Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Michael sat down without taking his eyes off Aunt Ruth.
For nearly twenty-eight years, he had believed Eleanor was dead.
No body had been found after the fire, but investigators discovered blood on the floor of the north wing and her car abandoned near the river.
Victor claimed Eleanor had stolen company money and fled.
Diane told Michael that continuing to search would only bring more attention to the financial crimes surrounding Marlowe Holdings.
Michael had accepted the official conclusion.
Missing and presumed dead.
Now Aunt Ruth said Eleanor was alive.
“You spoke to her?” he asked.
“She called from a blocked number.”
“When?”
“Four weeks ago.”
“What did she say?”
“That Victor had found Jenna.”
Jenna’s stomach tightened.
“Why would he be looking for me?”
Aunt Ruth glanced at Diane before answering.
“Because of the trust.”
Daniel lifted the 1998 agreement.
“This trust?”
“No. Another one.”
Diane moved toward the doorway again.
Daniel stepped into her path.
“Mrs. Mercer, leaving while evidence of financial fraud is being preserved would be unwise.”
“You cannot stop me.”
“Jenna can revoke your permission to remain on the property.”
Diane looked toward her daughter.
Jenna said nothing.
She did not need to.
Diane returned to the kitchen.
Aunt Ruth sat beside the open box.
“Eleanor learned that Victor’s father had created several false companies,” she continued. “They moved money through construction projects, insurance claims and property purchases. Michael’s signature appeared on documents he had never seen.”
Michael covered his face with both hands.
“I should have gone to the police.”
“You were afraid.”
“I was a coward.”
“You had two children and a company full of employees.”
Ryan stared at him.
“Two children?”
The room became still.
At the time of the fire, Ryan had not yet been born.
Jenna had been less than a year old.
Aunt Ruth’s eyes filled with sorrow.
She looked at Jenna.
“Eleanor was your mother.”
Jenna did not move.
She had expected another financial secret.
Another forged document.
Another lie involving the house.
Not this.
She turned toward Diane.
The woman who had raised her stood beside the kitchen island, her face hard and unreadable.
“You told me you gave birth to me.”
Diane’s response came slowly.
“I raised you.”
“That was not my question.”
“Eleanor left.”
“You told me I was born early. You showed me photographs from the hospital.”
“The photographs were taken after she disappeared.”
Jenna’s chest felt too tight for air.
Michael tried to speak.
“Jenna, I wanted to tell you.”
“When?”
He had no answer.
“On my eighteenth birthday? At my graduation? When I paid your debts? When I bought this house?”
“Diane believed the truth would place you in danger.”
Diane finally spoke.
“And I was right. Victor is here because Eleanor contacted Ruth.”
“Victor is here because you helped him forge a loan application.”
“I was trying to make him go away.”
“By giving him access to my house?”
“He promised that once he recovered the files, all claims against the family would be destroyed.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Men like Victor Hale do not destroy leverage.”
“You do not know him.”
“I know he used you to commit federal lending fraud.”
Diane’s expression changed at the word federal.
Kelsey looked from Jenna to Diane.
“Did Ryan know Eleanor was Jenna’s mother?”
“No,” Ryan answered immediately.
For once, Jenna believed him.
His shock appeared genuine.
Aunt Ruth reached into the box and removed a small metal key attached to a faded red ribbon.
“Eleanor mailed this to me after the call.”
“What does it open?” Jenna asked.
“She did not say. She only told me to bring it to this house and wait until you came home.”
“You knew I was coming?”
“I asked your assistant to send the security alert about the renovation.”
Jenna looked at her.
“That was you?”
“I was afraid to call directly.”
“Why?”
“Eleanor said Victor was monitoring the family.”
Daniel’s phone vibrated.
He checked the message.
“The bank has frozen the remaining funds. The amount already released was wired to Marlowe Holdings, then transferred to three separate accounts.”
“Can it be recovered?” Jenna asked.
“We will try.”
Kelsey turned toward Ryan.
“How much did you receive?”
“Nothing.”
“Did you expect to?”
Ryan looked at Diane.
His silence answered.
“How much?” Kelsey repeated.
“Half a million.”
She closed her eyes.
“You told me the loan was for the renovations.”
“I was going to replace your savings.”
“With money stolen from Jenna.”
“I thought the house was going to be mine eventually.”
Kelsey pulled off her wedding ring.
Ryan’s face changed.
“What are you doing?”
“I don’t know yet.”
She placed the ring on the marble island.
“But I know I don’t want to wear this while you keep lying to me.”
Diane stepped toward her.
“Kelsey, do not make an emotional decision.”
Kelsey turned on her.
“You convinced me I was building a home. You watched me sell the only property I owned. You encouraged me to spend everything.”
“I believed Jenna would eventually do the right thing.”
“The right thing for whom?”
“For the family.”
“No. For Ryan.”
Diane’s eyes narrowed.
“You are his wife.”
“I was your tool.”
Ryan reached for Kelsey’s arm.
She stepped away.
“Don’t touch me.”
The mover in the hallway cleared his throat.
Jenna had almost forgotten he was there.
“Ma’am, we found something behind the shelving.”
He held out a narrow wooden panel.
A small keyhole had been cut into its center.
Aunt Ruth looked at the key in her hand.
Daniel examined the wall where the shelves had been removed.
Behind them was a shallow steel compartment built between two support beams.
The red-ribboned key fit perfectly.
Jenna turned it.
The lock clicked.
Inside was the missing laptop.
Beside it was a sealed blue envelope with Jenna’s name written across the front.
The handwriting was elegant and unfamiliar.
Aunt Ruth touched the letters.
“That is Eleanor’s writing.”
Jenna opened the envelope.
It contained a single sheet of paper.
My daughter,
If you are reading this, Victor has already discovered that the house belongs to you. Do not trust the deed alone. The deed protects the walls, but the walls protect something far more dangerous.
The records are not beneath the north foundation.
That is the story I wanted Victor to believe.
The real files are hidden where Michael promised no one would ever look.
Before Jenna could read the next line, every light in the house went out.
The security system beeped once.
Then died.
Someone screamed from the hallway.
A window shattered in the west office.
Daniel pulled Jenna away from the compartment.
Footsteps moved outside in the dark.
May you like
By the time the emergency lights flickered on, the laptop was gone.
So was the second page of Eleanor’s letter.
