Chapter 8 — The Woman David Was Supposed to Marry
Chapter 8 — The Woman David Was Supposed to Marry
The woman David was supposed to marry was not Julianne.
That was the first thing I learned.
The second was worse.
He had never been supposed to marry me.
I found her name in a file marked MARRIAGE CONTINGENCY.
Her photograph was clipped to the first page.
Beautiful.
Elegant.
Cold.
And beneath her photograph was a name I recognized.
Claire Whitmore.
The same woman who had admitted entering Lily's hospital room.
The same woman who claimed she had been trying to save my daughter.
The same woman who had just told me my mother was alive.
I stared at the photograph.
“You're telling me David was supposed to marry her?”
Agent Moore nodded.
“According to the documents.”
“Before me?”
“Years before.”
I looked at Claire through the interrogation-room glass.
She sat alone.
Head lowered.
Hands folded.
She looked nothing like the woman in the photograph.
“What happened?”
Moore opened another file.
“Your father stopped the arrangement.”
“Why?”
“Because David wanted something your father refused to give him.”
“The trust.”
“Yes.”
I looked back at Claire.
“Then why did she agree to marry him?”
Moore hesitated.
“Because she loved him.”
I almost laughed.
“Everyone keeps telling me David loved people.”
He said nothing.
“Maybe he did.”
I looked down at the photograph.
“Maybe he just loved what people could give him.”
Claire was brought back into the room.
She looked at me.
“You found it.”
“The marriage file?”
She nodded.
“You were supposed to marry David.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Because your father intervened.”
“What did he offer you?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why agree?”
She looked away.
“Because I believed David would eventually choose me.”
My chest tightened.
“You waited for him?”
“For six years.”
“And then he married me.”
“Yes.”
“Did you hate me?”
Claire's eyes met mine.
“At first.”
“At first?”
“Then I realized you were another person he was using.”
That answer surprised me.
“You didn't want to hurt me?”
“I wanted him to hurt.”
She swallowed.
“But I never wanted Lily hurt.”
I stared at her.
“Then why did you go into her hospital room?”
“To save her.”
“And the antidote?”
She nodded.
“Someone had already poisoned her.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Then tell me what you do know.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“I know who ordered the first dose.”
My pulse quickened.
“Who?”
She whispered:
“David.”
The room became silent.
“That's impossible.”
“No.”
“He was on the yacht.”
“He gave the order before he left.”
“Why?”
“Because Eleanor told him Lily had to be made vulnerable.”
I stared.
“Vulnerable for what?”
“The trust.”
Claire leaned forward.
“Lily was about to trigger an automatic review.”
“What kind of review?”
“Financial.”
I frowned.
“What does a seven-year-old have to do with finance?”
“Nothing.”
She paused.
“Her death did.”
My blood ran cold.
“If Lily died, the trust would transfer.”
“To me.”
“Yes.”
“Why would they want that?”
“Because your control could be manipulated.”
“How?”
“Through debt.”
I stared at her.
“They planned to make me financially responsible for David's liabilities.”
She nodded.
“Then force you to sell.”
“To whom?”
Claire looked at me.
“Eleanor.”
I stood.
“They planned all of this before Lily died.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Years.”
“Who else knew?”
“David.”
“Eleanor.”
“Your father.”
“Your mother.”
I froze.
“My mother?”
Claire nodded.
“She knew.”
“But she disappeared.”
“She disappeared because she refused to cooperate.”
“Then why did she let everyone believe she was dead?”
“To protect you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Everyone claims they were protecting me.”
Claire's expression softened.
“Your mother actually was.”
I stared at her.
“How?”
“She took Lily's original trust documents.”
“Where?”
“Europe.”
“Which country?”
Claire shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“You saw her.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“On David's yacht.”
“Why was she there?”
“To retrieve something.”
“What?”
Claire hesitated.
“An original recording.”
My heart stopped.
“What recording?”
“The night Lily was poisoned.”
Agent Moore immediately entered.
“Why didn't you tell us this before?”
Claire looked at him.
“Because I didn't know whether you were compromised.”
Moore's jaw tightened.
“I'm federal.”
“I know.”
“Then?”
Claire looked at me.
“Your mother told me never to trust anyone wearing a badge.”
I looked at Moore.
He didn't react.
“Where is the recording?”
Claire shook her head.
“Your mother has it.”
“Then we find her.”
“I don't know where she is.”
“You said she was on the yacht.”
“She was.”
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
“Then where did she go?”
Claire whispered:
“She disappeared again.”
We searched every location connected to David.
The yacht.
The marina.
His offices.
His private residences.
Nothing.
Then Moore found something.
A storage invoice.
Paid by an anonymous trust.
The destination:
Port Everly, Maine.
I stared at the address.
“What is there?”
“An old Bellmont property.”
“My mother's?”
“Yes.”
I didn't wait.
We arrived at dawn.
The house stood on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic.
Old.
Gray.
Abandoned.
At least from the outside.
The front door opened before we reached it.
A woman stood inside.
Gray hair.
Thin face.
Blue eyes.
My heart stopped.
She looked exactly like the photograph I remembered from childhood.
“Mom?”
She didn't move.
Neither did I.
Twenty years disappeared in one second.
Then she whispered:
“Maya.”
My knees nearly gave out.
“You're alive.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Yes.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice.”
She flinched.
“You're right.”
I stepped inside.
“Why?”
She looked toward the ocean.
“Because your father wanted me dead.”
I froze.
“Why?”
“Because I knew what he had done.”
“What?”
She turned toward me.
“Your father didn't create the trust.”
“I know.”
“He didn't create the Vance fortune either.”
“I know.”
“He stole it.”
I stared.
“From whom?”
She took a breath.
“From Nathaniel Sterling.”
My blood ran cold.
“The man everyone keeps mentioning.”
“Yes.”
“The supposed father of Lily.”
My mother shook her head.
“He isn't Lily's father.”
I stared.
“I know.”
“Then you know David is.”
I nodded.
She looked devastated.
“Yes.”
“Why did my father fake the DNA report?”
“Because Nathaniel was the only person powerful enough to make Eleanor afraid.”
“Eleanor?”
My mother nodded.
“Eleanor had been controlling David since he was a teenager.”
“For what?”
“Money.”
“Then why did she want Lily?”
“Because Lily was the legal key to everything your father stole.”
I looked at her.
“What did he steal?”
She walked toward a cabinet.
Opened it.
Inside were dozens of files.
Bank records.
Property deeds.
Corporate agreements.
Photographs.
And one thick red folder.
She handed it to me.
“This.”
I opened it.
The first page contained a list of names.
Hundreds.
Politicians.
Bankers.
Judges.
Business owners.
And beneath them:
PAYMENTS MADE BY RICHARD VANCE.
I looked up.
“Who is Richard?”
My mother's expression changed.
“Your grandfather.”
I frowned.
“My grandfather?”
“He wasn't just a businessman.”
“What was he?”
She whispered:
“The man who built the criminal network behind the Vance fortune.”
I stared at her.
“And my father?”
“His heir.”
“And David?”
“His chosen successor.”
“And Lily?”
She closed her eyes.
“The one person who could legally destroy everything.”
I turned the pages.
There were photographs.
Secret meetings.
Offshore accounts.
Hidden companies.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
Then I found one photograph that made my hands freeze.
David.
Eleanor.
Julianne.
And my mother.
Standing together on David's yacht.
The date was three months before Lily died.
I looked at my mother.
“You knew David.”
“Yes.”
“You met with him.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To warn him.”
“About what?”
“That Lily's trust had activated.”
My heart stopped.
“When?”
“Three months before she died.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because David wasn't the only threat.”
“Who else?”
My mother looked toward the window.
“Someone on that yacht was working for Nathaniel.”
I stared.
“Nathaniel?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To recover the original trust.”
“What happened?”
My mother hesitated.
“David found out.”
“What did he do?”
“He ordered everyone off the yacht.”
“And you?”
“I stayed.”
“Why?”
“To find the recording.”
I remembered Claire.
“The recording of Lily's poisoning.”
My mother nodded.
“Yes.”
“Did you find it?”
“Yes.”
“Where is it?”
She reached into the cabinet.
Pulled out a small black drive.
My heart raced.
“That's it?”
“The entire night.”
I took it.
“Why didn't you give it to the police?”
“Because the recording doesn't only expose David.”
She looked at me.
“It exposes your father.”
I stared.
“What did he do?”
My mother whispered:
“He was the one who ordered Lily's death.”
I couldn't breathe.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“My father is dead.”
“I know.”
“Then why would he—”
“He didn't die when you thought he did.”
I froze.
“What?”
She looked directly at me.
“Your father is alive.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“He has been living under another name.”
“Which name?”
She took a breath.
Then said:
“Victor Sterling.”
I stared at her.
Nathaniel Sterling.
Richard Vance.
David.
My father.
My mother.
Everything was becoming one tangled nightmare.
Then the black drive in my hand vibrated.
I looked down.
It shouldn't have been possible.
The drive had no screen.
But a tiny red light had appeared.
Once.
Twice.
Then a message appeared on the laptop beside me.
TRANSFER COMPLETE.
My blood froze.
Moore reached for his weapon.
“Someone is accessing the drive.”
Another message appeared.
HELLO, MAYA.
Then:
I'M SORRY ABOUT LILY.
And finally:
YOU SHOULD HAVE ASKED WHO WAS HOLDING THE CAMERA.
The screen went black.
My mother whispered:
“They know we're here.”
Outside, tires screamed against the gravel.
Three black vehicles stopped in front of the house.
Doors opened.
Men stepped out.
And the first man who walked toward the house was someone I had seen only once before.
At Lily's funeral.
He had stood at the back of the cemetery.
Watching me.
Watching the coffin.
Watching everything.
He removed his sunglasses.
And smiled.
My mother grabbed my hand.
“Don't let him take the drive.”
“Who is he?”
She looked at me.
“David's first choice for a wife.”
I stared.
“What?”
Her voice dropped.
“Not Claire.”
“Then who?”
My mother looked toward the approaching man.
“The woman David was supposed to marry was never a woman.”
I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
She whispered:
“She's the person who has been controlling him from the beginning.”
The front door shook under the first impact.
Then a voice came from outside.
“Open the door, Maya.”
I knew that voice.
May you like
It belonged to Eleanor.
And she was not alone.
