Chapter 5 - The Woman in the White Car
Mara fired twice at the chain.
The first bullet sparked against the metal. The second broke the lock.
They stumbled into the parking lot as smoke burst from the facility roof.
Rebecca collapsed beside her car, coughing violently. Lauren dropped to her knees next to her while Mara called emergency services.
Across the street, a white sedan waited at the curb.
Lauren saw a woman behind the wheel.
Silver hair.
Dark glasses.
The woman raised one hand, not waving but pointing.
Toward the blue case.
Then the sedan pulled away.
Lauren memorized the license plate.
Firefighters arrived within minutes. The flames destroyed six storage units before they were controlled. Unit 317 suffered smoke damage, but Mara had saved the documents.
Security footage showed a masked person entering through a rear service gate ten minutes after Lauren arrived. The figure carried two fuel cans and moved with a slight limp.
The white sedan’s license plate belonged to a vehicle reported stolen three days earlier.
At the secure family center, Sophia and Chloe ran into Lauren’s arms.
Sophia noticed the soot on her mother’s dress.
“What happened?”
“There was a fire.”
“Did Dad do it?”
Lauren wanted to say no.
She wanted to tell her daughter that despite everything, Andrew would never try to burn the mother of his children alive.
But she no longer knew what Andrew would do.
“We don’t know,” she said.
That afternoon, Andrew was brought to the financial crimes office for another interview. Mara allowed Lauren to watch through the observation window.
Andrew denied setting the fire.
When shown the photograph of Evelyn Shaw, his expression did not change.
“I don’t know her.”
“Look again,” Mara said.
“I said I don’t know her.”
Mara placed the birth certificate on the table.
Andrew read the first line.
Then the second.
His hands went still.
“What is this?”
“Your original birth record.”
“No.”
“Patricia Mercer and Charles Mercer adopted you.”
“No.”
“Did your mother ever tell you?”
“She is my mother.”
“Legally, yes.”
Andrew shoved the document away.
“This is fabricated.”
“It was found in Thomas Ellison’s storage unit.”
Andrew’s disbelief turned toward the observation window.
He could not see Lauren through the one-way glass, but he seemed to sense her.
“That’s what was in the blue file?”
Mara leaned forward.
“You knew about the unit.”
“Thomas mentioned it before he died.”
“What exactly did he say?”
“He told me that if I ever hurt Lauren, the truth would be waiting in 317.”
“And you never went there?”
“I searched for the key.”
Lauren remembered Andrew standing beneath the mantel clock on dozens of evenings, winding it even though he claimed to hate it.
He had searched the house.
Perhaps for years.
Mara asked, “Did you know Thomas suspected North Vale?”
Andrew looked at the ceiling.
“North Vale is a myth people use to explain business they don’t understand.”
“You told Lauren it was a clearing house.”
His eyes sharpened.
“So she is watching.”
Lauren’s breath caught.
Mara did not react.
“We have a recording from the hotel hallway.”
“That conversation was private.”
“You spoke through a door in a public hotel.”
Andrew leaned back.
“Then you already know everything.”
“We know you forged your wife’s signature.”
“I did it to protect the development.”
“We know you transferred nearly two million dollars through North Vale.”
“That money paid consultants.”
“We know someone took out large insurance policies on Lauren and the children.”
Andrew’s face changed.
“I did not take policies on the girls.”
Lauren pressed closer to the glass.
Mara slid copies across the table.
“The applications contain your electronic authorization.”
Andrew read them.
His fear returned.
“When were these filed?”
“Eight months ago.”
“I didn’t file them.”
“Who had access to your authorization?”
“My mother.”
The room went quiet.
Mara asked, “Why?”
“She handled estate planning.”
“Would she benefit from the policies?”
“No. The trust would.”
“What trust?”
Andrew looked toward the glass again.
“The Mercer Legacy Foundation.”
Lauren had heard the name. Patricia described it as a charitable organization created in memory of Charles Mercer.
Mara checked her notes.
“The listed trustee is Graham Vale.”
Andrew closed his eyes.
Lauren understood then that his shock was genuine.
He had known about North Vale.
He had used its network.
But he had not known the entire plan.
Mara continued.
“Who set the fire at the storage facility?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who burglarized your home?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who has the black drive?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who is Evelyn Shaw?”
“I don’t know.”
Andrew struck the table.
“I don’t know.”
The door opened.
An officer handed Mara a note.
She read it, then looked at Andrew.
“Your mother has disappeared.”
Andrew stared at her.
“What?”
“Her driver found her car abandoned near the river. Her phone and purse were inside.”
Lauren stepped back from the glass.
An hour later, police discovered blood on the driver’s seat.
May you like
But the blood did not belong to Patricia.
It belonged to Evelyn Shaw.
