I never saw his face.””
I looked at Naomi.
“Daniel, I need you to come forward. We can use the trust to stop Marcus.””
“I will.””
“Tomorrow?””
“No.””
“Why not?””
His voice dropped.
“Because I just received a message from someone who claims your mother has been lying about your father's death.””
I looked at Margaret.
She was sitting silently across the room.
“What message?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Someone sent me an audio file. It supposedly contains the final conversation your father had before the accident.””
“Send it to Naomi.””
“I can't.””
“Why?””
“Because the voice in the recording says something that could destroy your family.””
My mother suddenly stood.
“Daniel, don't!””
I froze.
She had recognized his voice.
And Daniel was still speaking.
“Ethan, your father didn't die on his way to expose Marcus.””
I swallowed.
“Then why did he die?””
Daniel's answer came slowly.
“Because he was on his way to meet your mother.””
I turned toward Margaret.
Her face had gone completely white.
“Is that true?”” I asked.
She couldn't speak.
“Mom?””
She slowly lowered herself into the chair.
Then she looked at me with tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Your father called me that night,” she whispered.
“And?””
“He told me he had proof that Marcus was stealing from the company. He said he wanted to meet me at the old bridge.””
I stared at her.
“Why didn't you tell the police?””
Margaret began shaking.
“Because I was there, Ethan.””
My throat tightened.
“You were there when he crashed?””
She nodded.
Then she said the words I never imagined hearing.
“I was the last person to see your father alive.””
Before I could ask another question, a message arrived on Naomi's phone.
It contained a photograph.
My father's car, resting upside down beside the old bridge.
And standing near the wreckage was Margaret.
But the photograph had been taken several minutes after the reported time of death.
May you like
Someone had written a sentence beneath it.
*Ask your mother why she removed the second set of keys.*
