Chapter 5 - My Stepmother Finally Told Me Why My Mother Died Hating My Father
For years, I had believed my mother's final days were simple.
She was sick.
My father was overwhelmed.
Rebecca was a new wife trying to manage a complicated household.
Then my mother died.
That was the story.
But stories become dangerous when too many people have agreed on them.
Rebecca sat across from me in the warehouse office.
Dominic remained near the door.
My father stood by the window.
“Tell me everything,” I said.
Rebecca wiped her eyes.
“Anne discovered that Charles had transferred money into a private account.”
I looked at my father.
“You said you hadn't stolen anything.”
“I didn't.”
“Then why?”
He answered carefully.
“I transferred the funds to protect them.”
“From whom?”
“Samuel Royce.”
I frowned.
“My mother knew him.”
“Yes.”
“What did he want?”
“Control.”
My father sat down.
“Royce had been chairman for years. He controlled relationships with banks, insurers, port authorities, and several private investment groups. He wanted Whitmore Freight.”
“So he attacked the company.”
“Quietly.”
“Through shell companies.”
“Yes.”
“And you fought back.”
“Yes.”
I looked at Rebecca.
“Where do you fit?”
She took a breath.
“I was already working for Charles when Anne became suspicious.”
“You were his employee?”
“Personal adviser.”
“You weren't his girlfriend.”
“No.”
“How did you become his wife?”
She looked ashamed.
“Anne knew she was dying. She asked me to help with the household.”
I stared at her.
“She asked you to take care of us?”
“Yes.”
“And six months later you married my father.”
Rebecca started crying.
“It wasn't supposed to happen that way.”
My father closed his eyes.
“I made the decision.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because I was afraid.”
That answer angered me more than anything.
“Afraid of what?”
“Losing everything.”
He looked at me.
“Your mother knew too much.”
“What did she know?”
“She knew Royce wasn't acting alone.”
“Who was helping him?”
My father looked at Dominic.
“I thought it was his son.”
Dominic's face hardened.
“Adrian?”
“Yes.”
“But Adrian Mercer is dead.”
“His younger brother.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“Elliot.”
My father's silence confirmed it.
I knew the name.
Elliot Mercer.
The investor who had tried to acquire Whitmore Freight three years earlier.
The same man who had been denied.
The same man whose company kept appearing in our financial records.
“So the Mercers have been trying to take Whitmore Freight for sixteen years.”
“Yes.”
“And my mother found out.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
My father looked at me.
“Anne wanted to go public.”
“With what?”
“The ledger.”
“Then why didn't she?”
“Because she disappeared.”
I froze.
“What?”
He swallowed.
“One night, she left the house.”
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“She went somewhere.”
“Where?”
“We didn't know.”
“Then how did she die?”
“I found her.”
My chest tightened.
“Where?”
“Outside an old warehouse.”
Dominic moved.
“Which one?”
“Warehouse 17.”
The same place.
I stared.
“What happened there?”
My father whispered:
“Anne had already been hurt.”
“By whom?”
“I don't know.”
“But you were there.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you lie?”
“Because I was afraid the person who did it would come back.”
My hands shook.
“Was she conscious?”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
My father's voice broke.
“She said, ‘Protect Claire.’”
I closed my eyes.
“And then?”
“She died at the hospital ten hours later.”
“Did she know you were there?”
“Yes.”
“Did she hate you?”
He didn't answer.
Rebecca did.
“She thought Charles had betrayed her.”
“Did he?”
“No.”
Rebecca looked at me.
“She thought he gave Royce the ledger.”
My father nodded.
“But I hadn't.”
“Why didn't you tell her?”
“Because I couldn't risk knowing whether someone was listening.”
I laughed bitterly.
“So everyone kept secrets.”
“Yes.”
“You all made me live in a house full of lies.”
My father started crying.
“I thought I was protecting you.”
“You were protecting yourselves.”
That sentence silenced him.
Dominic came closer.
“Claire.”
I looked at him.
“The good news is we have proof your father wasn't the architect.”
“The bad news?”
“Someone else still has control of the Mercer network.”
“Elliot.”
“Yes.”
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
It was my father's old house.
Then another.
My mother's grave.
Then a final message.
YOU HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT TO SIGN OVER THE TRUST.
I looked at Dominic.
He read it.
“They know.”
“Who?”
“Someone who has access to protected information.”
My father stood.
“Move her.”
“No.”
Everyone looked at me.
“I am not running.”
Dominic studied me.
“Then what?”
“I want to meet Elliot Mercer.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because he wants you afraid.”
“Then let him see me.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“I don't use people as bait.”
“I'm not bait.”
I leaned forward.
“I'm the person who can legally stop him.”
My father looked at me with something I'd never seen before.
Pride.
Perhaps it was the first time.
Dominic sighed.
“Fine.”
“Fine?”
“You're coming with me.”
He looked at my father.
“And you're coming too.”
“Why?”
“Because if we're doing this, I want the man who has spent sixteen years hiding the truth standing beside the woman who finally uncovered it.”
We arranged the meeting.
Midnight.
An abandoned marina.
Elliot Mercer arrived with six men.
He was younger than I expected.
Elegant.
Calm.
He smiled when he saw me.
“Claire Whitmore.”
“Elliot Mercer.”
“You look like your mother.”
I froze.
“You knew her?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“She came to me for help.”
“Why?”
“To expose your father.”
I looked at him.
“You're lying.”
“Am I?”
He held out a folder.
Inside was a photograph.
My mother.
Me.
And Elliot.
The photograph had been taken when I was eleven.
I stared.
“I don't remember you.”
“You weren't supposed to.”
Dominic stepped forward.
“What do you want?”
Elliot ignored him.
He looked only at me.
“Your mother gave me something before she died.”
“What?”
“A second ledger.”
My heart stopped.
“Where is it?”
“Safe.”
“What does it prove?”
“That Charles Whitmore betrayed her.”
My father stepped forward.
“You know that's false.”
Elliot smiled.
“Then why didn't you ever tell Claire the truth?”
“Because I was protecting her.”
“No.”
Elliot looked at me.
“He was protecting himself.”
I stared at my father.
Then Elliot said the words that changed everything.
“Your mother didn't die because of the Mercer family.”
He smiled.
“She died because she discovered your father had made a deal with a man named Dominic Vale.”
May you like
Dominic's face went cold.
My entire body went numb.
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