PART 4 \u2014 WHAT MY FATHER TRIED TO TELL ME
\nFor a moment, nobody moved.
\nI stared at Rebecca.
\n\u201cWhat did you just say?\u201d
\nMy aunt\u2019s face crumpled.
\n\u201cClaire, I\u2019m sorry.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nI walked toward her.
\n\u201cSay it again.\u201d
\nRebecca looked at Derek.
\nThe two investigators still had him restrained near the cake table.
\nHis expression had changed completely.
\nNo anger.
\nNo panic.
\nJust calculation.
\nThat frightened me more than anything.
\nRebecca swallowed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father\u2019s stroke happened three hours after Derek visited him.\u201d
\nMy knees nearly buckled.
\n\u201cYou told me Dad was alone that afternoon.\u201d
\n\u201cI lied.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause Edward begged me to.\u201d
\nThe ballroom seemed to shrink around me.
\nI could hear people whispering, but their voices sounded miles away.
\n\u201cWhy would Dad ask you to lie?\u201d
\nRebecca wiped tears from her cheeks.
\n\u201cBecause he was afraid you\u2019d confront Derek.\u201d
\nI almost laughed.
\n\u201cThat makes no sense.\u201d
\n\u201cIt will.\u201d
\nShe looked at Daniel.
\n\u201cShow her.\u201d
\nDaniel nodded toward the flash drive in my hand.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s an audio file on there dated eight months ago.\u201d
\nMy fingers tightened around it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat audio file?\u201d
\n\u201cYour father recorded Derek.\u201d
\nDerek finally spoke.
\n\u201cClaire, this is insane.\u201d
\nI turned toward him.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t say my name.\u201d
\nHe smiled faintly.
\n\u201cThink about what they\u2019re telling you. Your dead mother, your sick father, some convicted criminal who suddenly appears at our wedding\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cOur wedding?\u201d
\nI looked at my ring sitting beside the destroyed cake.
\n\u201cThere is no \u2018our\u2019 anymore.\u201d
\nSomething flashed behind his eyes.
\nBut he remained quiet.
\nThomas stepped forward.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a laptop in the AV booth.\u201d
\nI looked toward the DJ.
\nThe poor man had been standing frozen behind his equipment for the past twenty minutes.
\n\u201cCan it play the file?\u201d
\nHe nodded.
\n\u201cYeah.\u201d
\nDerek suddenly struggled against the investigators.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nEvery person in the room looked at him.
\nHis reaction answered the question before we played anything.
\nI held up the flash drive.
\n\u201cYou recognize this?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cThen why are you scared?\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m not scared.\u201d
\n\u201cGood.\u201d
\nI walked toward the DJ booth.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you won\u2019t mind listening.\u201d
\n\u201cClaire!\u201d
\nI didn\u2019t stop.
\nLena followed me.
\nSo did Thomas.
\nBehind us, Derek shouted my name again.
\nThen Patricia spoke.
\n\u201cLet her play it.\u201d
\nSilence.
\nI turned.
\nPatricia stood beside her chair, her face streaked with mascara.
\nDerek stared at his mother.
\n\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d
\n\u201cI said let her play it.\u201d
\n\u201cYou have no idea what you\u2019re doing.\u201d
\n\u201cYes, I do.\u201d
\nHis voice became dangerously quiet.
\n\u201cMom.\u201d
\nPatricia flinched.
\nThen she straightened.
\n\u201cYou\u2019ve used that tone on me since you were twenty years old.\u201d
\nDerek stared at her.
\n\u201cYou\u2019d make one mistake, and I\u2019d fix it.\u201d
\nShe took a shaky breath.
\n\u201cThen another.\u201d
\nHer eyes filled with tears.
\n\u201cAnd another.\u201d
\nDerek shook his head.
\n\u201cStop talking.\u201d
\n\u201cI opened accounts because you said Daniel was stealing from you.\u201d
\n\u201cMom.\u201d
\n\u201cI lied to investigators because you told me Daniel would destroy our family.\u201d
\n\u201cShut up.\u201d
\n\u201cI helped you hide money.\u201d
\n\u201cSHUT UP!\u201d
\nThe investigators tightened their grip on him.
\nPatricia\u2019s voice broke.
\n\u201cAnd every time I saved you from consequences, I helped create the man standing there now.\u201d
\nNobody spoke.
\nDerek\u2019s face twisted.
\n\u201cYou think confessing makes you innocent?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nPatricia shook her head.
\n\u201cI\u2019m not innocent.\u201d
\nThen she looked at me.
\n\u201cAnd neither is your father.\u201d
\nThe words hit harder than the cake ever had.
\nI stopped walking.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nRebecca closed her eyes.
\n\u201cPatricia.\u201d
\n\u201cNo,\u201d Patricia said. \u201cIf we\u2019re telling the truth, we tell all of it.\u201d
\nI stared at her.
\n\u201cWhat did my father do?\u201d
\nShe looked at Derek.
\n\u201cHe helped bury what happened seven years ago.\u201d
\nMy stomach turned.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nDaniel stepped forward.
\n\u201cShe\u2019s telling the truth.\u201d
\nI looked at him.
\n\u201cYou said my mother discovered the missing money.\u201d
\n\u201cShe did.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd Dad knew?\u201d
\n\u201cEventually.\u201d
\n\u201cEventually?\u201d
\nDaniel nodded.
\n\u201cYour mother contacted me two weeks before the company collapsed.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\n\u201cShe\u2019d invested with us.\u201d
\nI shook my head.
\n\u201cMy mother hated risky investments.\u201d
\n\u201cIt wasn\u2019t presented as risky.\u201d
\nDaniel looked at Derek.
\n\u201cDerek convinced her the money would be placed in secured commercial notes.\u201d
\n\u201cHow much?\u201d
\nDaniel hesitated.
\n\u201cHow much?\u201d
\n\u201cThree point two million dollars.\u201d
\nI stared at him.
\n\u201cThat was all hers?\u201d
\n\u201cMost of it.\u201d
\nMy mouth went dry.
\nMy mother had inherited money from her parents.
\nShe almost never discussed it.
\nAfter her death, Dad told me the investments had performed badly and most of the inheritance was gone.
\nI believed him.
\n\u201cDerek stole my mother\u2019s money?\u201d
\nDaniel answered carefully.
\n\u201cDerek diverted it through shell accounts.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd you went to prison for it.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy didn\u2019t my mother testify?\u201d
\nDaniel\u2019s expression changed.
\n\u201cShe was going to.\u201d
\nThe room went cold.
\nI looked toward Derek.
\nHe was watching me.
\n\u201cSo three days before she died\u2026\u201d
\n\u201cShe called me,\u201d Daniel said.
\n\u201cShe said she had enough evidence to expose everything.\u201d
\nMy throat tightened.
\n\u201cWhat happened next?\u201d
\n\u201cShe confronted Derek.\u201d
\nDerek laughed.
\n\u201cThis is unbelievable.\u201d
\nDaniel ignored him.
\n\u201cYour mother also confronted Patricia.\u201d
\nPatricia nodded through tears.
\n\u201cShe came to my house.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d
\nPatricia stared at the floor.
\n\u201cShe said she knew I had opened two of the accounts.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd?\u201d
\n\u201cShe gave me forty-eight hours to cooperate.\u201d
\nI felt sick.
\n\u201cDid you?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\nPatricia looked at Derek.
\n\u201cBecause he was my son.\u201d
\nThere it was.
\nThe sentence that had destroyed more lives than she would ever understand.
\nBecause he was my son.
\nI turned toward Daniel.
\n\u201cAnd Dad?\u201d
\n\u201cYour mother told him everything the night before she died.\u201d
\nMy chest tightened.
\n\u201cThen why didn\u2019t he go to the police?\u201d
\nDaniel didn\u2019t answer.
\nRebecca did.
\n\u201cBecause he was scared.\u201d
\nI stared at her.
\n\u201cOf Derek?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cThen what?\u201d
\nRebecca\u2019s voice became almost inaudible.
\n\u201cOf losing you.\u201d
\nI shook my head.
\n\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d
\n\u201cEdward knew you were already connected to Derek\u2019s family.\u201d
\nI froze.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d
\nI hadn\u2019t met Derek until eighteen months ago.
\nSeven years earlier, I didn\u2019t even know his name.
\nRebecca looked at Patricia.
\nPatricia looked away.
\nSomething was wrong.
\n\u201cExplain.\u201d
\nRebecca took my hands.
\n\u201cClaire, the first time you met Derek wasn\u2019t eighteen months ago.\u201d
\n\u201cYes, it was.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cI think I would remember meeting my own husband.\u201d
\n\u201cYou didn\u2019t meet him personally.\u201d
\nMy skin prickled.
\n\u201cThen what are you talking about?\u201d
\nRebecca took a breath.
\n\u201cDerek knew who you were seven years ago.\u201d
\nI looked at him.
\nHe said nothing.
\n\u201cHe knew your name,\u201d Rebecca continued. \u201cHe knew where you went to college. He knew where you worked. He knew you were Edward and Marianne Bennett\u2019s daughter.\u201d
\nMy heart began pounding.
\n\u201cHow?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause your mother had photographs of you in her office.\u201d
\nI looked at Daniel.
\nHe nodded.
\n\u201cDerek saw them.\u201d
\nI suddenly remembered our first date.
\nDerek had acted surprised when I mentioned my parents.
\nBennett?
\nAny relation to Edward Bennett?
\nI had laughed.
\nSmall world.
\nIt hadn\u2019t been a small world at all.
\n\u201cYou knew who I was before we met.\u201d
\nDerek smiled.
\n\u201cLots of people know your family.\u201d
\n\u201cThat isn\u2019t an answer.\u201d
\n\u201cNo,\u201d Daniel said. \u201cHe knew exactly who you were.\u201d
\nDerek\u2019s smile vanished.
\nI turned back toward the laptop.
\n\u201cPlay the recording.\u201d
\nThe DJ inserted the flash drive.
\nA folder appeared on the screen.
\nDaniel pointed.
\n\u201cBENNETT_8MONTHS.\u201d
\nThe DJ clicked it.
\nThere were three files.
\nAUDIO_1.
\nAUDIO_2.
\nLETTER_FOR_CLAIRE.
\nMy breath caught.
\n\u201cLetter?\u201d
\nRebecca began crying again.
\n\u201cYour father wrote it after the stroke.\u201d
\n\u201cYou knew?\u201d
\nShe nodded.
\n\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you give it to me?\u201d
\n\u201cHe asked me to wait.\u201d
\n\u201cFor what?\u201d
\n\u201cUntil you were safe.\u201d
\nI couldn\u2019t speak.
\nThomas looked at the first audio file.
\n\u201cPlay it.\u201d
\nThe DJ clicked.
\nStatic filled the ballroom speakers.
\nThen my father\u2019s voice.
\nWeak.
\nTired.
\nBut unmistakable.
\n\u201cWhy are you here, Derek?\u201d
\nMy hand flew to my mouth.
\nThen Derek\u2019s voice.
\nCalm.
\n\u201cYou called me.\u201d
\n\u201cI called you because Marianne\u2019s file is missing.\u201d
\nMy mother\u2019s name.
\nA murmur moved through the ballroom.
\nDad continued.
\n\u201cI know you took it.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about.\u201d
\n\u201cYou were seen entering my office.\u201d
\n\u201cBy who?\u201d
\n\u201cThat doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d
\n\u201cIt matters to me.\u201d
\nThen Dad said something that made Patricia sit down hard.
\n\u201cI should have turned you in seven years ago.\u201d
\nSilence on the recording.
\nThen Derek laughed.
\n\u201cYou had your chance.\u201d
\n\u201cI was protecting Claire.\u201d
\n\u201cNo. You were protecting yourself.\u201d
\nDad\u2019s breathing became heavier.
\n\u201cI made the worst mistake of my life.\u201d
\n\u201cYes, you did.\u201d
\n\u201cI believed your mother when she said you would disappear.\u201d
\nPatricia covered her face.
\nDerek shouted toward the DJ.
\n\u201cTurn that off!\u201d
\nNobody moved.
\nOn the recording, my father continued.
\n\u201cMarianne wanted me to go to the police.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd you didn\u2019t.\u201d
\n\u201cI should have.\u201d
\n\u201cBut you didn\u2019t.\u201d
\nDerek sounded almost amused.
\n\u201cBecause you knew what an investigation would reveal.\u201d
\nI stared at the speakers.
\nDad whispered, \u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d
\nDerek continued.
\n\u201cThat Marianne was planning to leave you.\u201d
\nMy entire body went numb.
\nRebecca grabbed my arm.
\nI barely felt it.
\nOn the recording, Dad said, \u201cThat had nothing to do with her death.\u201d
\n\u201cMaybe.\u201d
\n\u201cDon\u2019t you dare.\u201d
\n\u201cBut imagine how it would have looked.\u201d
\nI stopped breathing.
\nMy mother had been planning to leave my father?
\nDad never told me.
\nNobody told me.
\nDerek continued.
\n\u201cYour wife dies while preparing to divorce you, millions are missing, and suddenly you\u2019re begging investigators not to dig too deeply.\u201d
\n\u201cYou threatened Claire.\u201d
\n\u201cI reminded you that investigations have consequences.\u201d
\n\u201cYou said you\u2019d ruin her.\u201d
\n\u201cI said scandals ruin everyone.\u201d
\nDad\u2019s voice broke.
\n\u201cYou stayed away from her for seven years.\u201d
\n\u201cUntil she walked into my life.\u201d
\n\u201cThat wasn\u2019t an accident.\u201d
\nSilence.
\nMy heart stopped.
\nDad repeated himself.
\n\u201cYou meeting Claire wasn\u2019t an accident.\u201d
\nDerek laughed softly.
\nThen came the words that destroyed the last illusion I had about our relationship.
\n\u201cNo, Edward.\u201d
\nA pause.
\n\u201cI made sure we met.\u201d
\nLena grabbed my hand.
\nI couldn\u2019t feel my fingers.
\nThe recording continued.
\nDad\u2019s voice became furious.
\n\u201cYou stay away from my daughter.\u201d
\n\u201cThat decision belongs to Claire.\u201d
\n\u201cShe doesn\u2019t know who you are.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd you can\u2019t tell her.\u201d
\n\u201cWatch me.\u201d
\nAnother pause.
\nThen Derek\u2019s voice became cold.
\n\u201cIf you tell Claire anything, I give the police the documents showing you obstructed the original investigation.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t care anymore.\u201d
\n\u201cYou will.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cYou will when Claire learns her father helped the man responsible for stealing her mother\u2019s fortune walk away.\u201d
\nDad breathed heavily.
\nThen he said, \u201cI\u2019m telling her tonight.\u201d
\nThere was movement.
\nA chair scraping.
\nThen Derek said, \u201cSit down.\u201d
\n\u201cGet out of my house.\u201d
\n\u201cEdward.\u201d
\n\u201cGET OUT.\u201d
\nSomething crashed.
\nThe recording became muffled.
\nThen my father gasped.
\nRebecca whispered, \u201cOh God.\u201d
\nOn the speakers, I heard Dad struggling to breathe.
\nThen Derek\u2019s voice.
\n\u201cEdward?\u201d
\nNo response.
\n\u201cEdward.\u201d
\nMore movement.
\nThen the recording abruptly ended.
\nNobody in the ballroom moved.
\nI turned toward Derek.
\n\u201cYou left him there?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cYou left my father while he was having a stroke?\u201d
\n\u201cI called for help.\u201d
\n\u201cThree hours later,\u201d Rebecca shouted.
\nEveryone turned toward her.
\nShe was shaking with rage.
\n\u201cThe housekeeper found Edward on the study floor three hours later.\u201d
\nI looked at Derek.
\n\u201cYou watched him collapse.\u201d
\n\u201cHe was alive.\u201d
\n\u201cYou watched him collapse!\u201d
\n\u201cHe was threatening me!\u201d
\nThe words exploded out of him.
\nSilence.
\nDerek realized what he had said.
\nToo late.
\nThomas stepped closer.
\n\u201cThank you.\u201d
\nDerek\u2019s eyes widened.
\n\u201cThat isn\u2019t what I meant.\u201d
\nThe taller investigator spoke quietly.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t say anything else.\u201d
\nDerek looked around.
\nEvery face in the room had changed.
\nHis friends.
\nHis relatives.
\nMy family.
\nEven Patricia.
\nNobody saw the charming groom anymore.
\nI looked at the laptop.
\n\u201cThere are two more files.\u201d
\nDaniel nodded.
\n\u201cThe second recording is shorter.\u201d
\n\u201cPlay it.\u201d
\nDerek suddenly fought against the investigators.
\n\u201cNo!\u201d
\nThey restrained him.
\nThe DJ clicked AUDIO_2.
\nMy father\u2019s voice returned.
\nBut this recording was different.
\nIt had been made after the stroke.
\nHis speech was slower.
\n\u201cClaire\u2026\u201d
\nI closed my eyes.
\nDad was speaking directly to me.
\n\u201cIf you\u2019re hearing this, Rebecca decided you needed the truth.\u201d
\nRebecca began sobbing.
\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d
\nDad continued.
\n\u201cI failed your mother.\u201d
\nMy chest hurt.
\n\u201cI knew Derek was involved in stealing her money. I let fear stop me from exposing him.\u201d
\nA long pause.
\n\u201cBut Claire, there is something I never told anyone.\u201d
\nDaniel looked suddenly confused.
\nSo did Patricia.
\nThat frightened me.
\nDad continued.
\n\u201cEveryone thinks Marianne died because she lost control of her car.\u201d
\nI opened my eyes.
\nDerek had stopped struggling.
\nHe was staring at the speakers.
\n\u201cBut the morning after her death, I found something inside her coat pocket.\u201d
\nMy heartbeat became painfully loud.
\n\u201cShe had hidden a second phone.\u201d
\nPatricia whispered, \u201cWhat?\u201d
\nEven Daniel looked shocked.
\nDad\u2019s voice continued.
\n\u201cI kept it.\u201d
\nDerek\u2019s face changed.
\nCompletely.
\nFor the first time all night, he looked genuinely horrified.
\n\u201cThe phone contains messages Marianne received during the final week of her life.\u201d
\nI stared at him.
\nDad continued.
\n\u201cMessages from someone telling her to stop investigating the missing money.\u201d
\nMy throat closed.
\n\u201cSomeone threatened her.\u201d
\nA pause.
\n\u201cBut Claire\u2026 it wasn\u2019t Derek.\u201d
\nThe ballroom erupted in whispers.
\nI looked at Daniel.
\nHe shook his head.
\nHe hadn\u2019t known.
\nI looked at Patricia.
\nShe looked equally stunned.
\nThen who?
\nDad\u2019s recording continued.
\n\u201cI recognized the number.\u201d
\nRebecca suddenly backed away from me.
\nI noticed immediately.
\n\u201cRebecca?\u201d
\nShe went pale.
\nOn the recording, Dad said, \u201cThat is why I hid the phone.\u201d
\nMy aunt shook her head.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nMy blood turned cold.
\n\u201cRebecca, what is this?\u201d
\nShe stepped backward.
\n\u201cI can explain.\u201d
\nThe recording continued.
\n\u201cThe messages came from someone Marianne trusted.\u201d
\nRebecca turned toward the ballroom doors.
\nThomas noticed.
\n\u201cMa\u2019am, please stay where you are.\u201d
\n\u201cI need air.\u201d
\n\u201cRebecca.\u201d
\nI grabbed her wrist.
\n\u201cWho was messaging Mom?\u201d
\nTears streamed down her face.
\n\u201cClaire, please understand\u2014\u201d
\nThen my father\u2019s voice came through the speakers.
\nClear enough that nobody could misunderstand.
\n\u201cThe number belonged to my sister.\u201d
\nI released Rebecca\u2019s wrist as if it had burned me.
\nTwo hundred people stared at her.
\nMy aunt.
\nThe woman who held me at my mother\u2019s funeral.
\nThe woman who stayed with Dad during his recovery.
\nThe woman who had just told me Derek visited him before his stroke.
\nRebecca shook her head violently.
\n\u201cIt wasn\u2019t what Marianne thought.\u201d
\nI could barely speak.
\n\u201cYou threatened my mother?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cThe messages came from your phone.\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d
\n\u201cThen explain!\u201d
\nRebecca looked at Derek.
\nAnd Derek smiled.
\nThat smile told me there was still another piece missing.
\nRebecca saw it too.
\n\u201cYou promised me,\u201d she whispered.
\nDerek tilted his head.
\n\u201cI promised you a lot of things.\u201d
\nMy stomach dropped.
\n\u201cWhat did he promise you?\u201d
\nRebecca closed her eyes.
\nWhen she opened them, she looked twenty years older.
\n\u201cThat nobody would ever find out why your mother was really driving that road that night.\u201d
\nI felt Lena\u2019s hand tighten around mine.
\n\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d
\nRebecca began shaking.
\n\u201cMarianne wasn\u2019t driving home from work.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cShe was coming to meet me.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\nRebecca looked down at the floor.
\n\u201cBecause I told her I had proof against Derek.\u201d
\nDaniel frowned.
\n\u201cWhat proof?\u201d
\n\u201cA ledger.\u201d
\nDerek\u2019s expression darkened.
\nRebecca continued.
\n\u201cI told Marianne I had found the account that could connect Derek to the stolen money.\u201d
\nMy mind raced.
\n\u201cWhere were you meeting?\u201d
\n\u201cAt the old lake house.\u201d
\nI knew it.
\nMy grandparents had owned a small property thirty miles outside the city.
\nIt had been sold after Mom died.
\n\u201cWhat happened?\u201d
\nRebecca\u2019s voice cracked.
\n\u201cShe never arrived.\u201d
\nMy eyes burned.
\n\u201cThen why did you threaten her?\u201d
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d
\n\u201cYou just admitted the messages came from your phone.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cThen WHO SENT THEM?\u201d
\nRebecca looked directly at Derek.
\n\u201cHe did.\u201d
\nDerek laughed.
\n\u201cGood luck proving that.\u201d
\nRebecca reached into her handbag.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t need luck.\u201d
\nEveryone froze.
\nShe pulled out an old silver key.
\nDerek\u2019s smile disappeared.
\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d
\nRebecca looked at me.
\n\u201cYour mother didn\u2019t take the ledger with her that night.\u201d
\nShe placed the key in my palm.
\n\u201cShe hid it.\u201d
\n\u201cWhere?\u201d
\nRebecca swallowed.
\n\u201cSomewhere Derek has spent seven years trying to find.\u201d
\nDerek suddenly went wild.
\n\u201cTAKE THAT FROM HER!\u201d
\nThe investigators wrestled him backward.
\n\u201cClaire!\u201d he screamed. \u201cShe\u2019s lying!\u201d
\nI closed my fingers around the key.
\nRebecca leaned toward me.
\n\u201cYour mother knew someone might follow her, so she left the real evidence behind.\u201d
\n\u201cWhere?\u201d
\nRebecca whispered two words.
\n\u201cYour garage.\u201d
\nMy heart stopped.
\n\u201cMy garage?\u201d
\n\u201cThe house you inherited from your grandmother.\u201d
\nI stared at her.
\nI had lived there for five years.
\nDerek had been inside hundreds of times.
\nRebecca continued.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s a locked compartment beneath the concrete floor.\u201d
\nDaniel stepped forward.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re saying Marianne\u2019s original ledger is still there?\u201d
\nRebecca nodded.
\n\u201cAnd something else.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nShe looked at me.
\n\u201cA video.\u201d
\nDerek stopped fighting.
\nI turned slowly toward him.
\nHis face had become completely colorless.
\n\u201cWhat video?\u201d
\nRebecca\u2019s voice dropped.
\n\u201cYour mother recorded her final conversation before she left that night.\u201d
\nMy hands started trembling.
\n\u201cWith whom?\u201d
\nRebecca looked at Derek.
\n\u201cNot him.\u201d
\nThen she looked at Patricia.
\n\u201cNot her either.\u201d
\nPatricia frowned.
\n\u201cThen who?\u201d
\nRebecca whispered, \u201cThe person who actually ordered the money moved in the first place.\u201d
\nDaniel stared at her.
\n\u201cYou told me Derek orchestrated everything.\u201d
\n\u201cI thought he did.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd now?\u201d
\nRebecca looked at me.
\n\u201cDerek stole money. Patricia helped him hide it. Your father covered up evidence. I lied to protect myself.\u201d
\nShe swallowed.
\n\u201cBut none of them started this.\u201d
\nA horrible silence filled the ballroom.
\n\u201cWho did?\u201d I asked.
\nRebecca looked toward the entrance.
\nHer face suddenly changed.
\nSomeone was standing there.
\nI followed her gaze.
\nAn elderly man in a black suit had quietly entered the ballroom.
\nHe held a cane in one hand.
\nMy breath disappeared.
\nI knew that face.
\nEveryone in my family did.
\nHe was supposed to be in a private nursing facility three states away.
\nHe had not attended my mother\u2019s funeral.
\nHe had not spoken to my father in more than a decade.
\nAnd according to my family, he had been too ill to even know I was getting married.
\nMy maternal grandfather.
\nArthur Cole.
\nMom\u2019s father.
\nHe looked at the destroyed cake.
\nThen at Derek.
\nThen at the silver key in my hand.
\nFinally, he looked at me.
\n\u201cClaire,\u201d he said quietly.
\nRebecca backed away.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nArthur\u2019s eyes never left mine.
\n\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t open that compartment.\u201d
\nI tightened my fist around the key.
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\nHis answer silenced the entire ballroom.
\n\u201cBecause your mother wasn\u2019t trying to expose Derek when she died.\u201d
\nHe took one slow step toward me.
\n\u201cShe was trying to expose me.\u201d………………<\/p>\n
PART 4 \u2014 WHAT MY FATHER TRIED TO TELL ME For a moment, nobody moved. I stared at Rebecca. \u201cWhat did you just say?\u201d My aunt\u2019s face crumpled. \u201cClaire, I\u2019m … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6825"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6828,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6825\/revisions\/6828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}