Chapter 4 - The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
I had spent thirty-one years believing Mark was a successful businessman.
Now he was telling me that his former partner had used a baby to deceive dangerous creditors.
I didn't know whether to believe a single word.
"Start at the beginning," I said.
Mark looked exhausted.
"Robert and I were business partners in the late nineties. We handled investment accounts for several wealthy clients."
"And?"
"Robert began moving money without authorization."
"How much?"
"Millions."
I stared at him.
"And you didn't know?"
"Not at first."
I laughed bitterly.
"That seems to be your favorite explanation."
Mark looked down.
"By the time I found out, my name was on the paperwork."
"So you helped him."
"I tried to get us out."
"By stealing more money?"
He didn't answer.
I felt sick.
"What does any of this have to do with Jenna?"
Mark rubbed his face.
"Robert was terrified of one investor. A man named Victor Hale. He believed Hale would come after his family if he discovered the money was gone."
"So?"
"Robert told Hale that Jenna was my child. He wanted Hale to believe I had a personal stake in protecting her."
I stared at him.
"That makes no sense."
"It was supposed to make me responsible for Robert's debts."
"Did it work?"
Mark looked away.
"For a while."
I folded my arms.
"And Elaine?"
His face changed.
"Elaine knew what Robert was doing. She tried to stop him."
"Where is she now?"
"I don't know."
I didn't believe him.
Not completely.
But there was something in his voice that made me think he was telling at least part of the truth.
"Did you know Jenna before she met Daniel?"
Mark nodded.
"Yes."
"Did you arrange their relationship?"
"No."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I thought the past was buried."
I stared at him.
"And the affair?"
He closed his eyes.
"That was a mistake."
I felt anger rise so quickly that I almost couldn't breathe.
"A mistake is forgetting an anniversary, Mark. A mistake is backing into a mailbox. You chose to betray your wife and your son."
He looked at me.
"I know."
"No, you don't."
I picked up my bag.
"Because if you understood what you'd done, you wouldn't be sitting here asking me to believe another story."
I walked toward the stairs.
Mark followed.
"Carol, please."
I turned.
"Don't."
He stopped.
I went upstairs and packed two suitcases.
I took my jewelry, family photographs, my passport, and the little box containing my mother's wedding ring.
Then I opened the drawer where Mark kept our important financial documents.
Something was missing.
The folder containing our investment account statements.
I stared at the empty space.
"Mark?"
He appeared in the doorway.
"Where are the investment statements?"
His expression tightened.
"At the office."
"Why?"
"I needed them for tax planning."
"All of them?"
"Carol—"
"How much money do we actually have?"
He didn't answer.
My stomach dropped.
"Mark."
He looked away.
And suddenly I understood that the affair wasn't the only thing he had been hiding.
"How much?"
He whispered, "I can explain."
I closed the drawer.
"No. You can explain it to my attorney."
I walked past him.
He didn't try to stop me.
That evening, Daniel and I sat at his kitchen table reviewing the documents Arthur had given us.
Neither of us had much appetite.
Then my phone rang.
An unfamiliar number.
I answered cautiously.
"Hello?"
A woman's voice spoke.
"Carol Bennett?"
"Yes."
"My name is Elaine Whitmore."
I froze.
Daniel looked up.
I put the call on speaker.
"Elaine?"
"I understand you've been asking questions about me."
My heart began pounding.
"Where are you?"
"Somewhere safe."
"Jenna told us you disappeared."
"I did."
"Why?"
A long silence followed.
Then Elaine said, "Because Robert was murdered."
Daniel sat forward.
"What?"
"His death wasn't an accident."
I gripped the phone.
"Do you have proof?"
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you go to the police?"
"I did. Years ago. Nobody believed me."
Her voice trembled.
"Carol, I know what Mark has done to your family. And I'm sorry."
I closed my eyes.
"Is Jenna his daughter?"
"No."
The answer came without hesitation.
"Robert was Jenna's biological father."
Daniel exhaled shakily.
For the first time since seeing the photograph, some of the terror left his face.
But Elaine wasn't finished.
"There's something else you need to understand."
"What?"
"Jenna didn't find Daniel by accident."
Daniel went still.
Elaine continued.
"She was looking for Mark."
I felt cold.
"Why?"
"Because she believed he was responsible for her father's death."
Daniel stared at the phone.
"And she married me to get close to him?"
Elaine began crying.
"I warned her not to."
My son looked devastated.
I wanted to reach across the table and hold his hand.
But Elaine continued.
"She thought Mark had stolen the money her father left behind. She believed your family was living on money that belonged to her."
I looked down at the financial records.
"And was she right?"
Elaine hesitated.
"Partly."
My stomach tightened.
"What does that mean?"
"Robert stole from investors. Mark helped conceal the transfers. When Robert died, some of the money disappeared into accounts connected to your family."
I felt sick.
"How much?"
"More than four million dollars."
Daniel whispered, "Jesus."
Elaine took a breath.
"Carol, your father discovered the accounts. That's why Mark was afraid of him."
I looked at Dad's letter lying on the table.
"And Jenna?"
"She thought seducing Mark would make him confess."
Daniel stood up.
He looked as though someone had struck him.
"She used me."
Elaine began crying harder.
"I'm sorry."
He turned away.
I stared at the phone.
"Elaine, why are you telling us this now?"
Her voice dropped.
"Because Jenna called me last night."
"What did she say?"
"She said Mark was frightened. She said someone had started asking about the missing money again."
"Who?"
Elaine hesitated.
Then whispered:
"Victor Hale."
I looked toward the window.
Outside, a black SUV was parked across the street.
May you like
Its engine was running.
And as I watched, the driver raised a phone toward Daniel's house.
Related Stories
