Chapter 12: The Man Who Was There Before the Wedding
Brielle read Daniel's message without blinking.
Then she handed the phone to Detective Shaw.
“I haven't spoken to him since the wedding,” she said.
“Has he contacted you through any other number?””
“No.””
“Has he threatened you before?””
Brielle hesitated.
“Not directly.””
Nia looked at her.
“What does that mean?””
Brielle rubbed her forehead.
“Two weeks ago, he told me that if Nia ever found out about the foundation, both of us would lose everything.””
“And you didn't think to mention that?””
“I was trying to keep him calm.””
Nia let out a bitter laugh.
“Of course you were.””
Brielle's face tightened, but she didn't argue.
Detective Shaw placed Daniel's message into evidence and contacted the team handling his financial investigation.
“We're not meeting him alone,” she said.
“If he has information about Elaine Bennett's death, we'll arrange a controlled interview.””
Nia nodded.
But she couldn't stop thinking about the name on her mother's letter.
Daniel Mercer.
Her sister's husband.
The man who had stood at the wedding and whispered that Nia should have been dead.
The man who had been connected to the foundation's missing money.
And now, apparently, the man her mother had identified as someone who helped alter her treatment.
“Why would Mom know about Daniel?”” Nia asked.
Brielle looked down.
“I don't know.””
“Did he ever visit her in the hospital?””
“Not that I remember.””
“Did you introduce him to her?””
Brielle hesitated.
“Yes. Once.””
“When?””
“About three weeks before she died.””
Nia stared at her.
“You told me you met him after college.””
“I did.””
“Then how did he meet Mom before she died?””
Brielle's eyes filled.
“Because I brought him to the hospital.””
The admission left Nia speechless.
Brielle continued quickly.
“He was helping me with the foundation's investments. Mom asked to meet him because she wanted to understand where some of the money was going. I thought it was harmless.””
“What did she say afterward?””
“She told me not to trust him.””
“And you married him anyway?””
Brielle looked away.
“I thought she was sick and suspicious of everyone.””
Nia closed her eyes.
Her mother had warned Brielle about Daniel. She had warned Arthur about the financial transfers. She had warned Nia through a letter that someone was hiding the truth.
And all three of them had ignored her.
Detective Shaw interrupted.
“Ms. Bennett, I need you to tell me exactly what Daniel said during that first meeting.””
Brielle sat down.
“He arrived with investment documents. Mom asked him why one of the companies receiving money from the foundation was registered to an address that didn't exist.””
“What did he say?””
“He said it was a holding company and the address was a registered agent's office.””
“Was that true?””
“I don't know.””
“Did your mother believe him?””
“No. She asked him to leave.””
Brielle paused.
“Before he went, he told her that she should be careful about accusing people without proof.””
Nia felt a chill.
“Was that a threat?””
“I didn't think so at the time.””
“What did Mom say?””
Brielle stared at the desk.
“She said, 'People who are innocent don't usually need to warn the person they're lying to.''”
For a moment, Nia could almost hear her mother's voice.
Then Brielle whispered, “That night, Daniel told me your mother was going to ruin everything.””
“Everything meaning the foundation?””
“The investments. His company. Our future.””
“And you still married him.””
Brielle pressed her lips together.
“Yes.””
Detective Shaw ended the interview and arranged for officers to locate Daniel.
That evening, Ethan drove Nia to the secure apartment while Brielle remained at the station to provide a fuller statement.
Neither spoke for several minutes.
Then Nia asked, “Do you think she can change?””
Ethan kept his eyes on the road.
“Who?””
“Brielle.””
He considered the question.
“People can change. That doesn't mean you have to trust them before they've earned it.””
Nia watched the streetlights slide across the windshield.
“I keep thinking about Mom. She tried to protect us, and we made it impossible for her.””
“You were sixteen.””
“And Brielle was thirty.””
Ethan didn't argue.
At the apartment, he helped Nia settle onto the sofa before placing the memory card on the coffee table.
“Detective Shaw authorized a forensic copy,” he said.
“We can review the files once the technician confirms they're safe to open.””
Nia looked at the tiny card.
“What if it's empty?””
“Then we'll keep investigating.””
“What if it's something worse?””
Ethan sat beside her.
“Then we'll face it when we know what it is.””
The technician called at 9:18 p.m.
The memory card contained seven audio recordings, three scanned documents, and a short video file. Most of the files had been created in the final week of Elaine's life.
The technician had made secure copies and confirmed that the files could be opened without damaging the original.
Ethan played the first recording.
Elaine's voice filled the room.
“Arthur, I need you to listen to me. The money isn't the only problem.””
A man's voice answered.
“I know you're frightened, but you're not thinking clearly.””
“I am thinking clearly. Someone has changed my medication.””
“Your doctor has reviewed your treatment.””
“Dr. Hayes says he never approved the change.””
A long silence followed.
Then Arthur said, “Martin is handling it.””
Elaine's voice became sharper.
“Martin is a lawyer, not a doctor.””
“I can't do this right now.””
“You can't keep telling me that.””
The recording ended.
Nia stared at the screen.
“That was Dad.””
“Yes,” Ethan said.
“He knew about the medication discrepancy.””
“He knew there was a disagreement about the treatment.””
“That's not the same as knowing someone was trying to hurt her.””
“No,” Ethan agreed.
“It isn't.””
They played the second recording.
This time, Elaine was speaking to someone else.
“You told me the money was going to be returned.””
A male voice replied, “It will be.””
“That's what you said last month.””
“Elaine, the situation is more complicated than you understand.””
“Then explain it to me.””
“Not now.””
“Why?””
“Because you have a tendency to make everything personal.””
Nia sat forward.
She recognized the voice.
Daniel.
He sounded younger, but the contempt was unmistakable.
Elaine answered calmly.
“You stole money from a charity.””
“I invested money on behalf of the family.””
“You transferred it to a company that doesn't exist.””
“The company exists.””
“Then why does it have no employees, no physical office, and no record of providing services?””
Daniel exhaled.
“Because it's an investment vehicle.””
“That's what criminals call it when they don't want people asking questions.””
The recording ended abruptly.
Nia looked at Ethan.
“Mom knew.””
“She knew Daniel was involved in the financial irregularities.””
“And Brielle still married him.””
They moved to the third recording.
This one was shorter.
Elaine sounded tired.
“Brielle, please. You don't have to protect him.””
Her daughter's voice answered.
“I'm not protecting him.””
“Then tell your father what you've found.””
“I can't.””
“Why not?””
“Because if I do, he'll lose everything.””
Elaine's voice softened.
“Your father is not the foundation, sweetheart. And the foundation is not your family. It's the people we promised to help.””
Brielle began crying.
“I didn't mean for it to happen like this.””
“What did you do?””
The recording stopped.
Nia stared at the screen.
“What did she do?””
Ethan checked the file information.
“The recording was interrupted. It may have been stopped manually.””
“Can we recover the rest?””
“The technician is trying.””
Nia stood too quickly and winced.
She gripped the back of the sofa until the pain passed.
“I need to know what Brielle did.””
Ethan rose beside her.
“We'll ask her.””
“No. I need to know what Mom knew.””
He didn't try to stop her.
They reviewed the remaining documents.
One showed the original foundation account balances before the suspicious transfers began. Another listed payments to Northstar Medical Consulting. The third was a handwritten inventory of items Elaine had stored in the family safe.
At the bottom of the list was an entry that made Nia stop.
*One sealed envelope containing Daniel Mercer's original investment agreement.*
Beside it, Elaine had written:
*If the agreement disappears, ask Brielle who signed it.*
Nia looked at Ethan.
“Mom kept an original investment agreement in the safe?””
“Apparently.””
“Where is it now?””
Ethan checked the inventory.
“The safe was emptied after her death. There's no record of the agreement being transferred to the estate.””
“Who had access?””
“Your father. Brielle. Martin Voss.””
“And Daniel?””
“He might have had access through Brielle.””
Nia reached for her phone.
“I need to speak to my sister.””
Ethan nodded.
Brielle answered on the second ring.
“What did you find?””
Nia didn't waste time.
“Mom had an original investment agreement belonging to Daniel. She wrote that you knew who signed it.””
Brielle was silent.
“Brielle?””
“I signed it.””
Nia's heart hammered.
“What did you sign?””
“A guarantee.””
“For what?””
“The investment company. Daniel told me it was a standard document that would allow him to manage the foundation's portfolio.””
“Did you read it?””
“Yes.””
“Then what did it say?””
Brielle began to cry.
“It said I was personally responsible for the money if the investments failed.””
Nia stared at the wall.
“How much?””
“Forty-two million dollars.””
The same amount that had disappeared from the foundation.
“Why would you sign that?””
“Because Daniel told me the money was only being moved temporarily. He said the company would generate enough returns to replace it, and the foundation would never know.””
“And when did you discover the truth?””
“The night Mom confronted him.””
Nia's throat tightened.
“What did Mom ask you to do?””
“She asked me to tell Dad everything. She said she would help me make things right if I stopped lying.””
“And you refused.””
Brielle's voice broke.
“I was afraid.””
Nia closed her eyes.
“Of losing money?””
“Of going to prison. Of losing my career. Of losing the life I thought I was going to have.””
“So you let Mom take the blame for something she was trying to expose.””
“I know.””
“And you let Dad believe she was confused.””
“I know!””
Brielle was sobbing now.
Nia waited until she could speak again.
“Why did you attack me?””
“Because you found the original transaction records. I thought you were going to discover the guarantee, and I knew Daniel would never let that happen.””
“Did he tell you to hurt me?””
A long silence followed.
Then Brielle whispered, “He told me to make sure you couldn't talk to Dad.””
Nia felt her blood turn to ice.
“Did he know you were meeting me at the lake house?””
“Yes.””
“Did he know I was hurt?””
“Yes.””
“Did he come to the house afterward?””
Brielle stopped crying.
For several seconds, Nia heard only breathing.
Then her sister said, “Yes.””
Nia's fingers tightened around the phone.
“What did he do?””
“He took your phone. He went through the records you had collected. Then he told me to call Dad and say you had gone to Chicago.””
“And when did he leave?””
Brielle's voice dropped to a whisper.
“Before the ambulance arrived.””
Nia stared at Ethan.
Daniel had been at the lake house.
He had taken her phone.
He had helped fabricate the story that she had disappeared.
And he had left her injured, believing she might never wake up.
“Brielle,” Nia said, “where is he now?””
“I don't know.””
“Don't lie to me.””
“I'm not. He called me an hour ago and said he was leaving the country.””
Nia stood motionless.
“Did you tell the police?””
“No.””
“Why not?””
“Because he said he'd release the original guarantee and make sure I went to prison.””
Nia's voice became cold.
“Then let him.””
Brielle began crying harder.
“You don't understand. If he releases it, they'll know I stole the money.””
“They already know.””
“Then I'll lose everything.””
Nia looked at the memory card on the table.
“You lost everything when you decided I was worth sacrificing to save yourself.””
She ended the call.
Ethan immediately contacted Detective Shaw, who issued an urgent request to locate Daniel and prevent him from leaving the country.
Minutes later, the detective called back.
“His passport has been flagged, and we're checking the airports. But there's a complication.””
“What?””
“Daniel has already filed a statement claiming that Brielle was responsible for the foundation fraud and that he was acting under her instructions.””
Nia stared at the phone.
“He's blaming her?””
“Yes. And he has submitted a document that appears to support his claim.””
Ethan leaned forward.
“What document?””
Detective Shaw took a breath.
“An investment guarantee bearing Brielle's signature.””
Nia closed her eyes.
Daniel had found a way to turn her sister's crime into his defense.
But the memory card contained one more file they hadn't opened.
The video.
Ethan clicked on it.
The image was dark and grainy. A hospital corridor appeared, followed by a door opening.
Elaine Bennett sat upright in her bed.
She was pale, but fully conscious.
A man entered the room carrying a folder.
He placed it on the bed and said, “You need to sign this before midnight.””
Elaine looked up.
“No.””
The man stepped closer.
“Your husband has already agreed.””
“Then let him sign it.””
“He can't. This requires your consent.””
Elaine pushed the folder away.
“I will not sign anything until Dr. Hayes explains the medication changes.””
The man leaned toward her.
“Then I'm afraid your daughter will suffer the consequences.””
Nia stopped breathing.
The camera shifted slightly, capturing the man's face.
Martin Voss.
He glanced toward the door, then returned his attention to Elaine.
“Brielle has already signed her part,” he said.
“All you need to do is cooperate.””
Elaine stared at him.
And then she said something that made Nia grab Ethan's arm.
“Tell Daniel I know he changed the first order.””
The video ended.
For several seconds, the room remained silent.
Then Detective Shaw called.
“We've located Daniel's vehicle,” she said.
“It's been abandoned near the private airfield outside the city.””
Nia stared at the black screen.
“Is he there?””
“No.””
“Then where is he?””
May you like
The detective's answer came quietly.
“We found blood on the passenger seat. And beside the driver's door, we found Martin Voss's briefcase.””
