Chapter 4 - My Fiancée Was Part of the Plan
Monica arrived at Blackridge the next morning.
She looked exactly as she had the day before.
Perfect.
Composed.
Beautiful.
Unaware.
Or pretending.
I asked her to sit.
She smiled.
"Are we still going to dinner tonight?"
"No."
Her smile faded.
"What happened?"
"Tell me about your father."
She went still.
"My father?"
"Desmond."
She stared.
"Why are you asking?"
"Because my mother is alive."
Monica's face changed.
"What?"
"She said your father helped fake her death."
Monica closed her eyes.
"I knew there were secrets."
"What secrets?"
"Family business."
"That's not an answer."
She looked at me.
"I was told never to ask questions."
"By whom?"
"My father."
Claire stood beside the window.
"Did he tell you about Jolene?"
Monica frowned.
"Who?"
"Never mind."
I looked at Claire.
She shook her head.
Wrong conversation.
Monica began to cry.
"I knew my father was involved in things he wouldn't discuss."
"How long?"
"Years."
"And you never told me?"
"I was afraid."
"Of what?"
"He said if I betrayed him, you'd die."
Silence.
I believed her.
Not because I wanted to.
Because the fear in her voice was real.
"Did you know about Evan?"
She nodded.
"Some."
"How much?"
"Enough to know he wasn't stealing for himself."
"For whom?"
"Desmond."
The name settled heavily.
Monica pulled a small key from her purse.
"My father told me to give this to you if he disappeared."
"What does it open?"
"Your grandfather's office."
The office had been sealed since before my father's death.
We went together.
Inside, everything was covered in dust.
Claire found a hidden drawer.
The key fit.
Inside was a single notebook.
My grandfather had written names.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Desmond Mercer.
Then another.
Evan Mercer.
Then a third.
Claire Bennett.
I stared.
"Claire."
She looked just as shocked.
Her face went white.
"What?"
"Your name is here."
She stepped closer.
A note beneath it read:
If the Bennett girl ever reaches Blackridge, let her work.
She will uncover the thief.
Claire's mouth opened.
"Your grandfather knew me before I was hired."
I looked at her.
"Impossible."
She turned the page.
A second note.
Her brother's full name.
Daniel Bennett.
Under it:
Protect his sister. She knows where the ledger is.
Claire sat down.
"I don't know where the ledger is."
I knelt beside her.
"Do you remember your brother giving you anything?"
"My necklace."
She touched the small silver pendant around her neck.
I stared.
"Open it."
She did.
Inside was a tiny memory chip.
Claire's eyes widened.
"My brother."
We accessed it.
A video appeared.
Daniel Bennett.
He looked tired.
"Claire, if you're seeing this, I'm probably gone."
Claire covered her mouth.
Daniel continued.
"The ledger isn't a book. It's data."
He looked directly into the camera.
"It's divided into three pieces."
One was inside the necklace.
One was hidden in Blackridge.
The third was with the person closest to Roman Mercer.
The screen went dark.
We stared at each other.
"The person closest to me," I whispered.
Claire said nothing.
Evan.
Desmond.
My mother.
Monica.
Any of them could be the final piece.
Then my phone rang.
Evan.
I answered.
"Where are you?"
"Home."
"Good."
He laughed.
"Because someone is waiting outside your house."
My blood ran cold.
"Who?"
"Your father."
The call ended.
We raced there.
My father stood at the front gate.
Alive.
Older.
And holding a gun.
"Roman."
I approached carefully.
"What happened?"
"Desmond knows."
"About what?"
"Everything."
My father looked at Claire.
"He knows the ledger is active."
Claire stepped forward.
"Who has the third piece?"
My father looked at her.
"Your husband."
I frowned.
"Claire isn't married."
Her face tightened.
"What husband?"
My father looked away.
"Your brother."
Claire stared.
"What?"
"Daniel Bennett had a wife."
Claire went pale.
"Who?"
My father answered:
"Monica Langford."
Silence.
May you like
Monica collapsed against the car.
The truth was becoming impossible to contain.
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