Chapter 7: The Target Was Someone Else
“Rachel wasn't the person Daniel was trying to kill.””
My brother's words seemed to drain the air from the living room.
I stared at David, waiting for him to take them back.
He didn't.
Lily stood beside the cream sofa, clutching her stuffed bunny so tightly that its ears bent beneath her fingers. Aaliyah had wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Vanessa remained near the coffee table, her face pale, her handbag abandoned on the rug.
Outside, sunlight gleamed against the windows.
Everything looked painfully ordinary.
My brother had just suggested that someone had planned a murder, and he was standing in my living room as if he expected me to hear him out.
“Explain,” I said.
David rubbed his palms against his trousers.
“Three years ago, Rachel discovered that somebody was moving money through a company connected to our family.””
“What company?””
“Hayes Development Group.””
I stared at him.
Our father's construction business.
After Dad died, David had taken over the daily operations. I had kept my own career, helping with a few investments but refusing to get involved in the business.
“What does that have to do with Rachel?””
“She found discrepancies in the accounts. Large transfers to companies that didn't appear to exist. When she started asking questions, somebody noticed.””
“Who?””
“I don't know for certain.””
“You keep saying that!””
“Because I never saw the whole picture, Marcus!””
David struck the coffee table with his palm. The receipt jumped, and Lily flinched.
He immediately lowered his voice.
“I'm sorry,” he muttered.
“I shouldn't have done that.””
I moved closer to Lily.
“Keep your voice down. She's already frightened.””
David nodded, ashamed.
Then he pulled a folded document from the brown envelope.
“This is a copy of the report Rachel was working on.””
I took it.
The first page contained a list of transfers, dates, and company names. Several entries had been marked in red. At the bottom, someone had written a name.
Daniel Cole.
Beneath it was another name.
Vanessa Reed.
My wife made a strangled sound.
“That's impossible.””
I turned toward her.
“You know something about this company?””
“No.””
David laughed without humor.
“She knows more than she's telling you.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“Daniel used my name without permission. He told me he was helping someone recover stolen money.””
“Whose money?”” I asked.
“I don't know!””
“Then why is your name on a report Rachel created three years ago?””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“Because I met Daniel before I met you.””
The admission landed like another blow.
I looked at the document again.
“Where?””
“At a charity event. He said he was a financial consultant. He knew people in the construction business, and he offered to help me recover money from an investment that had gone wrong.””
David folded his arms.
“And you believed him?””
“I was desperate!””
“For what?””
Vanessa hesitated.
Then she looked at Aaliyah.
“I had debts. Serious ones. I was trying to keep our apartment and make sure my daughter could finish school.””
Aaliyah's expression softened for an instant, but she didn't move toward her mother.
Vanessa continued.
“Daniel said he could recover the money. He asked me to sign a few documents. He told me they were authorization forms.””
“What did you authorize?”” I asked.
“I don't know. Later, he started threatening me. He said the documents could make it look like I'd helped move money out of the company.””
David pointed at the report.
“Because you did.””
“I didn't know what I was signing!””
“That's what everyone says when the evidence appears.””
Vanessa recoiled.
I raised a hand.
“Enough. David, you said Rachel wasn't the target. Who was?””
My brother's gaze shifted toward me.
“You.””
For a moment, I thought I'd misunderstood him.
“Me?””
“Rachel discovered the transfers because she was helping you organize your personal finances. She found something that suggested your signature had been used to authorize a transaction you knew nothing about.””
I shook my head.
“I never signed anything for Hayes Development Group.””
“I know.””
“Then how was my signature on a transfer?””
“Someone copied it.””
The room fell silent.
David looked at the photograph of Rachel beside the black sedan.
“Rachel confronted me because she thought I knew who had done it. I told her I didn't. She said she was going to take everything to the authorities.””
“Why didn't she tell me?””
“She wanted to protect you. She thought if you knew about the investigation, you'd become a target too.””
I looked at Lily.
My daughter had already lost her mother. Now I was learning that Rachel might have died because she was trying to protect me from a crime I hadn't even known existed.
“Who was supposed to be in that car?”” I asked.
David's eyes filled with tears.
“You.””
My knees nearly buckled.
He continued quickly.
“Rachel was driving your car that night. You had left your briefcase in it earlier that afternoon. Someone had been watching the house. They knew you were supposed to drive to a meeting.””
I remembered that Thursday.
I'd been exhausted after work. Rachel had offered to take my car to pick up Lily's cupcakes while I finished a call at home.
I had argued with her about it.
She had laughed, kissed my cheek, and told me she'd be back before dinner.
“What meeting?”” I whispered.
“A meeting with a lawyer. Rachel had arranged it because she wanted to turn over the financial records.””
I stared at David.
“Why didn't you tell the police?””
“Because I arrived at the crash site before they did.””
“Why?””
“Rachel called me.””
My heart hammered.
“What did she say?””
David swallowed.
“She said somebody was following her. She told me to meet her near the old service road. I drove there, but when I arrived, the car had already crashed.””
“You saw her?””
He nodded, tears slipping down his cheeks.
“I ran to the driver's side. I tried to open the door, but it was jammed. I called emergency services.””
“Did you see anyone else?””
David hesitated.
“Yes.””
“Who?””
“A man standing beside the trees. He was watching the wreck.””
My stomach tightened.
“Daniel?””
“I couldn't see his face clearly.””
“Then why didn't you tell the police?””
“Because he came toward me and told me that if I said anything about the financial records, he'd make sure Lily was next.””
Aaliyah gasped.
Vanessa covered her mouth.
I looked at my brother with a mixture of horror and disbelief.
“You kept quiet because he threatened my daughter?””
“I thought I could handle it myself. I thought if I paid him, he'd disappear.””
“You paid him fifty thousand dollars!””
“And he kept asking for more!””
I turned away, trying to control my breathing.
For three years, David had let me believe Rachel died in an ordinary accident. He had watched me raise Lily, comfort her through nightmares, and answer her questions about why her mother wasn't coming home.
He had stood beside me at the funeral.
He had held my shoulder while I cried.
And he had known someone might have killed her.
“Get out,” I said.
David stared at me.
“Marcus—”
“Get out of my house.””
“Please, let me finish.””
“YOU LET ME BURY MY WIFE WITHOUT TELLING ME WHAT YOU KNEW!””
Lily began crying again.
I stopped immediately.
My voice dropped.
“Get out before I forget you're my brother.””
David looked devastated.
Then he placed the brown envelope on the coffee table.
“There's one more thing in here,” he said quietly.
“Something I found in Dad's old office last week. I didn't know what it meant until Daniel sent me that photograph.””
He removed a small memory card from a plastic sleeve and placed it beside the receipt.
“Rachel left a recording.””
I stared at the card.
“What's on it?””
David's eyes moved toward Vanessa.
“Her last conversation with the person who arranged the meeting.””
Vanessa backed away.
“No.””
I looked at her.
“Why are you afraid of a recording?””
She shook her head violently.
“Because I know that voice.””
Before I could ask whose voice she meant, David's phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
His face went white.
“It's Daniel,” he whispered.
He answered on speaker.
A man's calm voice filled the living room.
“David, I see you've finally delivered the envelope.””
David couldn't speak.
The voice continued.
“Good. Now give Marcus the memory card, and tell him what Rachel discovered about his wife.””
My gaze snapped toward Vanessa.
The caller chuckled softly.
“Because the woman standing in that living room isn't the only one who helped me.””
The line went dead.
May you like
And Vanessa began backing toward the hallway, whispering the same words over and over.
“No. No, he promised he wouldn't tell.””
