Chapter 5
“Get back in the car.”
My voice surprised even me.
Richard Vale smiled as though we were discussing the weather.
“Claire, there's no reason to be hostile.”
“You need to leave.”
He stepped out anyway.
He wore an expensive charcoal suit.
His silver hair was perfectly combed.
He looked almost exactly as I remembered him.
When I was little, he brought chocolates to our house at Christmas.
Dad used to call him his oldest friend.
Now I knew he had been involved in hiding my inheritance.
Richard glanced at Lily.
“What a beautiful little girl you've raised.”
I moved her behind me.
“Don't look at my daughter.”
His smile faded.
“You're making this unnecessarily unpleasant.”
“Then go.”
He reached into his jacket.
My heart jumped.
But he only removed a business card.
“I represent several investors who have substantial interests in Willowmere.”
“I don't care.”
“You should.”
He lowered his voice.
“Your father's financial affairs were far more complicated than you realize.”
I stared at him.
“Then explain why my signature was forged.”
Richard hesitated.
Just slightly.
“Your mother handled the paperwork.”
“That's not an answer.”
He looked toward the hotel entrance.
“Claire, let me help you avoid a public scandal.”
I almost laughed.
“A public scandal?”
“Yes.”
“My daughter just exposed fraud in front of three hundred people.”
Richard's jaw tightened.
“Which makes it even more important that we handle this quietly.”
Lily pressed against my back.
I felt her trembling.
That ended the conversation.
“Stay away from us.”
I turned toward the entrance.
Richard spoke again.
“If the transaction collapses, your mother could lose everything.”
I stopped.
He continued.
“So could Vanessa.”
I turned slowly.
“And whose fault would that be?”
Richard's face hardened.
“You don't understand how many people depend on this deal.”
“Then they should have done business honestly.”
For the first time, his pleasant expression disappeared completely.
“You sound exactly like your father.”
I held his gaze.
“Thank you.”
I took Lily inside.
Graham was standing beside the police officers.
He noticed my expression immediately.
“Claire, what's wrong?”
“Richard Vale is outside.”
Graham's eyes narrowed.
“Are you sure?”
“He just threatened me.”
The officers exchanged glances.
One walked toward the entrance.
The other asked me exactly what Richard had said.
I repeated the conversation as accurately as possible.
Graham listened without interrupting.
When I finished, he looked deeply troubled.
“The buyer's company is controlled through several layers of ownership,” he explained.
“What does that mean?”
“It means Richard may not be acting alone.”
A cold feeling settled in my stomach.
I glanced toward Lily.
She was sitting on a nearby bench, hugging her cardigan around herself.
“Can we go home?”
Graham nodded.
“Yes. I'll call you tomorrow as soon as I learn more.”
I hesitated.
“What about Vanessa?”
His expression tightened.
“I can't answer for her anymore.”
I looked toward the ballroom.
My sister stood beside our mother.
Her wedding gown was wrinkled.
Her makeup had run.
For one second, I remembered us as little girls.
Sharing a bedroom.
Laughing beneath blankets after bedtime.
I wondered when we had become strangers.
Then Vanessa saw me.
Her face twisted.
“This isn't over!” she shouted.
I didn't answer.
I took Lily home.
Our apartment had never looked so beautiful.
The familiar blue curtains.
The little shoes by the door.
The family photographs on the refrigerator.
Everything ordinary suddenly felt precious.
I made Lily hot chocolate.
She sat at the kitchen table with both hands around her mug.
“Mom, are you mad at me?”
I pulled out the chair beside her.
“No.”
“But I ruined Aunt Vanessa's wedding.”
I took her small hands.
“Lily, you told the truth.”
She looked uncertain.
“And telling the truth isn't wrong.”
“Even when people get angry?”
“Especially then.”
She thought about that.
Then she whispered, “I was really scared.”
I swallowed.
“I know.”
“She said you'd go away.”
I pulled her onto my lap.
“Listen to me. You're not responsible for fixing grown-up problems. If anyone threatens you again, you tell me immediately.”
She nodded.
“I will.”
I kissed her hair.
“And I will always believe you.”
Later, after Lily fell asleep, I sat alone at the kitchen table.
I unfolded Dad's letter.
I read it three times.
Then I cried.
Not because of the money.
Not because of the house.
Because he had loved me enough to think about my future.
And someone had tried to erase that love.
At 7:12 the next morning, my phone rang.
Graham.
I answered immediately.
“Did something happen?”
“The outgoing transfer was stopped before completion.”
I closed my eyes.
“Thank God.”
“But Claire, there's a problem.”
My stomach tightened.
“What problem?”
“The buyer's company filed an emergency claim overnight.”
I sat straighter.
“Claiming what?”
“That your father authorized the sale before his death.”
I looked down at the letter.
“He didn't.”
“I believe you. But we need proof that the trust remained valid and that those signatures were forged.”
I swallowed.
“What do we do?”
“Find Samuel Price.”
I glanced at Dad's letter.
“Mother said nobody knows where he is.”
“Someone does.”
Graham paused.
“I found an old professional contact address. He may be living in Vermont.”
Hope flickered inside me.
“Can we call him?”
“I've already left a message.”
He hesitated.
“There's something else you should know.”
I gripped the phone.
“What?”
“My firm discovered an internal file that shouldn't exist.”
“About Willowmere?”
“Yes.”
“Who created it?”
Graham was silent for a moment.
Then he answered.
“My former senior partner, Charles Mercer.”
I had never heard that name.
“Why does that matter?”
“Because Charles left our firm three months ago.”
“And?”
“He now works for Richard Vale.”
My chest tightened.
Graham continued.
“Claire, I'm afraid the fraud may have started long before Vanessa's wedding.”
A notification sounded on my phone.
An unknown number had sent me a photograph.
I opened it.
My breath stopped.
It showed Lily standing outside her school.
The picture had clearly been taken that morning.
Below it was a message.
Stop digging into Willowmere.
I couldn't move.
Then another message appeared.
Your daughter deserves to grow up with her mother.
I screamed Graham's name.
May you like
And for the first time since the wedding, I wasn't afraid of losing money.
I was afraid of losing my child.
