Chapter 10: The Witness Who Inherited a Lie
Rebecca Price had been twenty-six when her mother died.
She had been twenty-nine when someone used her identity to access Nia's storage box.
And she had been the only living witness to a settlement that might never have been legally signed.
Nia stared at the photograph on the bank manager's screen.
“Where can we find her?””
The manager shook his head.
“We can provide the information permitted under our privacy procedures, but we cannot disclose her current address without proper authorization.””
Margaret stepped forward.
“We aren't asking you to violate banking rules. Please preserve the access records, the identification presented, and any security footage associated with the visit. We'll make the appropriate formal requests.””
The manager nodded and left them in the records room.
Claire turned toward David.
“Did you know Eleanor had a daughter?””
“No. She never mentioned her.””
“Rebecca grew up around the Whitmore estate,” Claire explained.
“She was occasionally brought to family events. My father told everyone she was an unstable young woman who had become estranged from her mother.””
Nia frowned.
“Why?””
“Because Rebecca accused my father of stealing documents from Eleanor's office.””
David's face tightened.
“What documents?””
“I don't know. Rebecca was seventeen at the time. She claimed she'd found her mother crying over a stack of financial records. When she confronted my father, he told her she was imagining things.””
Evelyn sat down slowly.
“Another young woman who was told not to trust her own eyes.””
Claire nodded.
“After Eleanor died, Rebecca disappeared from the family's social circle. My father said she'd moved abroad.””
“Did she?”” Nia asked.
“No. I found a photograph of her at a local charity event last year. She was living less than an hour from here.””
Nia looked at Margaret.
“Can we contact her?””
“We can use publicly available information and approach her appropriately. We should avoid assuming she's responsible for the forged authorization simply because her identity was used.””
Nia nodded.
She had learned enough that day to understand the difference between suspicion and proof.
Still, Rebecca Price might be the one person who could explain what had happened twenty-three years earlier.
David closed the storage box.
“I remember Eleanor now,” he said quietly.
“She was present during the meeting when Arthur offered me the settlement. She never spoke, but she kept looking at the documents.””
“Did you see her sign anything?”” Nia asked.
“No. Arthur's attorney placed the papers in front of me and told me where to sign. I read the first two pages, but he insisted the remaining pages contained standard provisions.””
“Did you sign every page?””
David shook his head.
“I signed the final signature page. I don't remember seeing the page about the trust transfer.””
Margaret made a note.
“That distinction may matter. We need to establish which version of the agreement was presented to you, whether the pages were attached at the time, and whether the signatures and witness certifications are authentic.””
Claire looked at the sealed packet in her hands.
“There's something else.””
She carefully opened the packet.
Inside was a small envelope addressed to Eleanor Price.
The paper had browned around the edges, but the handwriting remained clear.
Claire turned it over.
A date had been written on the back.
September eighteenth, twenty-three years earlier.
The day after David's settlement.
“It's a letter from Arthur,” she said.
She opened it and began reading aloud.
Eleanor,
The agreement has been signed, but the document Richard presented to me is not the version I approved. I have discovered that the final schedule contains provisions I never authorized. I intend to correct this before the family uses it against the Millers.
Until then, preserve the original records. Do not trust Richard with the files, and do not allow him to convince David that his silence is the only way to protect his daughter.
Claire stopped.
Nia felt her stomach tighten.
“Arthur knew the agreement had been altered the day after Dad signed it.””
David leaned against the table.
“Then why didn't he contact me?””
“Perhaps he tried,” Margaret said.
“We need the remaining correspondence before we can determine that.””
Nia turned the letter over.
There was another paragraph written beneath the fold.
If I cannot correct the agreement myself, Rebecca must be given the original schedule when she comes of age. She is the only person who saw what Richard did before the papers were replaced.
Claire looked up.
“Rebecca was seventeen.””
“Old enough to remember,” David said.
“And old enough to become a problem for my father.””
Nia's phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
*Stop looking for Rebecca. She doesn't know what happened, and you will only put her in danger.*
Nia showed the message to Margaret.
“Could this be Richard?””
“We can't identify the sender from the message alone. Save it, and don't respond.””
Another message arrived immediately.
*Ask Claire why her brother left the country.*
Claire's face went white.
Nia turned toward her.
“What does that mean?””
“Nothing.””
“Claire.””
She looked away.
David stepped closer.
“Who is your brother?””
“His name is Thomas.””
“Where is he?””
Claire's eyes filled.
“I don't know.””
Nia stared at her.
“You said your father threatened to cut off his medical insurance.””
“He did.””
“What condition does Thomas have?””
Claire swallowed.
“He was injured in a car accident when he was nineteen. He has lasting neurological problems and needs regular treatment. My father paid for it through the family foundation.””
“And then he used that to control you.””
“Yes.””
“Why did Thomas leave the country?””
Claire looked toward the door.
“Because he found something in my father's office.””
“What?””
“A recording.””
Nia's pulse quickened.
“What recording?””
Claire closed her eyes.
“The recording of David's settlement.””
Silence filled the room.
Ryan had claimed the flash drive contained the original recording. But perhaps it wasn't the only copy.
“Where is Thomas now?”” Nia asked.
“I told you. I don't know.””
“Do you believe he's in danger?””
Claire's silence answered.
Margaret gathered the documents.
“We need to contact the authorities about the forged authorization and the threatening messages. If Claire has information about a potentially relevant recording, she should provide it to counsel and cooperate with any appropriate investigation.””
Claire nodded reluctantly.
Nia looked at her.
“I'm sorry your father has done this to you.””
Claire gave a broken laugh.
“He hasn't only done it to me. He's done it to everyone who ever needed something from him.””
Evelyn reached across the table and took Claire's hand.
“Then we stop letting him decide what we're allowed to know.””
For a moment, Claire looked like a child who had been waiting years for someone to say those words.
Then her phone rang.
The screen displayed an international number.
Claire answered.
“Thomas?””
A man's voice came through, faint and distorted.
“Claire, listen carefully. I found the original schedule.””
Her face drained of color.
“Where are you?””
“I can't tell you. Dad has people looking for me.””
“Are you safe?””
“For now.””
Nia moved closer.
“Thomas, my name is Nia Miller. We need to know what happened to my father.””
There was a pause.
Then Thomas spoke.
“I know who signed the agreement.””
David gripped the edge of the table.
“Who?””
Thomas's voice dropped to a whisper.
“The man who signed your father's name wasn't a stranger. He was someone your father trusted.””
The call crackled.
“Thomas?”” Claire shouted.
His next words came through in fragments.
“Find Rebecca. She has the photograph. The one showing who was really in the room.””
Then the line went dead.
Claire tried calling back.
The number was no longer available.
Nia looked at the letter from Arthur, then at the empty space where the original schedule should have been.
The truth was no longer buried in a bank box.
May you like
It was moving.
And someone was desperate to stop it.
