Chapter 10 - Diane's Insurance Policy)
Robert was arrested at Lake Mercer.
Kidnapping.
Witness intimidation.
Evidence destruction.
Fraud investigators joined the case by afternoon.
The action camera captured Robert discussing the Carter trust, North Pines, and his attempt to obtain Mason's cooperation.
The confession was not complete.
But it was enough to stop Robert from pretending nothing existed.
Diane disappeared before police could question her again.
Her vehicle was found at the airport.
No record showed her boarding a flight.
By sunset, federal investigators entered Carter Development headquarters with warrants.
Ethan watched from the sidewalk.
Employees gathered at windows.
Reporters filled the street.
The company that had defined his family was being opened room by room.
He expected satisfaction.
Instead he felt exhausted.
Emily remained in the hospital.
Sensation had begun returning to her legs.
Doctors expected her to walk normally after rest and therapy.
The baby remained healthy.
Those facts mattered more than the company.
Mason refused to leave Gregory's hospital room.
Gregory survived surgery.
When he woke again, Mason sat beside him.
"You took money from Robert."
Gregory looked devastated.
"You saw the document."
"Was it real?"
"Yes."
Mason stood.
Gregory struggled to sit up.
"Listen to me."
"You sold me."
"No."
"Two million dollars."
"I took the money because Robert expected me to."
Mason looked at him.
Gregory continued.
"I put every dollar into an account under your name."
"Why?"
"Because if I refused, he'd know I wasn't loyal."
Mason stared.
"You could have told me."
"I should have."
"Everybody keeps saying that."
Gregory closed his eyes.
"You're right."
The anger in Mason's face softened but did not disappear.
Gregory said, "Being afraid doesn't excuse lying to you."
Mason sat again.
"Is Laura really alive?"
Gregory nodded.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because she was terrified Robert would find you."
"She knew where I was?"
"No. Not until you were thirteen."
Mason looked toward the door.
Laura stood there.
Nobody spoke.
Then she entered.
Mason stared at the woman whose photograph he had carried for three weeks.
Laura stopped several feet away.
"I don't expect you to call me Mom."
Mason swallowed.
"I don't know what to call anybody anymore."
"Laura is okay."
Mason nodded.
They started there.
Meanwhile Detective Ruiz searched for Diane.
The break came from Emily.
That night she remembered something from the basement.
"Diane said something before Ethan arrived."
Ruiz turned on a recorder.
"What?"
"She thought I was unconscious."
"What did she say?"
Emily closed her eyes.
"She told Robert, 'If the stairs don't work, the policy still pays.'"
Ethan stared.
"What policy?"
Emily looked at him.
"I don't know."
Investigators searched Diane's financial records.
They found eleven life insurance policies.
Most were ordinary.
One was not.
A twenty-million-dollar policy covering Emily Carter.
Beneficiary: Carter Family Holdings.
Signed eight months earlier.
Emily had never seen it.
Her signature had been forged.
Ethan stared at the document.
"Why would the company insure my wife?"
The insurance investigator answered.
"Key-person coverage can be legitimate."
"She's not an employee."
"Correct."
"So this isn't legitimate."
"No."
There was another problem.
The policy included a supplemental payment if the insured died while pregnant.
Emily became pale.
Ruiz said, "Diane wasn't just trying to force you to sign trust documents."
Ethan understood.
"If Emily died, Robert could make the baby look like collateral damage."
"And collect enough insurance money to stabilize the company if the Bennett trust collapsed."
The cruelty of it left the room silent.
Ethan asked, "Where did Diane apply for the policy?"
The investigator gave him the brokerage name.
Ethan knew it.
Weston Risk Management.
Carter Development used the company for decades.
Ruiz searched company records.
A director appeared repeatedly.
Nicholas Sloan.
Margaret Sloan's son.
Ethan called Margaret.
No answer.
He called again.
Nothing.
Police went to her retirement community.
Her apartment was empty.
Her purse remained on the table.
Her medicine was still in the bathroom.
A chair had been overturned.
On the wall beside the front door, someone had written a message in black marker.
Robert is not the only Carter you should fear.
Ethan stared at the photograph Ruiz sent him.
May you like
For the first time since the basement, another possibility entered his mind.
What if his father had not built the entire conspiracy alone?
