Chapter 6 - The Truth Lucille Never Told MeFor several minutes, neither of us spoke.
I hated the suspicion that had entered my mind.
Not because I believed the caller.
Because I hated that someone had deliberately placed that thought there.
I sat beside Lucille.
“Did you know my father?”
“No.”
“Did you ever meet him?”
“No.”
“Were you anywhere near him the night he died?”
“No.”
Her answer came immediately.
I believed her.
But there was something strange.
She looked frightened.
Not guilty.
Frightened.
“What aren't you telling me?”
She began crying.
“My father knew yours.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“My father worked for him.”
I felt like the ground disappeared.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because my father died when I was twenty.”
“How?”
“Heart attack.”
“Was he involved in your father's company?”
“Yes.”
“What did he do?”
“Accounting.”
My mind raced.
The missing money.
The trust.
Evan.
The letter.
My father.
Lucille's father.
Everything was connected.
Lucille continued.
“My father once told me that your father was trying to expose someone.”
“Who?”
“He never said.”
“Did he mention Evan?”
She nodded.
“Once.”
“Why?”
“He said Evan wasn't what he seemed.”
I stared at her.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I thought it was irrelevant.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“Someone has been trying to destroy our marriage using information connected to our fathers.”
She looked down.
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“That you would think I married you because of your family.”
I took her hand.
“You should have told me.”
“I know.”
I kissed her forehead.
“From now on, no more secrets.”
She nodded.
Then the attorney called.
He had found the second trust.
It was registered under a private holding company.
The beneficiary was our unborn child.
And the trustee?
Evan Mercer.
I felt sick.
“How is that possible?”
The attorney explained.
My father had appointed Evan temporarily because he believed Evan was trustworthy.
But after my father's death, Evan had disappeared.
The trust remained untouched.
Until recently.
Someone had attempted to access it.
Using Lucille's identity.
The attempted withdrawal had occurred the same day she received the anonymous threat.
I looked at her.
Someone was framing her.
We reported everything.
Then something unexpected happened.
Sarah came to our house.
Alone.
She looked exhausted.
“I need to tell you something.”
I let her inside.
She sat down.
“Mom wasn't the one who started this.”
“I know.”
Sarah shook her head.
“No.”
She looked at Lucille.
“Evan contacted me too.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“Three years ago.”
“What did he want?”
“He offered me money.”
“For what?”
“To break up your marriage.”
Lucille gasped.
I stared at Sarah.
“Did you accept?”
“No.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of Evan?”
She nodded.
“He said he could ruin all of us.”
She handed me an envelope.
Inside were photographs.
My mother meeting Evan.
Sarah meeting Evan.
And one photograph that made my blood run cold.
Evan standing beside my father's car.
Taken the night my father died.
I looked at the timestamp.
11:42 p.m.
My father died at 11:58.
I looked at Sarah.
“Where did you get this?”
“Evan sent it to me.”
“Why?”
“He wanted me to know what he was capable of.”
Then Lucille whispered,
“There's something written on the back.”
I turned the photograph over.
Three words.
ASK THE DRIVER.
My father's accident had always been blamed on rain.
But there had been a driver behind him.
A witness.
We found him two days later.
His name was Robert Hale.
He had spent years refusing to talk.
Until I showed him the photograph.
He looked at it.
Then closed his eyes.
“I knew this day would come.”
“What did you see?”
He whispered,
“Your father wasn't alone.”
I leaned forward.
“Who was with him?”
Robert looked at me.
“Evan.”
My heart pounded.
“What happened?”
“Your father stopped his car.”
“Why?”
“To confront him.”
“About the money?”
Robert nodded.
“They argued.”
“Then?”
“Evan got into the car.”
“Then my father drove away?”
“No.”
Robert shook his head.
“Evan drove.”
I froze.
“What?”
“Your father was in the passenger seat.”
“Then how did the crash happen?”
Robert's eyes filled with tears.
“Evan pushed him out.”
I couldn't breathe.
“What?”
“He forced the door open.”
Robert's voice shook.
“Your father fell onto the road.”
“And Evan?”
“He drove away.”
I stared at him.
“Then how did the car crash?”
May you like
Robert whispered,
“Evan wasn't finished.”
Related Stories
