Chapter 7 - The Eleven Checks
By the morning of December twenty-sixth, every Bennett relative wanted a replacement check.
Vivian called Westbridge National Bank before opening hours.
Stephen contacted three attorneys.
Daniel searched online for methods of restoring burned financial documents. Melissa telephoned the cleaning company and demanded access to the bags of discarded Christmas food.
Richard did none of those things.
He disappeared.
Police found his car near Bennett Meridian’s downtown headquarters, but no one saw him enter the building. His phone had been switched off.
Malcolm Reeves also remained missing.
Claire stayed in the secure residence arranged by the bank. Anna and Owen occupied separate rooms on the same floor. Laura controlled access to the building while Detective Bell coordinated the search for Evelyn.
Benjamin Rhodes arrived with a copy of Evelyn’s succession documents.
“The eleven checks were connected to eleven separate conditional gifts,” he explained.
Claire sat at a long table covered with files.
“What conditions?”
“Each recipient was required to present the original check personally within thirty days.”
“So the ones they destroyed are worthless?”
“Not automatically. But replacement requires Evelyn’s authorization.”
“And she’s missing.”
“Yes.”
Owen rested his injured arm in a sling.
“What happens if Grandma is declared dead?”
Benjamin hesitated.
“Her estate plan activates.”
“Who inherits?” Anna asked.
“That information remains sealed.”
Claire looked at the copy of her check.
“Why give everyone the same amount?”
“Equal amounts created the appearance of equal treatment. But the endorsement clauses differ.”
Claire turned the check over.
Tiny legal text was printed along the border.
“What does mine say?”
Benjamin adjusted his glasses.
“Presentation of this instrument by Claire Rose Bennett constitutes acceptance of provisional custodianship under the Rosebridge Continuity Agreement.”
Owen whistled softly.
“You didn’t get five million. You got the keys to the trust.”
“Provisional keys,” Claire said. “And I still don’t know what the trust controls.”
Benjamin opened another file.
“Known assets include commercial property, shipping investments, agricultural land, patent royalties and majority interests in several holding companies.”
“Bennett Meridian?”
“Potentially.”
“How much is the trust worth?”
“We cannot confirm the current total.”
“Estimate.”
Benjamin was silent for a moment.
“Between three and four billion dollars.”
Claire pushed back from the table.
Anna watched her carefully.
“This is why Evelyn tested the family.”
“No,” Claire said. “Five million would have been enough to test greed. A billion-dollar trust creates a civil war.”
“She knew a war was already coming,” Benjamin replied.
He showed them a corporate filing.
“Six weeks ago, Richard attempted to merge Bennett Meridian with a private investment group called Sentinel Crown Partners.”
Owen recognized the name.
“They’ve been buying distressed construction companies.”
“The proposed merger would transfer controlling rights away from the Rosebridge Trust.”
“Could Richard do that?” Claire asked.
“Not legally without Evelyn’s consent.”
“Did he have it?”
“The file contains an authorization bearing her signature.”
Anna examined the page.
“That isn’t Evelyn’s signature.”
“Which means someone forged it,” Claire said.
Benjamin nodded.
“The merger vote is scheduled in four days.”
Claire understood.
“If Grandma remains missing, Richard could argue that the authorization stands.”
“Unless the provisional custodian challenges it.”
“Me.”
“Yes.”
The door opened.
Laura entered holding a tablet.
“We found Malcolm Reeves.”
“Where?” Anna asked.
“In a vehicle twenty miles outside the city.”
“Alive?”
“Yes, but unconscious.”
“What happened?”
“Possible poisoning.”
Claire’s phone rang.
Melissa.
Claire answered on speaker.
“Have you found Grandma?” Melissa asked immediately.
“No.”
“I found my check.”
Everyone at the table looked up.
“Where?”
“At the waste-processing facility.”
“You searched the garbage?”
“I paid six employees to search it.”
“Is the check intact?”
“Mostly. There’s food damage, but the account number is visible.”
Benjamin shook his head.
“Tell her not to alter it.”
Claire relayed the warning.
Melissa lowered her voice.
“Claire, Dad called me last night.”
“From what number?”
“Blocked.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me Grandma had planned this to turn us against each other. He said you were working with Anna to steal the company.”
“Did he say where he was?”
“No. But I heard church bells.”
“That could be anywhere.”
“There was something else. A train announcement.”
Owen opened a map.
“What words did you hear?”
Melissa tried to remember.
“Something about the north platform and Bellhaven.”
Laura searched quickly.
“There is one station with a direct route to Bellhaven. St. Matthew Terminal.”
“Near the old Halcyon factory,” Anna said.
“How do you know?”
“Evelyn used to take me there.”
Claire stood.
“We’re going.”
Laura blocked her.
“You are not.”
“My father may be near the factory.”
“And he may expect you to follow.”
“Then he knows me poorly.”
Anna looked at Claire.
“No. He knows you very well. He knows you cannot ignore someone in danger.”
“Grandma may be there.”
“Which is exactly why this could be a trap.”
Detective Bell called before they could argue further.
He had received footage from the airport.
The woman entering under Anna’s passport was not Anna.
It was Evelyn.
“Why would Grandma use my passport?” Anna asked.
Bell answered through the speaker.
“We believe she traveled to Portugal sixteen months ago using the same identity.”
Claire looked at the photograph of Rose Halcyon.
“Maybe she was protecting her movements.”
Bell continued.
“There is more. The blood from Evelyn’s car has been identified.”
“Whose is it?”
“Malcolm Reeves.”
Everyone went silent.
“Malcolm’s blood was in Grandma’s car?” Claire asked.
“Yes. And surveillance footage shows him driving it toward the river on Christmas morning.”
“Then he staged her disappearance.”
“Possibly. But Malcolm regained consciousness ten minutes ago.”
“What did he say?”
“Only one sentence before the doctors sedated him again.”
Claire waited.
May you like
Bell’s voice became quieter.
“He said, ‘Evelyn planned the kidnapping herself.’”
