Chapter 12: The Woman Laura Trusted
We arranged to meet Rebecca at a small coffee shop near Robert's office.
I arrived twenty minutes early with Ethan.
Eleanor had insisted on coming, and Robert had arranged for the meeting to take place in a private section of the shop.
At exactly two o'clock, a woman walked through the entrance carrying a black handbag.
She looked around the room before approaching us.
"Michael Bennett?""
I stood.
"Rebecca?""
She nodded.
Her eyes moved toward Ethan.
"You must be Laura's boy.""
Ethan gave a small smile.
"Yes.""
Rebecca's expression softened.
"Your mother talked about you constantly.""
She sat down and placed her handbag on the table.
"I wish we were meeting under different circumstances.""
I leaned forward.
"What did you find?""
Rebecca looked at Robert.
"Before I explain, I need to know that the documents I give you will be handled properly.""
Robert introduced himself and explained that he'd preserve the records and advise us on the appropriate legal steps.
Rebecca seemed satisfied.
She removed a thick envelope.
Inside were copies of emails, financial ledgers, and bank transfer records.
"I worked for Laura for almost six years," she began.
"I handled scheduling, correspondence, and some basic financial administration.""
I nodded.
"I remember her mentioning you.""
"After Daniel started asking questions about the house, Laura became concerned. She asked me to review certain transactions.""
Rebecca opened a ledger.
"At first, the amounts were small. Five hundred dollars here. Two thousand there. Daniel would ask Laura for money, claiming he needed it for business expenses.""
Eleanor shook her head.
"She told me she had helped him.""
"She did. But then the transactions started going through different accounts.""
Rebecca placed several pages in front of Robert.
"These are transfers connected to Coleman Financial Ventures.""
Robert examined them.
"Some of these payments were made using company funds.""
"Yes," Rebecca replied.
"But I found something more troubling.""
She pulled out another sheet.
"This is a list of payments made to individuals who helped Daniel obtain property information.""
I recognized several names.
Patricia.
Richard Coleman.
And Vanessa.
But one name appeared more frequently than the others.
Daniel.
Rebecca continued.
"Laura believed Daniel was preparing to use the house as collateral. She confronted him, and he promised to stop.""
"Did he?"" I asked.
Rebecca shook her head.
"No. He simply changed the way he was doing it.""
She opened another folder.
"This is where things become important. Daniel started using a company registered under another person's name.""
"Madison?"" I asked.
Rebecca looked surprised.
"You already know about that?""
"Yes.""
She nodded.
"Then you know the company isn't new. It's a continuation of an older arrangement.""
Robert examined the registration numbers.
"They've reused the same financial structure.""
"Exactly.""
Rebecca turned another page.
"Laura found evidence that Daniel had transferred money through several companies before bringing it back into Coleman Financial Ventures.""
I leaned forward.
"Why?""
"To make the money appear to come from legitimate business activity.""
Robert looked at her.
"Do you have original statements?""
Rebecca nodded.
"Copies, yes. The originals are stored with an independent accountant.""
"Who?""
"Martin Shaw.""
Eleanor suddenly looked up.
"Martin?""
Rebecca nodded.
"He was Laura's accountant.""
I remembered him.
Martin had prepared our tax returns for years.
After Laura died, Daniel had convinced me to use someone else.
I'd assumed Martin had retired.
"Where is he now?"" I asked.
"Still practicing. He has the complete transaction history.""
Robert wrote down his details.
Then Rebecca reached into her handbag again.
"I haven't told you the worst part.""
She removed a printed email.
It was dated six months before Laura died.
The sender was Daniel.
The recipient was Richard Coleman.
The subject line read:
*THE BENNETT PROPERTY.*
I read the message.
Daniel had written that Laura was becoming suspicious and that he needed to find another way to gain access to the property.
Richard had responded with a suggestion.
Wait until Michael is emotionally vulnerable. He'll eventually need help managing the estate. Once you have administrative access, the rest becomes easier.
I felt my face burn.
They had been planning this before Laura died.
Before I buried my wife.
Before I married Vanessa.
Before Ethan turned eighteen.
Rebecca pointed to another paragraph.
"Look at the date.""
It was two weeks after Laura's funeral.
Daniel had written:
Michael is struggling. I'll handle the accounts. Vanessa seems cooperative. We can move forward when the time is right.
I sat back.
For years, I'd thought Daniel was helping me survive the hardest period of my life.
Now I was discovering that he'd been using that grief to position himself around my finances.
Ethan looked at the email.
"Uncle Daniel was already planning to take our house when Mom was alive?""
Rebecca nodded.
"I'm afraid so.""
Ethan looked down.
"I used to think he was the nicest uncle.""
I put my hand on his shoulder.
"None of this is your fault.""
Rebecca waited until the room was quiet.
Then she opened the final section of her folder.
"This is the part I wasn't sure whether to show you.""
It contained a spreadsheet listing payments from Daniel's companies.
One transfer was dated three days after Laura died.
The recipient was Vanessa.
The amount was $15,000.
I turned toward my wife, who wasn't there.
"Why would Daniel pay Vanessa fifteen thousand dollars?""
Rebecca looked uncomfortable.
"Laura asked me to investigate that payment. I found an email explaining it.""
Robert read the attached message.
His expression became serious.
"What does it say?"" I asked.
He turned the paper toward me.
Daniel had written:
The first payment is complete. Vanessa understands the arrangement. She'll help establish the household expenses and gradually move Ethan out.
I felt as if someone had punched me.
The payment had been made before Vanessa and I were even married.
I looked at Rebecca.
"Are you telling me my wife was paid to marry me?""
Rebecca shook her head.
"I can't prove that. The email establishes that money was transferred, but not every detail of the arrangement.""
Robert interrupted.
"We need the accountant's original records before drawing conclusions.""
I nodded.
Then Rebecca handed me one final document.
It was a handwritten note from Laura.
If Michael ever discovers what Daniel has done, make sure he understands that Vanessa may not have been the person who started this.
I stared at it.
"What does that mean?""
Rebecca hesitated.
"I think Laura believed someone else introduced Vanessa to Daniel.""
"Who?""
Rebecca looked at Eleanor.
Then back at me.
"Your younger brother had a partner before he started working with Richard.""
"Who was it?""
She pointed to the name written beneath Laura's note.
I recognized it immediately.
My father's name.
But my father had been dead for sixteen years.
I looked at Eleanor.
She slowly covered her mouth.
"That's impossible," I whispered.
Rebecca shook her head.
"Not your father, Michael. Someone who used his name.""
Robert picked up the accompanying document.
It was an old company registration.
And the person listed as Daniel's original financial partner was someone I had never expected.
My sister.
*Catherine Bennett.*
The sister Daniel had told me had moved overseas and cut off contact with the family twelve years earlier.
Except the document showed something else.
She had signed the original partnership agreement just four months before Laura died.
And according to the latest transaction record, Catherine had received $40,000 from the same account used to finance the attempted theft of my home.
I looked at Rebecca.
"Where is my sister now?""
Rebecca took a deep breath.
"She's not overseas.""
She slid another photograph across the table.
It showed Catherine standing beside Daniel and Richard outside the same bank.
The photograph was dated just last week.
"Michael," Rebecca whispered, "your sister has been in town the entire time.""
And then my phone rang.
May you like
The caller ID displayed a number I hadn't seen in twelve years.
*Catherine Bennett.*
