Chapter 9 - Evelyn's Last Insurance Policy
Natalie's hands shook as she opened the envelope.
The letter inside had been written on three pages of yellow legal paper.
Natalie,
If you are reading this, something went wrong.
You may have been told I abandoned you. I did not.
You may have been told I was sick. I was, for a while.
You may have been told Margaret saved you.
Maybe part of that is true.
But people can save you once and still harm you later.
Natalie stopped.
Claire sat beside her.
Derek stood near the bank wall.
Daniel waited quietly.
She continued.
Rose created the Hale Settlement for you because your father could not claim you publicly.
Natalie looked up.
There it was again.
Her father.
Daniel said:
"Keep reading."
She did.
Your father contributed most of the money.
Rose never told Margaret his identity.
I did.
That was my mistake.
Natalie's pulse quickened.
The letter continued.
When Margaret learned who he was, everything changed. She stopped talking about helping me get stable. She began talking about what your future could mean for the family.
I wanted you away from that.
Natalie lowered the letter.
"Who was he?"
Derek whispered.
"Read."
She turned the page.
I will not write his name here because I believe Margaret has opened my mail.
The videotape explains everything.
Natalie looked toward the black VHS cassette in the box.
The bank had no player.
Daniel arranged for one at his office.
They watched the tape in a dark conference room two hours later.
Evelyn appeared on screen.
Thirty-one.
Dark hair.
Natalie's eyes.
For several seconds she simply stared into the camera.
Then she smiled.
"Hi, Nat."
Natalie covered her mouth.
"I hope you never see this."
Evelyn laughed sadly.
"That's a terrible way to start."
She looked off camera.
"I made mistakes. I need you to know that first. I drank too much after you were born. I trusted bad people. I let Margaret convince me she could provide things I couldn't."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"But I never stopped loving you."
Natalie cried silently.
Derek looked away.
Evelyn continued.
"Your father was a man named Alexander Vale."
Daniel suddenly straightened.
Natalie noticed.
"You know the name?"
He whispered:
"Keep watching."
Evelyn continued.
"He was married when I met him. I was twenty-two. He was thirty-nine. I didn't know he was married until later."
She looked ashamed.
"When I became pregnant, he wanted to help but not publicly. Rose hated him for that. She made him create the settlement."
Natalie wiped her face.
"He visited you three times."
Evelyn smiled.
"You liked his watch."
Then her expression changed.
"Alexander became afraid Margaret would expose him. Margaret wanted him to invest in Thomas's company. Later she wanted him to help Derek."
Derek stared at the floor.
"He refused."
Evelyn leaned toward the camera.
"Then Margaret threatened to tell his wife and the board of his company."
Natalie whispered:
"Company?"
Daniel finally spoke.
"Alexander Vale founded Vale Meridian."
Natalie looked at him.
Vale Meridian was one of the largest privately held logistics and infrastructure groups in the country.
Alexander Vale had died eight years earlier.
His surviving family remained extremely wealthy.
Evelyn continued.
"Alexander paid Margaret twice. Then he stopped."
The screen flickered.
"Margaret told me if I tried to take Natalie back, she would say I was blackmailing him. Franklin Voss prepared documents."
Evelyn's voice hardened.
"I have copies."
She held up a folder.
"Rebecca has them."
Natalie looked toward Daniel.
"We need Rebecca."
He nodded.
The tape continued.
"If anything happens to me, Richard knows more than he will admit."
Then Evelyn said something that made Natalie stop breathing.
"But Richard isn't the person I'm most afraid of."
She stared directly into the camera.
"I'm afraid of Alexander's wife."
The image flickered.
"Her name is Eleanor Vale."
Daniel stood.
Natalie looked at him.
"What?"
He did not answer immediately.
"What?"
Daniel turned toward the window.
"Eleanor Vale is still alive."
"So?"
"She's the chairwoman of Vale Meridian."
Natalie waited.
Daniel looked back at her.
"And Carter-Lane Holdings, your employer, has been negotiating a merger with Vale Meridian for nine months."
Natalie felt the blood leave her face.
The merger.
The most important deal of her career.
The confidential acquisition she had personally structured.
The woman on the other side of that transaction had been her biological father's widow.
A woman Evelyn had feared.
Natalie whispered:
"Does Eleanor know who I am?"
May you like
Daniel said:
"I think we'd better assume she does."
