Chapter 10 - The Woman at Every Family Funeral
The clue made no sense.
Someone inside the Mercer family longer than Julian had been alive.
Julian was thirty-nine.
Edward was dead.
His wife, Margaret Mercer, was sixty-eight.
Employees had come and gone.
Lawyers changed.
Accountants changed.
Then Clara remembered one person.
Beatrice Lang.
Edward Mercer’s executive secretary.
She had worked for him nearly forty-five years.
Clara had known Beatrice since she began dating Julian.
Beatrice organized family weddings.
Funerals.
Trust meetings.
Board dinners.
She remembered every birthday.
Every signature.
Every account.
And she was still alive.
Retired in Connecticut.
Clara called Julian.
“Beatrice.”
Silence.
Then:
“What about her?”
“How long did she work for your father?”
“Forty-four years.”
“Did she know Charles?”
“Yes.”
“Helena?”
“Yes.”
“Thomas?”
Julian paused.
“Yes.”
Clara’s heart pounded.
“Why didn’t you mention her?”
“Because Beatrice is seventy-four.”
“That isn’t immunity from murder.”
“Clara.”
“She knew every Mercer account.”
“She was a secretary.”
“So was Marcus.”
Julian went quiet.
Clara continued.
“Thomas said the person controlling the accounts was someone Edward trusted completely.”
“No.”
“You immediately understood.”
“No.”
“You did.”
“Beatrice practically raised me.”
“And?”
“She would never…”
Julian stopped.
Clara heard the moment his certainty weakened.
“What?”
Julian exhaled.
“There was something.”
“What?”
“After my father died, Beatrice asked for access to his private files.”
“Did you give it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She said she needed to complete estate records.”
“Did anything disappear?”
“I don’t know.”
“Think.”
A long silence.
Then Julian said:
“The blue ledger.”
Clara frowned.
“What blue ledger?”
“Not the original one. My father kept personal notes in blue leather notebooks.”
“One disappeared?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“After Beatrice organized the office.”
Clara immediately contacted Agent Cole.
Beatrice Lang’s Connecticut residence was searched under warrant that evening.
Empty.
Neighbors said she had left two days earlier.
Two days before the raid.
Inside her home, investigators found almost nothing.
Except a wall of photographs.
Mercer family history.
Edward as a young man.
Julian as a baby.
Charles as a child.
Helena Ward.
And Clara’s father.
One photograph shocked everyone.
Thomas Ellison and Beatrice Lang sitting together in a restaurant.
Dated six months before Thomas died.
They were not strangers.
They were working together.
Daniel obtained Beatrice’s old personnel file.
Emergency contact.
Diane Reed.
Marcus’s mother.
The entire network folded back on itself.
Thomas.
Diane.
Beatrice.
Helena.
Charles.
Edward.
All connected before Clara ever understood anything.
Then investigators found a hidden compartment inside Beatrice’s study.
It contained letters.
Dozens.
Written by Helena.
Most addressed to Beatrice.
One read:
Edward thinks Charles is the danger because that is what you need him to believe.
Another:
Thomas found the beneficiary structure. We have less time than expected.
And the most important:
If they kill me, Clara must never know she is mine until the assets are secured.
Clara stared at those words.
Her mother had been alive after giving her away.
Watching from somewhere.
Protecting her.
Or abandoning her.
Clara could not decide which hurt more.
Another letter contained a date.
Three weeks earlier.
Portugal.
Beatrice had met Helena shortly before Helena disappeared.
Julian had also been there.
So had one more person.
Serena.
Clara called her.
Serena answered reluctantly.
“What?”
“You were in Portugal three weeks ago.”
Silence.
“Julian didn’t take you.”
“No.”
“Charles?”
“No.”
“Beatrice?”
Serena’s voice shook.
“Yes.”
Clara closed her eyes.
“What did she want?”
“She wanted me to deliver something to Julian.”
“What?”
“A message.”
“What message?”
“That Helena was ready to talk.”
“Did Julian meet her?”
“Yes.”
“Were you there?”
“No.”
“What happened afterward?”
“I don’t know.”
“Helena disappeared.”
“I know.”
“Was Beatrice involved?”
“I don’t know.”
Clara almost ended the call.
Then Serena whispered:
“But Julian lied about why he went.”
Clara stopped.
“What do you mean?”
“He didn’t go to meet Helena first.”
“Who did he meet?”
“Charles.”
That changed everything.
Julian had admitted seeing Helena.
He never admitted seeing Charles.
Clara called him immediately.
“Why did you meet Charles in Portugal?”
Julian was silent.
“Answer.”
“Because he contacted me.”
“About what?”
“The eighty million.”
“What did he want?”
“He offered a deal.”
“What kind?”
“If I returned the money, he would disappear.”
“Returned it to who?”
“To you.”
Clara’s heart pounded.
“So you knew the money was mine.”
“I suspected.”
“You called it historical funds.”
“I wasn’t certain.”
“Did you take it?”
“No.”
“Then why would Charles demand you return it?”
“Because the money moved through my company.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
Julian finally snapped.
“My father put it there.”
“Edward?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To protect it from Beatrice.”
Clara stopped.
“Beatrice?”
“Edward discovered she had been manipulating accounts for decades.”
“When?”
“Before he died.”
“Why didn’t he expose her?”
“Because she had evidence against him too.”
“So they protected each other.”
“Yes.”
“Until Thomas.”
“Yes.”
Clara felt the pieces moving.
“My father found both sides.”
“Yes.”
“Edward’s crimes and Beatrice’s.”
“Yes.”
“And Charles?”
“Charles was trying to expose them.”
“Then why did Edward think Charles killed Thomas?”
“Because Beatrice convinced him.”
Clara looked again at Helena’s letter.
Edward thinks Charles is the danger because that is what you need him to believe.
Beatrice had manipulated Edward.
Perhaps Pike too.
Perhaps everyone.
“Where is Charles now?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where is Helena?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where is Beatrice?”
“I don’t know.”
Clara closed her eyes.
“You truly built an empire out of ignorance.”
Julian did not respond.
Before she disconnected, he said quietly:
“Clara.”
“What?”
“The night I met Charles, he told me something about you.”
She waited.
“He said Thomas didn’t adopt you to save you from the Mercers.”
“Then why?”
May you like
Julian’s voice lowered.
“He adopted you to hide you from Beatrice.”
