Chapter 10: What Marcus Buried Beneath the Roses
I read Brielle's message three times.
She died because she discovered what Marcus had buried beneath the rose garden.
For eleven months, I had avoided that garden.
Lorraine had planted the roses herself. Every spring, she spent hours pruning the bushes, removing dead leaves, and arguing with the gardeners about which varieties deserved more sunlight.
After her funeral, I had ordered the gardeners to leave everything untouched.
I couldn't bear the thought of someone changing the last place she had loved.
Now I wondered whether she had been trying to leave me something.
“Renee,” I said, “get the car.””
She looked at the message on my phone.
“Arthur, we need to inform Detective Hayes before we do anything.””
“Then call him.””
“And don't touch anything you find.””
I nodded.
Within twenty minutes, Detective Hayes arrived with another investigator.
We walked through the back entrance of the estate.
The rose garden stretched behind the conservatory, surrounded by a low stone wall. Morning sunlight illuminated the white flowers, but the air smelled of damp soil and decaying leaves.
I stopped beside Lorraine's favorite rose bush.
It was a pale pink variety she had brought home from England.
She used to call it The Duchess.
“Where is the foundation stone?”” Hayes asked.
I pointed toward a small circular arrangement of stones near the center of the garden.
“Lorraine designed that herself. She said it represented the beginning of everything.””
The investigator examined the area.
“Do you know which stone she meant?””
I knelt carefully.
My legs still weren't strong enough to support me for long, so Renee placed a chair nearby.
I studied the stones.
Most were gray granite.
One was white marble.
And beneath it, I noticed a tiny brass marking.
A date.
The day Lorraine and I had purchased our first home.
I touched it.
“That's the one.””
Hayes instructed the investigator to photograph the area before moving anything.
A few minutes later, the marble stone was lifted.
Beneath it was a narrow metal compartment.
Inside sat a waterproof container.
My heart began pounding.
Renee carefully opened it.
There were three items.
A small USB drive.
A folded property deed.
And a photograph.
The photograph showed Marcus standing beside a construction worker in the rose garden.
They were digging near the exact location where the container had been hidden.
The date printed on the back was six weeks before Lorraine died.
Hayes looked at the investigator.
“Photograph everything.””
I picked up the deed.
It was a copy of the original ownership record for Blackwood Lane.
But the name of the owner wasn't Carter Holdings.
It was Lorraine Carter personally.
I frowned.
“Why would she own it separately?””
Renee examined the document.
“Because this property wasn't originally part of the company.””
She turned the page.
A handwritten note was attached.
The land beneath Blackwood Lane contains something worth more than the buildings above it.
I looked at her.
“What does that mean?””
She shook her head.
“I'm not sure.””
The USB drive was handed to Detective Hayes.
He examined it.
“We'll have our digital team review this.””
I looked toward the photograph again.
Marcus was smiling.
The construction worker was holding a shovel.
And in the background, barely visible through the garden window, was Daniel.
Watching them.
“There's more,” I said.
Renee turned.
“What?””
I pointed to the photograph.
“Look at the window.””
She moved closer.
“That's Daniel.””
Hayes nodded.
“Which suggests he knew about the excavation.””
My phone rang.
Marcus.
I answered.
“Where are you, Dad?””
“In the garden.””
There was a pause.
“Which part?””
I looked at the open compartment.
“The rose garden.””
His breathing changed.
“Don't touch anything.””
I almost laughed.
“That's interesting advice from someone who has been digging around my wife's garden.””
“Dad, listen to me. You need to leave that area.””
“Why?””
“Because it's dangerous.””
“What's dangerous about a rose garden?””
He lowered his voice.
“There's something buried there that doesn't belong to you.””
I stared at the phone.
“It's on my property.””
“Not anymore.””
I closed my eyes.
He had used those words before.
Not anymore.
As if my entire life could be transferred into someone else's name with a signature.
“Marcus,” I said, “what did you bury?””
He didn't answer.
Then he said, “You have no idea what Mom found.””
“Then tell me.””
“Daniel wasn't supposed to involve you.””
“Your brother involved me when he tried to declare me incompetent.””
Marcus sighed.
“Dad, this is bigger than money.””
I looked at Renee.
She had started recording the conversation.
“What is it about?””
Marcus lowered his voice further.
“The company doesn't own Blackwood Lane anymore because the property was never the real asset.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“There's something underneath it.””
The call ended.
An hour later, Detective Hayes received the first report from his digital team.
The USB drive contained photographs, financial spreadsheets, and several audio files.
The most important document was a geological survey commissioned by Lorraine three years earlier.
Blackwood Lane sat above a large underground mineral deposit.
Not ordinary industrial land.
A substantial lithium-bearing geological formation.
The estimated commercial value was enormous.
I stared at the report.
“Why didn't I know about this?””
Renee turned the pages.
“Lorraine commissioned the survey privately. She may have wanted to establish the value before deciding how to protect the property.””
Hayes pointed to another document.
“The report also indicates that several drilling permits were issued through Meridian Development Partners.””
I looked at him.
“Without my approval?””
“Yes.””
“And Marcus?””
“He appears to have been involved in the applications.””
I leaned back.
The six million dollars.
The shell companies.
The forged signatures.
They hadn't simply been trying to cover Daniel's debts.
They had discovered something beneath the land that could make them richer than anything they might inherit from me.
And they had been willing to steal it.
Renee opened another file.
“Arthur, there's a document here that concerns me.””
It was a draft purchase agreement.
The buyer was an international mining consortium.
The proposed price was $180 million.
I stared at the figure.
“Who was selling?””
She turned the document around.
“Daniel and Marcus.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“They were going to sell Lorraine's property?””
“Apparently.””
“Where was Brielle?””
Renee checked the supporting paperwork.
“Listed as the beneficiary of a separate holding company.””
I sat silently.
My children had built an entire financial structure around something their mother had discovered.
And they had used her death as an opportunity to take it.
Detective Hayes closed his notebook.
“Mr. Carter, I think we now have enough evidence to expand the investigation.””
Before he could continue, his phone rang.
He listened for several seconds.
Then his expression changed.
“What do you mean the property has been accessed?””
He stood.
“Who authorized it?””
Another pause.
Then he looked at me.
“Mr. Carter, someone has just arrived at Blackwood Lane with drilling equipment.””
I slowly rose from my chair.
“Who?””
Hayes ended the call.
“The registered contractor says the order came from a company owned by Daniel Carter.””
I looked toward the house.
May you like
My eldest son had discovered that we had found the hidden documents.
And he was trying to destroy whatever evidence remained beneath Blackwood Lane.
