Chapter 5 - My Daughter Was Their Secret Weapon—And the File They Hid From Her
Emily had joined Bellmont Capital six months earlier.
That fact changed everything.
She had told me she was looking for a better job.
She hadn't mentioned David Ramsey.
She hadn't mentioned that she was working inside the financial company handling Crestview's investments.
She hadn't mentioned that every account she had access to might be part of the scheme against our family.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
She cried.
“Because Dad told me you would overreact.”
I stared at her.
“You believed him?”
“I wanted to believe him.”
That answer hurt.
She continued.
“When I started the job, David told me I had been recommended.”
“By whom?”
“Dad.”
I sat down.
Mark had placed her inside the very company managing the hidden transfers.
Not because he trusted her.
Because he wanted to control her.
“Did you access anything?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Files.”
“Which files?”
“The Bennett Trust.”
My breath caught.
“What did you find?”
“I thought it was just accounting.”
She handed me her laptop.
“There was a folder called LWB.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don't know.”
I opened it.
Inside were scanned documents.
Bank statements.
Property maps.
Private emails.
And one photograph.
My father.
My mother.
Mark.
David.
Richard Cole.
And Ofelia.
All standing together.
The date was twenty-nine years ago.
Before my wedding.
I stared at the photograph.
“They knew each other.”
Emily nodded.
“Dad told me they didn't.”
“Of course he did.”
Then I saw my mother holding a baby.
Me.
My parents were smiling.
But there was something strange in the background.
A woman.
Brenda's mother.
I looked closer.
Emily whispered,
“That's her.”
“Brenda's mother?”
“Yes.”
Why had she been there?
Then another document answered it.
A payroll record.
Brenda's mother had been employed by my father as his personal assistant.
Her employment ended three months after my mother died.
Reason listed:
Confidentiality breach.
I felt cold.
Brenda's family had been connected to mine for decades.
Maybe Brenda hadn't entered Mark's life by accident.
Maybe she had been placed there.
I called Brenda.
“You owe me the truth.”
She went silent.
“My mother worked for your father.”
“I know.”
“You found the records.”
“Yes.”
“What did she know?”
Brenda hesitated.
“Everything.”
My stomach tightened.
“About Mark?”
“About your mother.”
“What happened to my mother?”
Brenda started crying.
“She was investigating Richard Cole.”
“What happened?”
“She found out the company had been stealing from the trust.”
“And?”
“Richard threatened her.”
“Did he kill her?”
“I don't know.”
“Brenda.”
“I swear I don't.”
“Then what do you know?”
“My mother kept a journal.”
“Where?”
“She gave it to me before she died.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because my mother made me promise.”
“What promise?”
“Never to get involved.”
“Then why are you involved now?”
“Because Mark started asking me about the journal.”
I closed my eyes.
“Where is it?”
“At my house.”
“Andrew’s house?”
“Yes.”
“Bring it.”
She came two hours later.
Andrew was still in the hospital.
She handed me a cloth-bound journal.
I opened it.
The first entry was dated twenty-nine years ago.
I read.
Manuel knows.
Margaret knows.
Ofelia knows.
Richard thinks he controls the trust.
He doesn't.
Then another entry.
Mark has discovered the papers.
He believes marriage to Laura will give him access.
I stopped breathing.
Brenda's mother had known before my wedding.
She had written it down.
Mark had married me partly for access to my family's assets.
But then the next page made my hands shake.
Mark isn't alone.
Ofelia is guiding him.
Richard is planning to eliminate Manuel's influence.
The final entry was dated two weeks before my father died.
If anything happens to me, Laura must never trust Mark with the Bennett Trust.
I closed the journal.
My father had not died peacefully.
He had been fighting them until the end.
Then Brenda said something else.
“There's one more thing.”
“What?”
“My mother believed your father left evidence in a property called Rosewood Farm.”
I knew the name.
It had been sold years ago.
Or so I thought.
I called our old accountant.
He confirmed Rosewood Farm was still technically owned by the Bennett Trust.
My whole body went still.
Mark had never sold it.
He had only been telling me it was gone.
We drove there.
The farmhouse had been abandoned for years.
Inside, dust covered everything.
The kitchen still contained my mother's old blue dishes.
I walked through the rooms.
Memories came rushing back.
Then Emily found a loose floorboard.
Underneath was a steel box.
The lock opened with a key Thomas had given me.
Inside:
Property deeds.
Photographs.
Bank ledgers.
And a cassette tape.
I found an old player in the farmhouse.
I pressed play.
My father's voice filled the room.
“Laura, if you're hearing this, I need you to understand why I stayed silent.”
My heart broke.
“I knew Mark wanted control.”
“I knew Ofelia was working with Richard.”
“But I believed I could protect you until you were old enough.”
There was a pause.
Then his voice became softer.
“I made one mistake.”
“Your future husband was not the greatest danger.”
“Your mother was.”
I froze.
The recording crackled.
“Margaret was the one who discovered Richard first.”
I looked at Emily.
“What does that mean?”
My father's voice continued.
“Your mother didn't die because she was sick.”
My knees weakened.
“She died because she was planning to expose them.”
The recording ended.
No explanation.
No details.
Just silence.
Then footsteps came from the hallway.
Emily turned.
“Mom?”
A shadow moved.
The door slammed shut.
Someone had locked us inside.
May you like
Smoke began creeping under the door.
Someone had set the farmhouse on fire.
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