Chapter 14: The Wife Who Knew Everything
Isabella stared at Ashley's photograph as though the paper had begun to burn.
“That can't be right.””
Daniel picked up the document.
“The photograph is from the original hospital file. The signature matches the birth certificate.””
“Richard married Ashley twenty years ago,” I said.
“Isabella was born before that.””
My father looked toward the window.
“Then Ashley knew about the child before she married him.””
My mother closed her eyes.
“Oh, God.””
I turned toward her.
“You know something.””
She nodded slowly.
“Catherine Whitmore wasn't just Richard's mother. She was his first wife.””
The room went silent.
Even Daniel seemed stunned.
My mother explained that Richard had married Catherine in secret when he was young. Their relationship had been hidden because Alessandro wanted Richard to remain available for a politically advantageous marriage.
Catherine had given birth to Isabella, but she had been told the baby died.
Shortly afterward, she disappeared from public life.
Richard had eventually married Ashley, whose family money helped him gain control of the vineyard's finances.
“But why would Ashley sign the birth certificate?”” Isabella asked.
My mother looked at the photograph.
“Because Ashley was the nurse who delivered you.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
“She trained as a nurse before marrying Richard. She worked at St. Catherine's under another name. When Catherine gave birth, Ashley was there.””
Isabella sank into a chair.
“So Ashley knew I was alive all along.””
“Yes.””
“And she married my father anyway.””
My mother reached for her hand.
“Richard told her the child had died. He said Catherine had been unstable and that keeping the baby would destroy his future.””
Isabella pulled away.
“Stop making excuses for them.””
My mother fell silent.
I understood Isabella's anger. Every new revelation seemed to add another layer to a childhood that had been stolen from her.
But I also understood something else.
Ashley hadn't simply been a wealthy woman who enjoyed humiliating a waitress.
She had recognized the Valmont crest on that bottle. She had known exactly what it meant.
Her laughter at the Sterling Club had been an attempt to make me look foolish before I could ask questions.
I looked at Daniel.
“We need to speak to Ashley.””
He nodded.
“The authorities have already brought her in for questioning.””
“Then let's go.””
Ashley sat in a small interview room at the county courthouse, wearing the same emerald gown she had worn at the Sterling Club.
Her diamond bracelet was gone.
Without it, she looked strangely ordinary.
When she saw Isabella and me enter, she leaned back in her chair.
“Well,” she said.
“The family reunion continues.””
Isabella remained standing.
“Why did you sign my birth certificate?””
Ashley looked at Richard's daughter for a long moment.
Then she smiled bitterly.
“Because your mother asked me to.””
“Catherine?””
“Yes.””
Isabella's face tightened.
“Where is she?””
Ashley looked toward the detective standing beside the door.
“I don't know.””
“Stop lying.””
“I'm not lying.””
Ashley folded her hands.
“Catherine came to me three years after you were born. She told me Richard had convinced everyone you were dead. She begged me to help her find you.””
“Did you?””
“I tried.””
Isabella stared at her.
“Then why did you marry Richard?””
Ashley looked down at her hands.
“Because I was pregnant.””
The room went silent.
I felt my stomach drop.
Ashley continued.
“Richard told me Catherine had abandoned him. He said she was unstable and that the baby had died. I believed him. By the time I discovered the truth, I was carrying his child.””
Isabella's expression changed.
“You have a child?””
Ashley nodded.
“A son. Ethan.””
My mind raced.
Richard had a son with Ashley.
Isabella was his daughter from his first marriage.
And my mother had raised me as her biological daughter while trying to protect a child who wasn't related to her by blood.
The family tree was becoming a maze of lies.
“Where is Ethan?”” Isabella asked.
“With my sister in Boston.””
“Does he know about me?””
“No.””
“Does he know what his father did?””
Ashley looked away.
“No.””
Isabella leaned forward.
“Did you know Richard was selling counterfeit wine?””
Ashley hesitated.
“Yes.””
“Did you know he stole the vineyard?””
“Yes.””
“Did you know he kidnapped me?””
Ashley's face crumpled.
“I suspected.””
Isabella recoiled as though she'd been struck.
“You suspected?””
“I was afraid!””
Ashley stood abruptly.
“Do you think I could have challenged Richard? He controlled the money, the house, the staff, everything. When I questioned him, he threatened to take Ethan away from me.””
“So you stayed silent.””
“I thought I was protecting my son.””
Isabella's voice shook.
“And what about me?””
Ashley began to cry.
“I know.””
“No, you don't. You watched me grow up believing my mother was dead. You watched me hate my father because Richard told me he abandoned me. You sat across from me at dinner parties and smiled while I thanked you for being such a wonderful stepmother.””
Ashley's shoulders collapsed.
“I know.””
Isabella stepped back.
“Then you know why I can never forgive you.””
For a moment, I thought Ashley might defend herself.
Instead, she sat down and covered her face.
The detective cleared his throat.
“Mrs. Whitmore, we need to discuss the wine auction.””
Ashley looked up.
“Richard sold more than wine.””
Daniel placed the second ledger on the table.
“Explain.””
She stared at the book.
Then she spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.
“The 1998 Valmont Reserve was used to conceal ownership certificates. Each bottle contained a document sealed beneath the label or cork. Richard sold them to collectors who believed they were buying rare wine. The buyers were actually acquiring pieces of the trust.””
I felt a chill.
“The bottle from the Sterling Club?””
Ashley nodded.
“It contained the original assignment of shares. Richard needed to recover it before the auction records were examined.””
“Why?””
“Because the buyer was not supposed to receive the wine. He was supposed to receive the document.””
Daniel opened the ledger.
“Who bought it?””
Ashley looked at Isabella.
“You did.””
My sister stared at her.
“What?””
“Richard arranged the auction through a private intermediary. He transferred the bottle into an account held in your name. The money came from your trust, and the document inside would have made you the legal owner of the controlling shares.””
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
Richard had spent twelve years teaching Isabella to hate the vineyard, while secretly using her identity to transfer its ownership.
He hadn't simply kidnapped his daughter.
He had been preparing to give her the estate without her knowing it.
“Why?”” I asked.
Ashley looked toward Daniel.
“Because he knew the trust could be activated only when both daughters were reunited. He needed Isabella to hold the shares, and he needed Evelyn to authenticate the family records. Once both conditions were met, he planned to claim the estate through Isabella.””
Daniel's expression darkened.
“But the trust requires both sisters' consent.””
“Not if Richard could prove that one of them had been declared legally dead.””
I understood.
Richard had arranged for Isabella to be declared dead as a baby. He had then used her identity to manipulate the trust while keeping her physically alive and under his control.
If he could prove that Isabella had never legally existed, he could challenge the entire inheritance.
And if he could force me to sign the transfer documents, he could claim the vineyard outright.
Ashley looked at me.
“He didn't want you dead, Evelyn. He wanted you to sign.””
I thought of the threats, the bottle, the photograph of my father, and the demand that I bring the key to Vault 17.
Richard had never needed to kill me.
He needed my signature.
The detective closed the ledger.
“There's one more thing we need to establish. The original death certificate for Lorenzo Valmont was signed by Margaret Hayes. But the body recovered from the cellar belonged to Daniel Valmont.””
Daniel's face went white.
The detective continued.
“We have a witness who claims the substitution was arranged before the fire. We need to know who authorized it.””
Ashley stared at the table.
Then she whispered, “Alessandro.””
My father clenched his jaw.
“Why?””
“Because Daniel was the rightful heir. Alessandro wanted him removed, but he couldn't risk having him declared missing while the trust remained active. The death certificate closed the estate, allowing Richard to acquire the vineyard.””
Daniel looked at her.
“You knew?””
Ashley nodded.
“I helped Richard move the paperwork. I thought Daniel had already died in the fire.””
My father stared at her with undisguised fury.
“You helped them bury my brother.””
“I didn't know he was alive!””
“But you knew the body wasn't mine.””
Ashley began to cry.
“Yes.””
The silence that followed was unbearable.
Then Isabella spoke.
“Where is Catherine?””
Ashley looked up sharply.
“I told you. I don't know.””
“Then who sent me the hospital bracelet?””
Ashley's face changed.
“What bracelet?””
Isabella took the evidence photograph from her pocket.
The bracelet had been found in Richard's vehicle, bearing her original hospital number.
Ashley stared at it.
Then she whispered a name.
“Catherine.””
The detective straightened.
“You know where she is?””
Ashley shook her head.
“No. But I know where she would go.””
She turned toward Isabella.
“Your mother has been hiding in the one place Richard never thought to search.””
“Where?””
Ashley swallowed.
“Beneath the original Valmont chapel.””
My mother gasped.
The chapel where Marta and I had met.
The chapel with the hidden passage.
The chapel where my father had once taught me to recognize the sound of a door opening.
Isabella stood abruptly.
“Then we're going there.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Not without the authorities.””
But Ashley grabbed Isabella's wrist.
“Wait.””
She looked at her stepdaughter with desperate intensity.
“There's something else. Catherine didn't just hide from Richard. She was protecting a child.””
Isabella froze.
“What child?””
Ashley began to tremble.
“Your daughter.””
The room seemed to stop.
Isabella stared at her.
“I don't have a daughter.””
Ashley closed her eyes.
“You did.””
And then she told us about the baby Isabella had given birth to when she was seventeen, a child Richard had taken before Isabella ever knew she was pregnant.
A child who had disappeared into the same network of lies that had stolen Isabella from her mother.
The detective opened the door.
“We need to move.””
As we hurried into the corridor, my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
One message.
*If you want to meet your niece, come to the chapel before sunrise. Bring the original trust.*
A second message followed.
*Come alone, Isabella. Your sister isn't the one I want.*
Isabella stared at the screen.
Then she looked at me.
For the first time, I saw something in her eyes that frightened me more than anger.
Hope.
May you like
Because the baby Richard had taken might still be alive.
And somewhere beneath the old chapel, the final piece of our family was waiting.
