Chapter 10: The Woman in the Coffin
My father read Richard's message again.
Then he looked at the phone number from the call.
"Call the police," Lauren whispered.
Dad shook his head.
"Not yet.""
"Why not?"" I asked.
"Because we don't know who we can trust.""
He walked to the front door and locked it.
Then he checked the back entrance, the kitchen windows, and the garage.
I stood beside the table, staring at the empty space where the blue envelope had been.
Someone had entered our house.
Someone had taken my mother's letter.
And someone knew we had spoken to her.
"Lauren," I said, "did you see anyone leave?""
She shook her head.
"I was in the kitchen. I heard the crash, but I thought it came from upstairs.""
Dad returned with his phone.
"Richard is coming here.""
I frowned.
"Why would you invite him?""
"I'm not inviting him. I'm telling him to meet us.""
"And if he's involved?""
Dad looked at me.
"Then I want to see his face when I ask him what happened.""
Twenty minutes later, Richard Bennett arrived.
He was wearing his usual charcoal suit, carrying a leather briefcase, and looking considerably less comfortable than he had during our previous meetings.
He entered without smiling.
"Daniel, you need to listen to me.""
Dad closed the door behind him.
"Before you say anything, tell me who called my daughter.""
Richard looked at me.
"I don't know.""
"Then explain why you sent me a message saying Evelyn is dead.""
Richard placed his briefcase on the table.
"Because I have proof.""
He removed a thick folder and opened it.
Inside were hospital records, a death certificate, and photographs.
Dad picked up the certificate.
The name was correct.
Evelyn Whitmore.
The date was correct.
The hospital was St. Catherine's.
But the signature at the bottom belonged to a physician neither of us recognized.
"Who is this doctor?"" Dad asked.
"Dr. Alan Mercer. He was responsible for the final certification.""
"Patricia said Dr. Caldwell handled Evelyn's case.""
"He did.""
"Then why did another doctor sign the death certificate?""
Richard took off his glasses.
"Because Caldwell was removed from the case shortly before your wife's death.""
Dad stared at him.
"Removed by whom?""
Richard hesitated.
"Hospital administration.""
"Why?""
"An internal investigation.""
I looked at the documents.
"What investigation?""
Richard turned toward me.
"Your mother had been involved in a serious dispute concerning the trust. She suspected money was being stolen. She hired me to investigate.""
"Did you find anything?""
"Yes.""
He opened another folder.
There were copies of bank statements, transaction records, and letters.
"The money was transferred through several accounts before reaching a private investment company.""
"Marcus's company?"" I asked.
Richard nodded.
"At first, that's what we believed.""
Dad leaned forward.
"At first?""
Richard placed another document on the table.
"The company was registered under Marcus Hale's name, but he wasn't the person controlling it.""
"Who was?""
Richard looked directly at Dad.
"Stephen Caldwell.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"The doctor?""
"Yes.""
Dad sat down.
Richard explained that Caldwell had established several companies using different identities. He had access to confidential hospital records and had been involved in financial transactions connected to Vanessa.
Marcus had discovered the arrangement and contacted Evelyn.
They had been trying to expose Caldwell.
But someone found out.
"Your wife called me three days before she was admitted," Richard continued.
"She told me she had evidence that Caldwell was working with someone inside the family.""
Dad looked at him.
"Vanessa.""
Richard nodded.
"She believed so.""
"Then why didn't you tell me?""
"Because Evelyn asked me not to.""
Dad slammed his hand onto the table.
"You keep saying that as if it makes everything acceptable!""
Richard lowered his eyes.
"I know.""
He took a breath.
"Daniel, the woman who died at St. Catherine's was not identified through fingerprints. The hospital used dental records supplied by a private medical office.""
I felt cold.
"Whose dental records?""
Richard looked at me.
"An unidentified female patient.""
Dad stood.
"So you're telling me someone used another woman's body to fake my wife's death?""
Richard nodded.
"That's what the evidence suggests.""
Lauren covered her mouth.
"Who was the woman?""
"We don't know.""
"Was she murdered?""
Richard shook his head.
"The records are incomplete.""
I looked at the death certificate again.
"Then Mom could still be alive.""
Richard hesitated.
"Yes.""
Dad gripped his shoulders.
"Where is she?""
"I don't know.""
"Richard!""
"I swear to you, Daniel. I arranged a transfer to a private facility after she left the hospital, but she disappeared before I could visit her again.""
"Eight years ago?""
"Yes.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
Richard looked devastated.
"Because I received a letter from her saying that if I contacted you, she would disappear permanently.""
Dad stepped back.
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
Then Lauren pointed at the folder.
"What's that?""
Richard looked down.
It was a photograph of a man standing outside a building.
The image was grainy, but the face was recognizable.
Marcus Hale.
Behind him stood a woman wearing a dark coat.
I leaned closer.
"That's Vanessa.""
Richard nodded.
The photograph was dated three months ago.
Dad stared at it.
"Where was this taken?""
"Outside a private storage facility in Boston.""
"Why were they meeting?""
"That's what I've been trying to find out.""
I looked at the photograph again.
Vanessa wasn't looking at Marcus.
She was looking toward the camera.
Almost as if she knew someone was watching.
Richard closed the folder.
"There's one more thing.""
He removed a small envelope.
Inside was a photograph of a young woman standing beside a hospital bed.
Her face was partially turned away.
But I recognized her immediately.
Lauren.
She was wearing the same necklace she had worn in the photograph from her eighteenth birthday.
The date on the back was from six months ago.
Lauren stared at it.
"I don't remember being there.""
Richard turned the photograph over.
There was a handwritten message.
Subject confirmed. Both daughters remain unaware.
Dad looked up.
"Who wrote this?""
Richard's face had gone pale.
"Vanessa.""
I looked at Lauren.
"She knew we were sisters.""
Richard nodded.
"She knew from the beginning.""
Dad slowly sat down.
"Then why keep us apart?""
Richard looked at the photograph.
"Because Evelyn's trust contained a condition.""
"What condition?""
He opened the original trust agreement.
"The inheritance could only be transferred when both daughters reached twenty-five.""
I stared at him.
"Both daughters?""
"Yes. You and Lauren.""
Dad read the document.
His expression changed.
"What's the value of the trust?""
Richard swallowed.
"Approximately $3.2 million.""
The room became silent.
Three million dollars.
That was what Vanessa had been trying to obtain.
But the final page contained another clause.
A clause that required both daughters to appear before an independent trustee.
And beneath it was a name.
The trustee.
*Evelyn Whitmore.*
Dad looked at Richard.
"You're telling me my wife is the only person who can authorize the release?""
Richard nodded.
"That's correct.""
My phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
One message.
If you want to see your mother, come alone to the old house on Willow Lane. Midnight.
I looked at Dad.
He read the message.
Then he quietly said:
"That's where Evelyn and I lived before we bought this house.""
Another message arrived.
Bring the original trust document. No police. No lawyer.
I stared at the screen.
Then a final message appeared.
And Maya, don't tell your father. He has already betrayed your mother once.
I looked up.
Dad was watching me.
For the first time, I wondered whether there was something in my father's past that even I didn't know.
May you like
Something that might explain why Mom had disappeared.
And why she was afraid of him.
