Chapter 6 — The Woman Margaret Was Afraid Of
Chapter 6 — The Woman Margaret Was Afraid Of
I didn't tell Irene everything Victor Hale had said.
Not immediately.
She was already carrying enough fear.
But there was one sentence I couldn't get out of my head.
The baby is the key.
I repeated it while driving.
I repeated it while sitting across from Daniel Mercer.
I repeated it while Detective Harris reviewed the evidence.
And when Irene finally asked me what I was hiding, I realized there was no point pretending anymore.
“Victor said the baby is the key.”
Daniel's face changed.
Not surprise.
Fear.
I noticed immediately.
“You know what that means.”
He looked at me.
“I suspected.”
“What did my father leave behind?”
Daniel didn't answer.
“Daniel.”
He sighed.
“Your father wasn't protecting eighteen million dollars.”
I stared.
“What?”
“He was protecting something much more valuable.”
“What?”
“Information.”
“About what?”
Daniel looked toward Irene.
“Your family.”
I frowned.
“My family?”
“Your grandfather built the Wentworth fortune through legitimate businesses.”
“I know.”
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“You know the version Margaret told you.”
Silence.
“The truth is much darker.”
Daniel took us into a private room.
He locked the door.
Then he placed a thick file on the table.
“This belonged to your father.”
I opened it.
The first page contained photographs.
My grandfather.
Men I didn't recognize.
Factories.
Shipping containers.
Bank accounts.
And one woman.
She appeared repeatedly.
A beautiful woman in her late thirties.
Dark hair.
Sharp eyes.
A scar near her eyebrow.
I stared.
“Who is she?”
Daniel didn't answer.
I turned another page.
The same woman appeared beside my father.
Then beside my grandfather.
Then in a photograph taken outside a federal courthouse.
Finally, there was a handwritten name.
Eleanor Vale.
I looked at Daniel.
“Who is Eleanor?”
“The woman Margaret was afraid of.”
I had never heard that name.
Not once.
Not in twelve years.
Not during my father's funeral.
Not during conversations about the family business.
Not even when my mother told me the entire history of the Wentworth family.
“She was your father's business partner,” Daniel said.
“My father had business partners?”
“One.”
“Her?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“She disappeared.”
“When?”
“Two weeks before your father died.”
My skin prickled.
“Did he know where she went?”
“He thought she was dead.”
“Was she?”
“No.”
Daniel opened another file.
“She's alive.”
I looked at him.
“Where?”
“We don't know.”
I stared at the photographs.
“What did she know?”
“Everything.”
Irene sat beside me.
“Why would Margaret be afraid of her?”
Daniel looked at her.
“Because Eleanor knew where the original money came from.”
I frowned.
“My grandfather's money?”
Daniel nodded.
“And she knew what happened to it.”
“What happened?”
“Your grandfather didn't build the empire alone.”
Daniel tapped the photograph.
“Eleanor did.”
I stared.
“Then why isn't her name anywhere?”
“Because Margaret erased it.”
My blood went cold.
“Why?”
“Because Eleanor was the one person who could prove that Margaret had stolen from the family.”
I looked at the documents.
“How?”
“Eleanor kept copies.”
“Of what?”
“Everything.”
Daniel showed us a ledger.
It was old.
Handwritten.
Thousands of entries.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
I recognized several.
Companies owned by my grandfather.
But others were unfamiliar.
Then I saw my mother's name.
Margaret Wentworth — $4,200,000.
Another entry.
Margaret Wentworth — $2,100,000.
Another.
Margaret Wentworth — $6,800,000.
I looked at Daniel.
“She stole millions.”
“Yes.”
“How did my father find out?”
“Eleanor told him.”
“And then?”
“Your father confronted Margaret.”
“What happened?”
Daniel looked away.
“He was afraid she would kill him.”
My stomach tightened.
“But he didn't leave her.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because he believed she was being controlled.”
“By Victor Hale?”
Daniel nodded.
“Partly.”
“Who else?”
“That is what Eleanor knew.”
The room became silent.
I looked at the photograph again.
Eleanor.
The woman who had disappeared.
The woman my mother feared.
The woman who apparently knew everything.
“Where can I find her?”
Daniel shook his head.
“You can't.”
“Why?”
“Because she's been hiding for twelve years.”
“Then how do you know she's alive?”
“Because she contacted me six months ago.”
I froze.
“What?”
“She sent me a letter.”
“Where is it?”
Daniel reached into the safe.
He removed an envelope.
It was sealed.
My name was written on it.
Again.
I stared at it.
“Why didn't you give me this?”
“Because your father instructed me not to unless the trust was threatened.”
“It is threatened.”
“I know.”
He handed it to me.
I opened it.
Inside was a single page.
Austin,
If you're reading this, Margaret has finally discovered the trust exists.
That means she has also discovered that your child is the key to everything your grandfather hid.
My hands shook.
I continued.
Do not trust Margaret.
Do not trust Victor Hale.
And do not trust anyone who tells you Eleanor Vale is dead.
The letter ended with an address.
A remote location in northern Arizona.
I stared at it.
“She wants me to find her.”
Daniel nodded.
“Apparently.”
We left immediately.
Irene insisted on coming.
“No.”
She shook her head.
“I am not staying behind while someone is trying to take my baby.”
“I need you somewhere safe.”
“I need to know the truth too.”
I looked at her.
She was right.
For months, people had made decisions about her life without her.
I wasn't going to become another person doing it.
“Fine.”
I took her hand.
“But you stay beside me.”
“I will.”
The drive took nearly five hours.
The landscape changed from city to desert.
Then mountains.
Then almost nothing.
Finally, we reached an abandoned motel.
There were no cars.
No lights.
No sign anyone had lived there for years.
I looked at the address.
“This is it.”
Irene stared through the windshield.
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
We entered.
Dust covered everything.
Rooms were empty.
Doors hung open.
Then I heard a voice behind us.
“Don't move.”
I turned.
A woman stood at the end of the hallway.
Dark hair.
Gray coat.
A scar above her eyebrow.
I knew immediately.
Eleanor Vale.
I reached for Irene.
The woman raised a gun.
“Don't.”
I froze.
“Eleanor?”
Her expression softened.
“Your father used to call you Austin.”
“He knew you were alive.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you contact me?”
“Because your mother would have killed you.”
I stared.
“My mother?”
Eleanor nodded.
“She has been looking for me for twelve years.”
“Why?”
“Because I know what happened the night your father died.”
My heart stopped.
“What happened?”
Eleanor lowered the gun.
“Your father didn't die from a heart attack.”
Irene gasped.
“What?”
“He was poisoned.”
I felt the floor disappear beneath me.
“By who?”
Eleanor looked directly at me.
“Margaret didn't do it.”
I frowned.
“Then who?”
Eleanor's eyes moved toward Irene's stomach.
“The person who ordered it is still alive.”
I felt a chill.
“Who?”
Eleanor stepped closer.
“The person who wants your baby.”
We followed her into a hidden room beneath the motel.
There were files everywhere.
Photographs.
Computers.
Boxes.
Maps.
Eleanor had been collecting evidence for twelve years.
“You've been watching my family.”
“I've been protecting you.”
“Why?”
“Because your father asked me to.”
She handed me a photograph.
It showed my father holding me as a child.
Beside him stood Eleanor.
I stared.
“I've seen this.”
“Your mother removed me from every copy.”
“Why?”
“Because she wanted you to believe she was your father's only family.”
I looked at the photograph.
“Were you in love with him?”
Eleanor smiled sadly.
“No.”
“Then what were you?”
“His partner.”
“In business?”
“In everything that mattered.”
She opened another file.
“This is why Margaret feared me.”
Inside were documents proving my grandfather had transferred control of several legitimate companies to Eleanor.
Not Margaret.
Not my father.
Eleanor.
“She owned part of the empire.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did my mother have control?”
“Because after your grandfather died, Margaret forged documents.”
I stared.
“She stole the company.”
“Yes.”
“And my father let her?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because he discovered something worse.”
“What?”
Eleanor looked at Irene.
“Your grandfather had another child.”
I froze.
“What?”
“A daughter.”
Irene's eyes widened.
“Who?”
Eleanor looked at me.
“Me.”
Silence.
I couldn't breathe.
“What?”
“I am your aunt.”
I stared at her.
The woman my mother had erased.
The woman my father had trusted.
The woman who apparently owned part of the family fortune.
Eleanor continued.
“Your grandfather had a secret daughter because he was afraid Margaret would use her against him.”
I shook my head.
“This doesn't make sense.”
“It will.”
She placed another document in front of me.
A birth certificate.
Eleanor Marie Wentworth.
My grandfather's name.
My grandmother's name.
Everything matched.
I sat down.
“My mother knew?”
“Yes.”
“She knew you were alive.”
“Yes.”
“And she was afraid of you.”
“Because I could expose her.”
I looked at the files.
“What does this have to do with my baby?”
Eleanor's expression became serious.
“Everything.”
She opened the final file.
Inside was a copy of my father's trust.
I had seen it before.
But there was a page I'd never seen.
A hidden clause.
Eleanor pointed to it.
“Your father changed the trust after learning what Margaret had done.”
I read it.
The language was complicated.
But one sentence was clear.
Upon the birth of Austin Wentworth's first child, ownership of the protected assets shall transfer to the child, under the guardianship of the child's mother.
I looked up.
“Irene.”
“Yes.”
“Not Margaret.”
“No.”
“Then why is she trying to make Irene medically incapable?”
“So she can challenge the guardianship.”
I suddenly understood.
The medical records.
The forged forms.
The attacks.
The plan.
My mother wasn't trying to steal the trust directly.
She was trying to make Irene legally incapable of protecting the baby.
Then she could petition for control.
But there was another sentence.
I read it again.
Unless the child is determined to be the surviving descendant of the Wentworth bloodline.
I looked at Eleanor.
“What does that mean?”
She hesitated.
“It means the child has another inheritance.”
“What inheritance?”
Eleanor looked at me.
“Your grandfather left a second fortune.”
“How much?”
“Far more than the trust.”
My heart pounded.
“Where?”
Eleanor shook her head.
“That's what everyone is looking for.”
“Victor?”
“Yes.”
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“Carla?”
“Yes.”
“And you?”
She smiled.
“I already know where it is.”
I stared at her.
“Then tell me.”
“I will.”
She looked toward Irene.
“But first, you need to understand why your baby is in danger.”
“What?”
“The second fortune isn't money.”
I frowned.
“Then what is it?”
Eleanor's voice dropped.
“Ownership.”
“Of what?”
“The original Wentworth organization.”
I felt sick.
“The criminal network?”
“Yes.”
“My grandfather controlled it?”
“He built it.”
I looked at Irene.
She was pale.
Eleanor continued.
“And whoever inherits it controls billions.”
Silence.
Then she said the words that changed everything.
“Your unborn child is the legal heir.”
A car engine suddenly roared outside.
Eleanor's expression changed.
“They found us.”
I stood.
“Who?”
“Victor.”
“How?”
She grabbed a weapon.
“I told you. He has been looking for me for twelve years.”
I took Irene's hand.
“What do we do?”
Eleanor looked at me.
“For the first time in your life, Austin…”
She opened a hidden door.
“You run toward the truth.”
Gunfire exploded outside.
Irene screamed.
I pulled her behind me.
Eleanor fired back.
Then she looked at me.
“Your mother isn't the real enemy.”
I stared.
“Then who is?”
Eleanor's eyes hardened.
“The man who has been paying her.”
Another gunshot.
The window shattered.
Eleanor grabbed a folder.
“Move!”
We ran through the hidden passage.
Behind us, the motel filled with gunfire.
And as we disappeared into the desert darkness, I finally understood why Margaret had been so afraid of Eleanor Vale.
It wasn't because Eleanor knew her secrets.
May you like
It was because Eleanor knew the truth about who was actually in control.
And that person had just declared war on my unborn child.
