Chapter 11: Emily Bennett
We reached Hawthorne Lane at 1:17 in the morning.
Michael hated the idea.
So did Emily.
But neither of them could stop me.
We compromised by calling the Lake Forest police non-emergency line and explaining that I believed property belonging to me might have been fraudulently transferred.
An officer agreed to meet us outside.
Vanessa stayed behind with Michael’s assistant to duplicate the flash drive and preserve the files.
The house appeared beyond a row of old oak trees.
My childhood hit me all at once.
The stone steps where I learned to roller-skate.
The porch where Dad waited when I came home after my first date.
The upstairs window where I had watched snow fall the night before my mother’s funeral.
Nothing had changed.
That was the strangest part.
The house looked maintained.
Loved.
Lived in.
Emily whispered, “Daniel told us developers demolished it.””
“I know.””
The officer knocked.
A light came on downstairs.
Then the door opened.
The woman standing there was probably in her late sixties.
Silver hair.
Dark blue robe.
Bare feet.
She looked at the officer first.
Then Emily.
Then me.
Her face changed.
“Sarah.””
I couldn't breathe.
“You know me?””
The woman gripped the doorframe.
“You look exactly like your mother.””
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“Are you Emily Bennett?””
“Yes.””
The officer explained why we were there.
Emily Bennett listened quietly.
When he mentioned the property dispute, she nodded.
“Sarah owns this house.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
“She always has.””
“The deed says you control the trust.””
“I administer it.””
“Why?””
Her eyes moved toward the necklace in my hand.
“You brought it.””
I instinctively closed my fist.
“How did you know?””
She frowned.
“Know what?””
“Someone told me to bring it.””
Her face drained.
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
She opened the door wider.
“Come inside.””
The officer remained near the entrance while we entered the living room.
I almost broke.
Dad's chair was still beside the fireplace.
Mom's piano.
Our family photographs.
My high school graduation picture sat on a shelf.
“You've been living here all these years?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because your father asked me to.””
I stared at her.
“Who were you to him?””
Emily Bennett sat slowly.
“His attorney.””
Michael, on speakerphone, immediately said, “What firm?””
“Bennett, Ross and Cole.””
Michael typed.
“That firm dissolved twelve years ago.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
She looked at me.
“Because of your husband.””
My pulse jumped.
“Daniel?””
“He wasn't your husband then.””
She nodded toward the chair opposite her.
“Sit down, Sarah.””
I remained standing.
“Tell me.””
Emily Bennett folded her hands.
“Your father never trusted Daniel.””
I almost laughed.
“They got along.””
“No. Your father tolerated him because you loved him.””
She looked toward my mother's piano.
“When Daniel's company began failing, your father investigated him.””
“The $180,000?””
“Yes.””
“I gave Daniel that money.””
“Your father knew you would.””
“What did he find?””
“That Daniel had lied about why the company was failing.””
Michael's voice came through my phone.
“What was the actual reason?””
“Missing investor funds.””
My stomach tightened.
Emily Bennett continued.
“Your father believed Daniel had moved money through several entities. He couldn't prove Daniel personally stole it, but he found enough irregularities to become concerned.””
“So Dad gave me company shares?””
“He insisted on them.””
That stunned me.
“Your father told Daniel that if he accepted your inheritance, you would receive twenty-one percent ownership.””
I sat down.
“So Daniel knew.””
“Of course he knew.””
“All these years.””
“Yes.””
The betrayal somehow became new again.
“Why didn't Dad tell me?””
“He intended to.””
Her expression darkened.
“But then he became ill.””
Cancer.
Fast.
Brutal.
Four months from diagnosis to death.
“Before he died,” she continued, “he created the Hawthorne Family Trust to protect certain assets.””
“Why put you in charge?””
“He didn't.””
I frowned.
“The original trustee was your father.””
“And after he died?””
“You.””
My skin went cold.
Michael said, “But current records list Ms. Bennett.””
“Yes,” she replied.
“Because Daniel produced documents claiming Sarah voluntarily resigned as trustee.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Let me guess. My signature.””
“Yes.””
“Why didn't you contact me?””
“I did.””
“No, you didn't.””
“I sent letters. I called. I came to your home twice.””
I stared at her.
“I never saw you.””
“The second time, Daniel answered.””
Silence.
“He told me you wanted nothing to do with your father's estate. He threatened legal action if I contacted you again.””
“And you believed him?””
“No.””
“Then why stop?””
“I didn't.””
She stood and walked toward an old writing desk.
From inside, she removed a thick file.
“I spent nine years preserving everything I could.””
She handed me letters.
Dozens.
Every one addressed to me.
Some returned.
Some marked undeliverable.
One had been signed for.
The signature wasn't mine.
It was Daniel's.
My eyes burned.
“He isolated me from my own inheritance.””
Emily Bennett nodded.
“And your father's evidence.””
Michael asked, “What evidence?””
She looked at the necklace again.
“May I see it?””
I placed it in her palm.
She turned the teardrop pendant over.
The engraving showed our wedding date.
0614.
Emily Bennett shook her head.
“That's not the original engraving.””
“What?””
“Your father modified this necklace before your wedding.””
I stared at her.
“Daniel gave it to me on our third anniversary.””
“No.””
My stomach dropped.
“What do you mean, no?””
“That necklace belonged to your mother.””
The room seemed to disappear.
“She wore it constantly.””
I remembered photographs.
My mother had worn a small diamond pendant.
I'd never made the connection.
“Then how did Daniel get it?””
Emily Bennett's expression hardened.
“Your father gave it to him.””
“Why?””
“As a test.””
She pressed her thumbnail against the back of the pendant.
There was a tiny click.
The teardrop opened.
Inside was something impossibly small.
A black memory card.
My breath caught.
“Your father suspected Daniel was intercepting everything he sent you.””
Michael whispered through the phone, “Jesus.””
Emily Bennett placed the card in my palm.
“So he hid the one thing Daniel could never afford to let you find inside something he believed Daniel would eventually give you.””
“What is on it?””
May you like
She looked at me.
“The evidence your father collected against him.””
