Chapter 8 - THE NAME BEHIND THE HOUSE
Thomas finally agreed to meet Margaret.
He brought an old file.
"I should have told you sooner."
Margaret said nothing.
Thomas placed the file on the table.
"Daniel came to me six months before he died."
"Why?"
"He believed someone was watching the family's finances."
Margaret frowned.
"Who?"
"He never gave me a name."
"Then what did he know?"
Thomas opened the file.
"He knew money was being moved through several shell companies."
Margaret looked at him.
"By whom?"
"We couldn't prove it."
"What does this have to do with Melissa?"
Thomas shook his head.
"That's the problem."
He pulled out a photograph.
It showed Daniel standing outside a restaurant.
Beside him was a woman.
Margaret stared.
She did not recognize her.
"Who is she?"
"That's what Daniel wanted me to find out."
Margaret looked closer.
Then her blood ran cold.
She knew the woman.
Not personally.
But from Melissa's family photographs.
The woman was Melissa's mother.
Margaret looked up.
"You're telling me Daniel knew her?"
"We think so."
"Before Melissa met Ryan?"
"Yes."
Margaret sat back.
Everything changed.
The house.
The mortgage.
The hidden account.
Melissa's sudden interest in Ryan.
None of it seemed accidental anymore.
But Thomas had one more document.
He placed it in front of her.
A handwritten note.
Daniel's handwriting.
Margaret recognized it immediately.
The note contained only one sentence.
If she ever becomes part of Ryan's life, do not trust what she tells you about the house.
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
"Why didn't he tell me?"
"Maybe he was trying to protect you."
"From what?"
Thomas didn't answer.
Margaret folded the note carefully.
Then her phone buzzed.
A message from Ryan.
Mom, don't go to the house tonight.
Margaret stared at the screen.
A second message appeared.
She's already there.
Margaret looked toward the window.
May you like
Then she heard something outside.
A car door closing.
