Chapter 9 - margaret’s confession)
Daniel did not meet Margaret alone.
Detective Brooks sat behind mirrored glass.
Two officers waited outside.
Margaret knew they were there.
She did not care.
She looked smaller in the hospital interview room.
No bow-collared blouse now.
No perfect hair.
She wore a hospital gown beneath a robe.
A bandage covered the injection site on her arm.
Daniel sat across from her.
For several seconds neither spoke.
Then Margaret said, “You found Sarah’s recording.”
It was not a question.
Daniel stared.
“You knew about it.”
“I knew she was recording things.”
“You changed the frame.”
“Yes.”
“Did you find the memory card?”
“No.”
Daniel believed that answer.
Not because he trusted her.
Because if Margaret had found it, the evidence would not have survived.
Daniel leaned forward.
“Did you kill my father?”
Margaret looked down at her hands.
“When your father became ill, Julian gave me medication.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“For what?”
“He said it would calm Richard.”
“Did you know what it was?”
“Not at first.”
“And later?”
Margaret’s silence answered.
Daniel forced himself not to shout.
“You drugged him.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Months.”
“Why?”
Margaret looked at him.
“Because your father was going to destroy everything.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“There it is.”
“You don’t understand.”
“No. I understand perfectly. Every time you hurt someone, you call it protection.”
Margaret’s face tightened.
“Richard was moving money recklessly. He was going to sell the company. Fire thousands.”
“He owned it.”
“We built it together.”
“He built it.”
“I stood beside him for thirty-two years.”
“And that entitled you to drug him?”
Margaret looked away.
Daniel continued.
“Did you give him the pills that killed him?”
Her eyes filled for the first time.
“I gave him what Julian prepared.”
“Knowing it could kill him?”
“I knew it could make him sick.”
Daniel stared.
Margaret whispered, “I did not know he would die.”
“You watched him collapse.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“I called an ambulance.”
Daniel felt anger burn behind his eyes.
“You called after how long?”
Margaret did not answer.
“How long?”
“Twenty-seven minutes.”
Daniel stood.
Behind the glass, Brooks remained still.
Daniel paced once and forced himself back into the chair.
“Why?”
“I panicked.”
“No. You waited.”
Margaret looked at him.
“Yes.”
The word was barely audible.
Daniel’s voice cracked.
“You waited twenty-seven minutes while my father was dying?”
“I thought if he woke up, he would tell them what I had done.”
Daniel could not look at her.
For years he had imagined his father’s death as sudden.
Peaceful.
Richard had supposedly collapsed while reading in his study.
Margaret had told Daniel he died almost immediately.
That had been a lie.
Maybe every comforting detail had been a lie.
Daniel whispered, “Sarah found out.”
Margaret’s face changed.
“Yes.”
“Did you kill her?”
“No.”
Daniel looked up.
“No?”
“I did not touch Sarah’s car.”
“Did Julian?”
“I believe so.”
“Believe?”
Margaret’s voice hardened.
“Sarah was reckless. She confronted both of us.”
“Both?”
“She found Julian before the accident. She threatened to go to police.”
“Then she died.”
“I told Julian to stay away from her.”
Daniel laughed.
“You expect me to believe you tried to protect Sarah?”
“Yes.”
“You hated her.”
“I did not hate Sarah.”
“You drugged her daughter.”
Margaret looked toward the glass.
“That began later.”
Daniel’s stomach turned.
As though timing mattered.
“Why Elodie?”
Margaret’s face became strangely calm.
“Because after Sarah died, you stopped functioning.”
Daniel stared.
“You barely ate. You barely slept. You would sit beside Elodie’s crib for hours. The company was collapsing. Lawyers were calling. Trustees were asking questions.”
“So you drugged my child.”
“She had tantrums.”
“She was two.”
“You were drowning.”
“She was grieving.”
“So were you.”
Daniel slammed his hand against the table.
“Stop calling abuse help.”
Margaret flinched.
Daniel breathed hard.
“When did it start?”
“Not until she was four.”
“Why?”
Margaret hesitated.
“She began asking questions about Sarah.”
Daniel remembered the notebook.
“What questions?”
“She said her mother had told her Grandma was dangerous.”
Daniel froze.
“Elodie remembered that?”
“Pieces.”
“And you wanted her quiet.”
“I wanted to know what she remembered.”
“So you made her sick.”
“I made her sleep.”
“You took her to hospitals.”
“Sometimes she reacted more strongly than expected.”
Daniel stared at the woman who raised him.
For the first time in his life, he saw no mother.
Only a person who had spent decades converting control into a moral virtue.
“Did you poison her this week?”
“No.”
“Last night?”
“No.”
“Did you enter my house?”
“Yes.”
“Sunday at 4:42?”
“Yes.”
“What did you do?”
“Checked her room.”
“For what?”
“The frame.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“You had already replaced it.”
“I thought Sarah might have hidden copies elsewhere.”
“Did you impersonate me?”
Margaret frowned.
“What?”
“Someone went into Elodie’s room and told her Daddy’s here.”
Margaret looked genuinely surprised.
“That was not me.”
“Julian?”
Her expression hardened.
“Probably.”
Daniel studied her.
“You were working with him again.”
“No.”
“He sedated you at the hospital.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he thinks I have something he needs.”
“What?”
Margaret hesitated.
Daniel leaned closer.
“What does Julian want?”
“The original trust amendment.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard placed a condition in it.”
Daniel stared.
“What condition?”
Margaret looked toward the mirrored glass.
Then back at him.
“If evidence ever proved that Richard’s death resulted from intentional medication manipulation by a family beneficiary, that beneficiary permanently loses all claims to the trust.”
Daniel felt cold.
“So you lose everything.”
“Yes.”
“And Julian?”
“Yes.”
“Then who gets it?”
Margaret’s mouth tightened.
“Elodie.”
Daniel sat back.
All roads returned to his daughter.
Margaret continued.
“Julian believes the original document is hidden somewhere Richard controlled.”
“The factory?”
“Perhaps.”
“And he thinks you know where.”
“No.”
“He poisoned Elodie to get my attention.”
Margaret nodded.
“He needed you frightened enough to start searching.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“He almost killed her.”
Margaret looked at him.
“Julian has never cared about collateral damage.”
Daniel nearly laughed at the hypocrisy.
“What do you call yourself?”
Margaret flinched.
He stood.
“One final question.”
She looked up.
“Why confess now?”
Margaret’s answer surprised him.
“Because Julian came back.”
Daniel waited.
She continued.
“And because when he put that needle in my arm, I finally understood something.”
“What?”
Margaret looked toward the window where Elodie was not present but might as well have been.
“I spent years telling myself I was different from him.”
Daniel said nothing.
Margaret’s eyes filled.
“I am not.”
Daniel walked to the door.
Margaret whispered, “Daniel.”
He stopped.
“Sarah’s brakes.”
Daniel turned.
Margaret swallowed.
“I saw Julian near her car the night before she died.”
Daniel stared.
“And you said nothing?”
“I thought he was frightening her.”
“You knew what he was capable of.”
“Yes.”
“And you said nothing.”
“Yes.”
Daniel opened the door.
Margaret said, “I am sorry.”
Daniel looked back once.
“No.”
His voice was calm.
“You are afraid.”
Then he left.
Detective Brooks joined him in the hall.
“That was enough for warrants.”
Daniel nodded.
“We find Julian.”
Brooks looked at him.
“We will.”
Daniel started toward Elodie’s room.
Then his phone rang.
No caller ID.
He answered.
Julian’s voice came immediately.
“Your mother always did confess beautifully when cornered.”
Daniel stopped.
Brooks signaled for trace.
Daniel whispered, “Where are you?”
“Closer than you think.”
“What do you want?”
“The trust amendment.”
“I don’t have it.”
“I know.”
Daniel frowned.
Julian continued.
“But Elodie does.”
May you like
The call ended.
Daniel ran.
