Chapter 12 - Cassandra’s Offer
Cassandra contacted Jocelyn directly.
The message arrived at two in the morning.
I know what Gordon did to you. I can prove he planned it before he married you.
Jocelyn did not respond immediately.
Naomi traced the number to a prepaid phone.
They arranged a meeting in a public restaurant under the observation of two private investigators.
Cassandra arrived wearing a dark coat and no makeup.
She looked tired.
Not glamorous.
Not victorious.
Just frightened.
Jocelyn had imagined hating her.
Instead, she saw another person Gordon had lied to.
Cassandra sat across from her.
“I didn’t know you were sick,” she said.
“You knew I existed.”
“Yes.”
“You entered a relationship with my husband.”
“Yes.”
“You accepted my money.”
Cassandra lowered her eyes.
“Yes.”
Jocelyn waited.
Cassandra’s discomfort was not enough. Regret was not accountability.
“Why are you here?”
“Because Gordon is blaming everything on me.”
“Did you design the transfers?”
“I suggested moving money through the company.”
“So Rita told the truth.”
“Partly.”
“What part did she hide?”
Cassandra removed a small flash drive from her pocket.
“Gordon had already been searching for the Mercer trust.”
Jocelyn did not touch the drive.
“How did he know about it?”
“He found a letter in your father’s office after the funeral.”
“My father’s office was locked.”
“Gordon had a key.”
“He told me the key was lost.”
“He lied.”
Cassandra pushed the drive forward.
“He photographed documents before the estate was inventoried.”
“What documents?”
“Letters between your father and an investigator named Daniel Cross.”
Naomi, seated nearby, leaned closer.
“Daniel Cross disappeared twelve years ago.”
Cassandra nodded.
“Gordon believed Cross discovered something about the trust. Something worth hiding.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. But Gordon has spent years looking for him.”
Jocelyn studied Cassandra’s face.
“And you helped.”
“At first, I thought Gordon wanted independence from you. He told me you controlled him financially. He said you mocked his work and threatened to leave him with nothing.”
“He lied.”
“I know that now.”
“When did you know?”
Cassandra’s eyes filled.
“When he told me to take our son and disappear.”
Jocelyn felt no pleasure.
“Why?”
“Because the police were asking questions. He said he could not protect both of us.”
“Did you expect him to choose you?”
“Yes.”
“He chose himself.”
Cassandra nodded.
Jocelyn looked at the flash drive.
“What do you want in exchange?”
“Protection for my son.”
“From Gordon?”
“From whoever is helping him.”
Naomi’s expression sharpened.
“Who is helping him?”
Cassandra glanced around the restaurant.
“I don’t know his name. Gordon called him Mr. Gray.”
“Have you seen him?”
“Once.”
“Describe him.”
Cassandra hesitated.
“Late sixties. Tall. Burn scar on his left hand.”
Jocelyn’s breath caught.
Her father had once described Daniel Cross as a tall man with a burn scar from military service.
“The missing investigator,” she whispered.
Cassandra looked confused.
Jocelyn reached for the flash drive.
Before her fingers touched it, the restaurant window shattered.
May you like
Cassandra screamed.
A bullet struck the wall behind her.
