Chapter 6: My Aunt's Confession
Diane's front door was open when we arrived.
Her porch light flickered in the cold evening air, and a thin trail of water ran down the steps from a broken flowerpot.
I rushed inside.
“Aunt Diane?””
No answer.
The living room looked undisturbed, except for a chair lying on its side near the fireplace. A framed photograph had fallen from the mantel, its glass shattered across the rug.
Daniel moved toward the kitchen.
“Stay behind me.””
I ignored him.
Diane's handbag lay beside the dining table. Her phone was on the floor, its screen cracked.
I picked it up.
The call log showed that she'd spoken to an unknown number less than two minutes before calling me.
Arthur crouched beside the broken chair.
“Someone was here.””
Vanessa stood near the staircase, staring at a smear of blood on the banister.
“Dad?””
Arthur followed her gaze.
A small drop of blood marked the edge of the wood.
Then another.
They led upstairs.
I ran.
At the top of the stairs, I found Diane sitting on the floor of her bedroom, her back against the wall. Her forehead was bleeding, and one hand pressed against her ribs.
“Aunt Diane!””
I dropped beside her.
She flinched when I touched her shoulder.
“Don't let him take it,” she whispered.
“Who?””
“Benjamin.””
Daniel knelt on her other side.
“Diane, look at me. Are you hurt badly?””
She shook her head, though her breathing was shallow.
“Where's the envelope?””
I looked at her.
“What envelope?””
“The one Eleanor gave me.””
My heart pounded.
“Mom gave you an envelope?””
Diane's eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.””
“What was in it?””
“Proof.””
“Proof of what?””
She grabbed my wrist.
“Your mother didn't die because of the accident.””
The room went silent.
Arthur crouched beside us.
“Diane, what are you saying?””
She looked at him with a mixture of anger and grief.
“You know exactly what I'm saying.””
Arthur shook his head.
“No. I don't.””
“Then why did you pay me to keep quiet?””
I stared at my father.
He looked stunned.
Diane began to cry.
“You paid me because Benjamin told you I had the original documents. You thought I could destroy them. But I never had them.””
Arthur's face hardened.
“I never paid you anything.””
“Then who did?””
Nobody answered.
Diane pressed her hand against her forehead.
“Benjamin transferred the money into my account. He said it was compensation for what I'd witnessed. He told me that if I refused, he'd make sure the police knew I had helped Eleanor steal company records.””
I sat back on my heels.
“What did you witness?””
Diane closed her eyes.
“The night Eleanor died, I was at the estate. I had gone there to return some papers she'd left at my house. I saw Benjamin arguing with her in the driveway.””
Daniel's expression changed.
“What time?””
“Just after nine.””
“And the accident happened later?””
“Yes.””
Diane swallowed painfully.
“Eleanor was furious. She told him she had copies of every financial record he'd altered. She said she was going to take everything to the authorities the next morning.””
I felt sick.
“What did he say?””
Diane looked at me.
“He told her that if she exposed him, he'd make sure you never knew who your father was.””
Daniel closed his eyes.
Diane continued.
“Eleanor laughed at him. She said you deserved the truth, even if it destroyed the family.””
A tear slid down her cheek.
“Then she left.””
“Where did she go?”” I asked.
“Toward the east gate. Daniel was waiting for her near the old road. She planned to give him the documents so he could take them to a lawyer in the morning.””
Daniel stared at her.
“She never told me that.””
“She didn't want you involved. She thought Benjamin would target you if he knew you were helping her.””
I looked toward the window.
Outside, the wind rattled the shutters.
“What happened next?””
Diane took a shaky breath.
“I heard a car engine. Then I saw Benjamin walk toward his garage. A few minutes later, Richard Vale drove out in the black sedan.””
Daniel's hands curled into fists.
“Did you see Benjamin get into the car?””
“No. But I saw him hand Richard something before he left.””
“What?””
“An envelope.””
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“The envelope.””
Diane nodded.
“Later that night, I heard about the crash. I went to the estate. Arthur was there.
Benjamin was there. Daniel was gone.””
Arthur stared at her.
“You said you didn't know what happened.””
“I was afraid.””
“You let me believe Daniel caused the accident.””
“I was protecting my family!””
“By letting me live with the guilt?””
Diane looked at him.
“You had the power to tell the truth, Arthur. You chose silence because Benjamin threatened your business. Don't you dare pretend you were the only victim.””
Arthur fell silent.
For a moment, I almost felt sorry for him.
Then I remembered the years of lies.
I turned back to Diane.
“What was in the original documents?””
She reached beneath the bed and pulled out a small metal key.
“Your mother hid them in a safe deposit box. She gave me the key two weeks before she died.””
I took it.
“Where's the box?””
“First National Bank. Downtown.””
Daniel looked at the key.
“Does Benjamin know about it?””
Diane shook her head.
“Not until tonight. He came here because he thought I still had the documents. He searched the house and threatened me.””
“Why didn't you call the police?”” I asked.
She gave a bitter laugh.
“Because he told me he'd already sent them evidence that I helped cover up the accident. He said if I went to the police, he'd make sure I took the blame for everything.””
I stared at her.
“And you believed him?””
“I saw what happened to Eleanor. I saw what happened to Daniel. I spent twenty-five years wondering whether Benjamin would come for me next.””
She gripped my hand.
“I'm sorry, Nia.””
I wanted to forgive her.
She was my aunt. She had held me when I was a baby, bought me birthday presents, and taught me how to bake my mother's favorite lemon cake. She had sat beside me at the funeral and cried harder than anyone.
But she had also known the truth.
“Why didn't you tell me after Mom died?””
Diane's tears fell faster.
“Because I received a letter three days after the funeral.””
“What did it say?””
She looked at Arthur.
“He knew Eleanor had left you something. He said if I told you about Daniel, he'd make sure you lost everything your mother had worked for.””
I shook my head.
“You could have told me anyway.””
“Yes.””
Her voice was barely audible.
“I should have.””
The honesty hurt more than another excuse would have.
Daniel stood and looked out the window.
“We need to leave. If Benjamin has been here, he knows we found the evidence.””
Arthur helped Diane to her feet.
“Come with us. You can't stay here.””
She shook her head.
“I won't run again.””
“You don't understand him,” Arthur said.
Diane looked at him.
“I understand him better than you do.””
She turned to me.
“Take the key. Get the documents. And whatever you do, don't let Benjamin convince you that your mother was the problem.””
I slipped the key into my pocket.
“I'm going to the bank tonight.””
Daniel nodded.
“I'll come with you.””
Arthur stepped forward.
“So will I.””
I looked at him.
“I don't know if I can trust you.””
He absorbed the words without protest.
“You don't have to trust me yet. But let me help you.””
I wanted to say no.
Then I remembered my mother's voice on the recorder.
Your father is the man who would sacrifice everything to keep you safe.
She had meant Daniel.
But perhaps she had also been describing the man who had raised me, the man who had made terrible choices and was finally beginning to face them.
“Fine,” I said.
“But no more secrets.””
Arthur nodded.
“No more secrets.””
We were halfway down the stairs when Diane called after me.
“Nia!””
I turned.
She stood in the bedroom doorway, pale and trembling.
“There's something else I never told you.””
I walked back toward her.
“What?””
She glanced at Daniel, then at Arthur.
“When Eleanor was pregnant, Benjamin arranged another paternity test.””
My stomach tightened.
“The one in the envelope?””
“No. That was the test Arthur arranged after you were born. Benjamin's test happened before your birth.””
Daniel went completely still.
“What did it say?””
Diane swallowed.
“It confirmed that Daniel was your biological father.””
I stared at her.
“Then why did Grandpa need another test?””
“Because he wanted to know whether Arthur could be convinced to raise you as his own. He believed the Carter family would be easier to control if you grew up believing you belonged to Arthur.””
I felt a chill move through me.
“And the result?””
Diane looked at me with unbearable sadness.
“Benjamin never saw the original result. Eleanor took it from his office before he could use it.””
I thought of the yellowed envelope hidden inside my mother's dress.
The photograph.
The recorder.
The documents beneath the nursery floor.
My mother had spent her life gathering evidence against her own father.
And Benjamin had spent his life trying to destroy it.
“Why would he care so much about who my father was?”” I asked.
Diane hesitated.
Then she whispered the words that changed everything.
“Because Daniel wasn't just your biological father, Nia. He was the rightful heir to the company Benjamin stole.””
I stared at her.
“What company?””
“Whitmore Holdings. The business Eleanor inherited from her mother before Benjamin took control of it.””
Daniel looked as shocked as I felt.
“That company was dissolved years ago.””
“No,” Diane said.
“It was transferred into a private trust. Eleanor kept the original ownership papers.””
Arthur's face drained of color.
“If those papers still exist…”
“Then Daniel can reclaim the company,” Diane finished.
“And Benjamin loses everything.””
My phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
I opened the message.
A photograph appeared on the screen.
It showed the front entrance of First National Bank.
Below it was a sentence.
If you want to know why your mother really died, come alone. Midnight. Bring the key.
A second message arrived before I could respond.
And Nia? Don't tell your father. He already betrayed you once.
I looked up.
Arthur was watching my face.
“What is it?””
I locked my phone.
“Nothing.””
The lie tasted terrible.
But whoever had sent the message knew about the key.
And if they knew about the key, they might know what lay inside the safe deposit box.
I slipped the phone into my pocket and followed the others toward the door.
For the first time, I understood the danger my mother had been trying to protect me from.
May you like
The truth wasn't simply buried.
Someone was still willing to kill to keep it there.
