Chapter 3
The Riverbend property.
I repeated those words silently as I followed Marcus into the house.
I'd never heard him mention Riverbend.
Not during our marriage.
Not while discussing his father's estate.
Not even when we spoke about Daniel's disappearance.
Inside, the air felt heavy.
The guests had begun leaving.
Someone turned off the music.
The birthday decorations remained untouched.
Marcus stood in his father's old study.
Drawers were open.
Folders covered the desk.
Maya sat on the floor sorting papers.
When Marcus saw me, his expression hardened.
"Did Mom tell you anything else?"
I hesitated.
"She mentioned Riverbend."
His hands stopped moving.
"What?"
"The Riverbend property."
He stared at me.
Then looked toward Maya.
She frowned.
"Isn't that where Dad wanted to build those apartments?"
Marcus nodded slowly.
I looked between them.
"What apartments?"
Maya explained that their father, Thomas Bennett, had owned a small construction company.
Ten years earlier, he'd planned a housing development near the river.
The project was supposed to include affordable apartments.
But it never happened.
According to the family, Daniel had interfered with the financing.
Their father accused him of stealing project money.
Then Daniel disappeared.
I felt sick.
"Daniel was accused of stealing?"
Marcus looked at me.
"You didn't know?"
I shook my head.
"No."
He stared.
"That's why Dad said he ran away."
I remembered Daniel's battered face.
His terrified expression.
His warning about someone wanting him gone.
"Marcus, Daniel didn't act like someone running from a financial mistake."
Marcus crossed his arms.
"How would you know?"
I swallowed.
"Because he was frightened for his life."
Maya looked up.
"Did he tell you someone threatened him?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus stared at the photograph in his hand.
Then whispered, "Dad said Daniel emptied the project account."
I looked around the study.
"Do you have proof?"
He didn't answer.
Maya stood.
"Maybe that's why Mom doesn't want us looking."
Marcus opened another drawer.
Inside were old invoices.
Bank statements.
Construction estimates.
Then he found a folder labeled RIVERBEND.
He pulled it out.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Marcus opened it.
The first page showed a proposed development budget.
Three million dollars.
I stared at the amount.
Marcus flipped through the pages.
Then stopped.
His expression changed.
"What?"
I stepped closer.
He pointed to a transaction.
A large withdrawal had been approved three days before Daniel disappeared.
The amount was four hundred and eighty thousand dollars.
I swallowed.
"Who authorized it?"
Marcus stared at the signature.
"Daniel."
I leaned closer.
The handwriting looked familiar.
But something was wrong.
I remembered Daniel's school notebooks.
His letters.
The little drawings he'd made for me.
He always wrote the capital D with a long curved loop.
The signature on the document had a sharp angle.
I pointed to it.
"That doesn't look like his handwriting."
Marcus looked at me.
"You remember his signature?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
He stared at the page.
Then turned another.
A second approval form carried Thomas Bennett's signature.
Marcus frowned.
"This doesn't make sense."
Maya stepped closer.
"What?"
Marcus looked at the dates.
"Dad said Daniel stole the money after their argument."
He pointed toward the first document.
"But this transfer was approved before the argument."
My stomach tightened.
I remembered Daniel telling me someone had discovered what he knew.
Maybe the missing money was only part of the story.
Marcus continued searching.
Then he found an email printed on pale blue paper.
He read it silently.
His face drained of color.
"Maya."
She looked up.
"What?"
He handed her the email.
I watched her eyes move across the page.
Then she covered her mouth.
"Oh my God."
I reached for it.
The message was addressed to Thomas Bennett.
The sender was someone named Richard Vale.
The subject line read:
DANIEL'S QUESTIONS.
I read the message.
Thomas,
Your son is becoming a problem.
He has requested copies of documents he isn't authorized to review.
If he continues, the Riverbend deal could collapse.
You need to deal with him before Friday.
Richard.
My hands went cold.
I looked at Marcus.
"Who is Richard Vale?"
He swallowed.
"Dad's business partner."
Maya whispered, "Uncle Richard."
I stared.
"Uncle?"
Marcus nodded.
"He wasn't related by blood. We called him that because he was always around."
I remembered meeting Richard once at a family fundraiser.
He was wealthy.
Charming.
Always dressed in expensive suits.
He spoke about Thomas as though they were brothers.
And Evelyn always seemed uncomfortable around him.
I looked at the email.
"Where is Richard now?"
Marcus frowned.
"He runs a property company in Charlotte."
My heart pounded.
The man who called Daniel a problem had become successful.
While Daniel had vanished.
Marcus sank into his father's chair.
For the first time, his anger disappeared.
He looked devastated.
"What if Dad lied?"
Maya began crying.
I knelt beside Marcus.
He didn't pull away.
I gently touched his hand.
"Then we'll find out."
He looked at me.
His eyes were wet.
"Why didn't Daniel come home?"
I swallowed.
"I don't know."
He looked down.
"But I'm beginning to understand why he was afraid."
That evening, we gathered the documents and contacted an attorney.
Her name was Rebecca Harris.
She specialized in business fraud and estate disputes.
She agreed to review the records.
But before we could leave, Evelyn appeared in the study doorway.
Her eyes moved toward the Riverbend folder.
Then toward the email in Marcus's hand.
Her face went pale.
"Where did you find that?"
Marcus stood.
"Dad kept it."
Evelyn stepped backward.
"You need to put it away."
He stared at her.
"Why?"
Her voice trembled.
"Because Richard doesn't know those copies still exist."
The room became silent.
I looked at Marcus.
Then at Evelyn.
And I finally understood.
May you like
His mother wasn't only hiding the past.
She was still afraid of someone who had helped create it.
