Chapter 5: My Sister's Secret
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Vanessa pulled out the chair opposite me and sat down.
She looked older than the woman I remembered.
There were faint lines around her eyes, and her dark hair was shorter. But the small scar above her left eyebrow was unmistakable.
I'd given her that scar when we were children.
We'd been fighting over a bicycle, and I'd accidentally pushed her into the garden fence.
She'd laughed through the blood and told me not to cry.
Now I was looking at a woman who had allowed me to mourn her for four years.
“Why?”” I whispered.
Vanessa glanced at Trevor.
“Because I discovered something about Dad's business.””
Trevor immediately interrupted.
“This meeting has nothing to do with her.””
Vanessa smiled coldly.
“Still giving orders, Trevor?””
Darlene stood.
“I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but you need to leave.””
Vanessa opened her handbag.
She removed a photograph and slid it across the table.
It showed Darlene standing outside a private medical facility with a man I didn't recognize.
The date printed on the back was October 18, four years earlier.
The same month Vanessa supposedly died.
Darlene's mouth opened.
Then closed.
Vanessa leaned back.
“Would you like to explain why you paid for my temporary identity documents, Darlene?””
Trevor slammed his hand on the table.
“That's enough!””
Ellis stood.
“Mr. Bascombe, I suggest you remain seated.””
Trevor glared at him.
“Don't tell me what to do.””
I looked at Vanessa.
“Start from the beginning.””
She took a breath.
“Four years ago, I discovered that Dad's company had been used to move money between several private accounts. At first, I thought it was ordinary corporate restructuring. Then I found payments that had no business justification.””
“Whose payments?””
“Trevor's. And Darlene's.””
Trevor shook his head.
“She was never involved in our company.””
Vanessa laughed.
“That's interesting, considering she received nearly a million dollars during the first year alone.””
Darlene stood abruptly.
“Those were legitimate payments!””
Vanessa turned toward her.
“Then why did you ask me to alter the records?””
Darlene's face drained of color.
I felt a chill run down my back.
“You worked with them?”” I asked Vanessa.
“Initially, I did.””
Her eyes lowered.
“I was working as a financial consultant. Trevor approached me because he knew Dad trusted me. He said he needed help restructuring the company before a major acquisition.””
Trevor leaned forward.
“Don't twist this.””
Vanessa ignored him.
“I found out he was moving money from company accounts into Darlene's personal accounts. When I confronted him, he offered me a percentage to stay quiet.””
“And you refused?””
“Yes.””
She opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph of a car submerged in dark water.
I recognized it immediately.
The police had shown us a photograph of that same vehicle after the accident.
“I wasn't in the car when it went over the bridge,” Vanessa said.
“I had already left the country.””
I stared at her.
“Then whose body did they find?””
Vanessa looked at me.
“There was no confirmed body identification. Dad received a false report. Someone made sure the investigation ended.””
My hands began to shake.
“Who?””
She looked toward Darlene.
“Your mother-in-law knew where I was.””
Darlene shook her head.
“Lies.””
Vanessa placed another document on the table.
A bank transfer.
$75,000.
The recipient was an account connected to a private security company.
The date was four days before the supposed accident.
Trevor stood again.
“I'm leaving.””
Ellis gestured toward the door.
“You're welcome to leave the meeting, Mr. Bascombe. However, the lending review will continue.””
Trevor looked at me.
“Corinne, you need to understand something. Your sister is manipulating you. She's been unstable for years.””
Vanessa didn't react.
I finally spoke.
“Sit down, Trevor.””
He stared at me.
“What?””
“You heard me.””
His jaw tightened, but he sat.
Vanessa continued.
“Dad discovered the fraud before he died. He wanted to report everything, but he was worried about you.””
“Me?”” I asked.
“He knew you were married to Trevor. He was afraid you'd be caught in the middle.””
I thought about my father's last months.
His late-night phone calls.
The locked study.
The sudden arguments with Trevor that always ended when I entered the room.
He'd known.
My father had known something was wrong.
“Why didn't he tell me?””
Vanessa's expression softened.
“Because he was trying to protect you.””
She pushed another envelope toward me.
“This is a letter he left with his attorney. He instructed them to give it to you if I ever returned.””
I opened it.
My father's handwriting appeared on the first page.
My dearest Corinne,
If you're reading this, then the people I feared have finally revealed themselves.
My eyes filled with tears.
Then I reached the final paragraph.
There is one person you must never trust with your inheritance. Not Trevor. Not Darlene.
I stopped breathing.
The next sentence was underlined twice.
It's someone who has been inside our family for much longer than either of them.
I looked up.
“Vanessa, who is he talking about?””
My sister's eyes moved toward the conference room door.
Before she could answer, Ellis received a notification on his laptop.
He read it.
Then his expression changed.
“Mrs. Bascombe,” he said quietly, “we have a problem.””
“What now?””
“The six-million-dollar loan guarantee was approved using a second authorization.””
I frowned.
“Whose authorization?””
Ellis turned the laptop toward me.
There was a signature at the bottom.
May you like
My father's.
But the document had been created three months after his funeral.
