Chapter 5

I canceled the warehouse inspection.

Anthony called me six times that morning.

I didn't answer.

Then he sent a message.

Brother, we need to talk face-to-face.

I stared at the screen.

For years, I would have dropped everything if Anthony needed me.

Now I couldn't even trust his voice.

Olivia advised me to communicate through attorneys while the financial investigation continued.

I agreed.

But Anthony wasn't willing to accept that.

At eleven, he appeared outside my office.

My receptionist called.

"Mr. Bennett, your brother is here."

I closed my eyes.

"Tell him I can't meet."

She hesitated.

"He's insisting."

I looked at Olivia, who had joined me for another records review.

She shook her head.

I spoke into the phone.

"Ask security to escort him out if he refuses to leave."

Anthony began shouting in the lobby.

I could hear him through the open office door.

"Marcus! I'm your brother!"

I stood.

Olivia grabbed my arm.

"Don't."

I looked at her.

"He won't stop."

"Then let security handle it."

I nodded.

Moments later, the shouting faded.

My phone vibrated.

A message from Anthony.

You're making a mistake.

I didn't respond.

Then another message appeared.

Denise is going to tell everyone what really happened to your first wife.

My stomach dropped.

My first wife.

Monica.

Maya's mother.

She had died when Maya was fourteen.

The doctors said it was a sudden cardiac event.

Monica had struggled with a heart condition for years.

Her death shattered our family.

For months afterward, Maya barely spoke.

I had never forgiven myself for not being home when Monica collapsed.

I was on a business trip.

Denise wasn't part of our lives then.

Anthony had been the one who called me.

He said he found Monica unconscious in our kitchen.

I returned home to a world that no longer made sense.

Now my brother was threatening to reveal something about her death.

I felt sick.

I showed Olivia the message.

She studied it.

"Marcus, did you ever have concerns about Monica's death?"

I shook my head.

"No."

Then I hesitated.

"I mean... I was devastated. But the doctors explained what happened."

Olivia nodded.

"Don't assume Anthony is telling the truth."

I wanted to believe her.

But the message had opened a wound I thought had finally healed.

That afternoon, I went home.

Maya was sitting at the kitchen table with her nursing textbooks.

She looked up when I entered.

"Dad, you're early."

I smiled weakly.

"Thought I'd spend some time with you."

She studied my face.

"Something happened."

I sat beside her.

I didn't want to frighten her.

But I also didn't want to repeat the mistake of hiding important things.

"Anthony sent me a message about your mother."

Maya froze.

"What kind of message?"

I showed her.

She read it.

Her face turned pale.

"Why would he say that?"

"I don't know."

She looked down.

Then whispered,

"Dad, there's something I never told you."

My heart tightened.

"What?"

She hesitated.

"Mom was scared of Uncle Anthony."

I stared at her.

"What?"

Maya nodded.

"Not all the time. But near the end."

I couldn't breathe.

"Why?"

She looked away.

"I heard them arguing once."

My stomach twisted.

"When?"

"A few weeks before she died."

I leaned forward.

"What were they arguing about?"

Maya swallowed.

"Money."

I closed my eyes.

Of course.

Money.

Every betrayal seemed to lead back to money.

She continued.

"Mom said Uncle Anthony had taken something from your company."

I stared.

"What?"

"She said she was going to tell you."

My heart began pounding.

"And Anthony?"

Maya's voice trembled.

"He told her she'd regret it."

I felt the room spin.

For eight years, I had believed my wife's death was an unavoidable tragedy.

Now I was hearing that she had confronted Anthony shortly before she died.

I didn't want to believe there was a connection.

But I couldn't ignore it.

I took Maya's hand.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She began crying.

"Because Mom died."

My chest tightened.

"And Uncle Anthony told me not to upset you."

I closed my eyes.

Of course he had.

He had used my grief to keep my daughter silent.

I pulled her close.

"Sweetheart, you were fourteen."

She sobbed.

"I should've said something."

"No."

I kissed her forehead.

"You did nothing wrong."

She cried against my chest.

I held her until she calmed down.

Then I called Olivia.

I explained what Maya remembered.

Olivia listened carefully.

Then she said,

"Marcus, we should document this and consult the appropriate authorities."

I nodded.

"I agree."

I didn't want revenge.

I wanted truth.

If Monica had died naturally, I needed to know.

If someone had harmed her, I needed justice.

But I refused to accuse anyone without evidence.

The next day, I met with Detective Simone Carter.

She specialized in financial crimes and had been assigned to review the suspected fraud involving my company.

After hearing about Anthony's message and Maya's childhood memory, she agreed to refer the information for review.

She warned me that reopening questions about a death from eight years earlier would be difficult.

I understood.

I wasn't expecting instant answers.

But I needed someone to look.

Detective Carter studied the original medical records.

Then she asked,

"Mr. Bennett, did your wife take prescription medication for her heart condition?"

"Yes."

"Who managed her medication?"

I thought for a moment.

"Monica did, mostly."

"Anyone else?"

I hesitated.

"Sometimes Anthony picked it up from the pharmacy."

The detective made a note.

My stomach tightened.

"Why?"

She looked at me.

"We're gathering information."

I nodded.

But fear was growing inside me.

After the meeting, I drove past the cemetery.

I hadn't planned to stop.

But something pulled me there.

I walked to Monica's grave.

The stone was clean.

Maya had left fresh flowers a few days earlier.

I knelt.

"Monica..."

My voice broke.

"I'm sorry."

I stared at her name.

"I thought I knew what happened."

Tears rolled down my cheeks.

"I thought I protected our daughter."

I covered my face.

For years, I had built my life around keeping Maya safe.

Now I was discovering how much pain she had hidden from me.

I sat beside the grave for a long time.

Then my phone rang.

Detective Carter.

I answered.

"Mr. Bennett, we found something unusual."

My heart pounded.

"What?"

"The pharmacy records show a prescription pickup shortly before Monica's death."

I stared at the headstone.

"Okay."

"The signature belongs to someone other than Monica."

My throat tightened.

"Anthony?"

A pause.

"That's what the records indicate."

I closed my eyes.

Then the detective continued.

"There's also a discrepancy between the medication prescribed and the medication documented in the hospital records."

My hands began shaking.

"What does that mean?"

"It means we need a medical expert to review the case."

I could barely breathe.

"Detective, are you saying my wife might have been given the wrong medication?"

She answered carefully.

"It's a possibility we need to investigate."

I stared at Monica's grave.

My entire body trembled.

Then another call appeared on my phone.

An unknown number.

I ignored it.

A voicemail arrived.

I played it.

Denise's voice whispered,

"Marcus, if you want to know what really happened to Monica, meet me alone."

May you like

My sister sl@pped my four-year-old daughter at family dinner and claimed...

The Dinner That Exposed My Wife's Cruelest Secret

She said there was no money for his daughter—then Dad saw the brand-new...

Then she added,

"And don't tell Anthony."