Chapter 7 - Richard Finally Talks
Richard survived.
He woke thirty-six hours later in a guarded hospital room.
Clara arrived with Detective Ortiz.
Teresa was already there.
She stood in the hallway with Marcus and Serena.
Julian was absent because of the protective order and ongoing investigation.
Teresa pointed at Clara.
“You did this.”
Clara stopped.
“I did what?”
“You destroyed this family.”
Marcus said nothing.
Serena looked exhausted.
Clara stepped closer.
“Someone drugged Richard using Julian’s prescription.”
Teresa’s eyes flickered.
There.
A reaction.
“You know something.”
“Go to hell.”
Clara smiled coldly.
“I’ve been there. Your dining room.”
Marcus almost laughed.
Teresa slapped him on the shoulder.
“This is not funny.”
“No,” Clara said. “It isn’t.”
Detective Ortiz entered Richard’s room first.
Then Clara.
Richard looked weak.
Tubes ran into his arm.
He stared at Clara.
“I told you to stop.”
“And someone almost killed you.”
He closed his eyes.
“Maybe that was the point.”
“Who?”
Richard looked toward the detective.
“I want immunity.”
Ortiz remained expressionless.
“For what?”
Richard swallowed.
“Financial crimes.”
Clara felt a knot form in her stomach.
“How many?”
Richard looked at her.
“Enough.”
Ortiz called prosecutors.
Negotiations took hours.
When Richard finally spoke formally, Clara sat behind the observation glass.
His confession began with Evelyn Hart.
Clara’s mother.
In 1988, Evelyn had worked as a junior accountant for Vance Maritime.
She discovered illegal offshore transfers arranged by Richard’s father, Walter Vance.
Rather than report him immediately, Evelyn copied records.
Walter discovered what she had done.
He offered her money.
She refused.
Then something unexpected happened.
Walter died.
A heart attack.
Richard inherited the company and discovered both the offshore accounts and Evelyn’s copies.
“I was terrified,” Richard told Ortiz.
“Of prison?”
“Of my mother. My board. Everyone.”
“What did you do?”
“I made an agreement with Evelyn.”
Clara leaned closer to the glass.
Richard continued.
“She would not expose the records if I returned money to employees and investors harmed by the company.”
“Did you?”
“Some.”
“Not all.”
“No.”
“What happened to the rest?”
Richard looked away.
“We put it into a trust.”
“The Hart Preservation Trust?”
“Yes.”
Clara covered her mouth.
Her mother had not secretly become rich.
She had forced the Vances to preserve stolen money.
“For what purpose?” Ortiz asked.
“Restitution.”
“Then why was Clara a beneficiary?”
Richard’s eyes filled with tears.
“Protection.”
“From whom?”
“My family.”
Ortiz waited.
Richard continued.
“Evelyn knew I was weak. She knew Teresa would find out eventually. She wanted someone outside the Vance family to control the evidence if anything happened.”
“So she named Clara.”
“Yes.”
“Did Clara know?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Evelyn thought ignorance kept her safe.”
Clara almost laughed.
Safe.
Ignorance had delivered her directly into Julian’s arms.
Ortiz asked the next question.
“How did Julian learn about the trust?”
Richard’s face changed.
“He found my father’s ledger.”
“Then?”
“He confronted me.”
“When?”
“Nine years ago.”
Clara froze.
Nine years.
Before Evelyn died.
“Did he meet Evelyn Hart?”
Richard said nothing.
Ortiz leaned forward.
“Richard.”
“Yes.”
Clara’s blood ran cold.
“When?”
“Two weeks before she died.”
Clara stood.
Her chair fell backward.
Through the glass, Richard heard it.
He looked toward her.
Clara entered the room despite Ortiz’s protest.
“What did Julian say to my mother?”
Richard began crying.
“I don’t know.”
“You were there?”
“For part of it.”
“What did he say?”
“He wanted access to the trust.”
“And she refused.”
“Yes.”
“What happened next?”
Richard looked at the blanket.
“What happened?”
“She changed the trust.”
“How?”
“She added a termination clause.”
Clara could barely speak.
“What did it say?”
Richard closed his eyes.
“If you died under suspicious circumstances, control of everything transferred outside the Vance family.”
“To whom?”
“I don’t know.”
Clara leaned closer.
“What did Julian do when he found out?”
May you like
Richard whispered.
“He smiled.”
