Chapter 3 - The Video in the Kitchen)
The file was named HOME 11 47 PM.
Daniel double-clicked it.
The kitchen appeared.
The angle was high, looking down from the corner above the refrigerator.
Daniel frowned.
He did not remember installing a camera there.
Then he remembered.
Emily had.
Three months earlier, someone had entered Daniel’s home office while he was traveling.
Nothing was stolen.
Emily insisted he install additional security.
Daniel had dismissed her concern.
She quietly added two temporary cameras herself.
One watched the back entrance.
The second apparently watched the kitchen.
The timestamp showed 11:47 p.m.
Emily entered first.
She wore the pale-blue dress she had planned to wear beneath her cream blazer at the wedding.
She held a thick folder.
Rebecca followed her.
Daniel increased the volume.
“You copied private documents,” Rebecca said.
“They weren’t private.”
“You went through Daniel’s office.”
“I went through my father’s trust records.”
“Without permission.”
“I’m a trustee.”
Rebecca folded her arms.
“For now.”
Daniel leaned closer to the screen.
Emily stared at Rebecca.
“What does that mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like.”
Emily opened the folder.
“There are three draft amendments here. All three transfer control of the Arden Family Trust away from me if Dad becomes incapacitated.”
Rebecca said nothing.
Emily continued.
“And this signature isn’t his.”
Daniel’s heartbeat accelerated.
The trust held controlling interests in Arden Development, Arden Logistics, several properties, and investment accounts established decades earlier.
Daniel’s late wife Catherine had insisted on the structure.
Emily was co-trustee.
No marriage could change that.
At least, that was what Daniel believed.
Emily pointed at the papers.
“You forged him.”
Rebecca stepped closer.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I talked to Dad’s old estate attorney.”
Daniel paused the video.
His old estate attorney.
Samuel Price.
Samuel had retired two years earlier.
Daniel had not spoken to him in months.
He resumed.
Emily said, “Samuel confirmed Dad never requested these amendments.”
Rebecca’s face became expressionless.
“Where are the originals?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“You think I’m telling you?”
Rebecca smiled.
It was not the smile Daniel knew.
“Emily, you’re making a serious mistake.”
“No. Dad is.”
The blow came seconds later.
Rebecca struck Emily across the face.
Emily staggered.
Her hip hit the counter.
A glass bowl fell and shattered.
Rebecca grabbed the folder.
Emily held on.
During the struggle, papers scattered across the floor.
Then Rebecca said the words Daniel had already heard.
“By the time Daniel understands, his money will be mine.”
Emily shoved her away.
“He’s going to see everything.”
Rebecca laughed.
“You still think this is about marrying him?”
Daniel froze.
Emily did too.
“What?”
Rebecca stepped closer to the camera without realizing it was there.
“This wedding is the easiest part.”
Emily’s expression changed.
“Who are you working with?”
Rebecca’s smile disappeared.
She lunged for the folder.
The video shook suddenly.
Then ended.
Daniel stared at the black screen.
There were more files.
A folder labeled DOCUMENTS.
Another labeled AUDIO.
A third labeled IF SOMETHING HAPPENS.
Daniel opened DOCUMENTS.
Photographs appeared.
Trust amendments.
Bank transfer records.
Emails.
One photograph showed Daniel’s signature copied onto a document he had never seen.
Another showed a draft power of attorney naming Rebecca as temporary financial agent in the event of medical incapacity.
Daniel’s hands began trembling.
The draft contained the name of his current attorney.
Michael Holt.
Daniel whispered the name aloud.
Michael had represented him for fourteen years.
He had reviewed the prenuptial agreement.
He had approved the wedding trust protections.
Daniel opened another image.
A bank transfer of eighty-five thousand dollars.
Sender: Hale Consulting.
Recipient: M. Holt Holdings.
Daniel sat back.
For a few seconds, he could hear nothing except his own breathing.
Then he opened AUDIO.
A recording started.
Rebecca’s voice.
“We need the marriage certificate signed before Arden knows Emily found the amendments.”
A man answered.
Daniel recognized him instantly.
Michael Holt.
“Then keep Emily away from the ceremony.”
“I’m handling her.”
“You said that before.”
“She won’t be a problem.”
“And the child?”
Daniel’s blood ran cold.
Rebecca replied.
“Noah doesn’t understand anything.”
Daniel stopped the recording.
He could not continue.
Not yet.
A pounding struck the door.
He turned.
“Daniel?”
Rebecca.
He minimized the files.
Another knock.
“Everyone’s waiting.”
Daniel closed the laptop.
“I’ll be there in a minute.”
“You better be. I’m not marrying myself.”
Her heels moved away.
Daniel remained still for several seconds.
Then he reopened the laptop and clicked the folder labeled IF SOMETHING HAPPENS.
There was one video.
Emily appeared on the screen.
She was sitting inside her car.
The recording had been made yesterday afternoon.
Her face looked tired.
“Dad, if you’re watching this, then I probably didn’t get the chance to explain everything myself.”
Daniel swallowed.
Emily continued.
“I know you love Rebecca. I know you think I never gave her a chance. Maybe I didn’t. But that’s not why I started looking into her.”
She held up several pages.
“Three weeks ago, I found a transfer from a company called Bellweather Holdings. The company doesn’t seem to exist beyond a mailbox in Delaware. It sent money to Rebecca six months before she met you.”
Daniel leaned closer.
Emily looked directly into the camera.
“The payment reference contained your name.”
Daniel stopped breathing.
“The transfer happened before Rebecca supposedly knew who you were.”
Emily paused.
“If something happens to me, find out who introduced Rebecca to you at the Harrington charity dinner.”
Daniel knew the answer.
Thomas Mercer.
His oldest friend.
The door handle suddenly moved.
Someone was trying to enter.
Daniel pulled the USB from the laptop.
Then came a voice he had trusted for forty years.
“Daniel?”
Thomas.
“You in there?”
Daniel stared at the door.
Emily’s last sentence echoed in his mind.
Find out who introduced Rebecca to you.
May you like
Daniel slipped the USB into his pocket.
Then he unlocked the door.
