Chapter 12: My Father’s Last Message
Michael arrived forty minutes later with Vanessa.
Nobody trusted moving the memory card until we had copied it.
Emily Bennett brought an old laptop from my father's study.
Michael used an external reader.
The card contained six folders.
Bank records.
Emails.
Corporate filings.
Audio.
Photographs.
And one video.
The filename was:
*FOR SARAH.*
My hands shook as I clicked it.
My father appeared on the screen.
He was sitting in this same room.
Thinner than I remembered.
Cancer had already hollowed his cheeks.
But his eyes were clear.
“Sarah.””
My breath broke.
Emily put her arm around me.
Dad continued.
“If you're watching this, then I failed to tell you everything while I still had time.””
I covered my mouth.
“I need you to understand something first. None of this is your fault. Daniel is very good at becoming whatever a person needs him to be.””
The room was silent.
“I wanted to be wrong about him.””
Dad coughed.
“But three years ago, I discovered money missing from one of his early investment partnerships.””
Michael leaned toward the screen.
Dad continued.
“The money moved through companies owned by people close to Daniel. Employees. Consultants. Romantic partners.””
Vanessa stiffened.
“Romantic partners?”” I whispered.
Dad looked into the camera.
“Sarah, I have reason to believe Daniel was involved with other women before he met you, and at least one of those women helped him move money.””
My chest tightened.
“Her name is Rebecca Sloan.””
Michael froze.
“The notary.””
Emily Bennett nodded.
Dad continued.
“If Rebecca's name ever appears on documents involving you, assume those documents are compromised.””
My skin crawled.
Daniel was still using the same woman.
After all these years.
Dad lifted several papers.
“I protected your investment by requiring Daniel to issue twenty-one percent of Carter Strategic to you. Those shares belong to you. Never surrender them without independent counsel.””
Tears blurred the screen.
He had known.
He had tried.
“I also placed Hawthorne House into trust because I feared Daniel would pressure you to liquidate it.””
Dad leaned closer.
“Most importantly, I discovered Daniel had begun working with Martin Keller.””
Vanessa whispered, “That far back?””
Dad's expression hardened.
“Keller was not Daniel's psychiatrist. He was an investor.””
Michael immediately began searching files.
Dad continued.
“Northlake Behavioral Health was financially connected to several companies receiving money from Daniel's partnerships.””
Michael found a spreadsheet.
“Here.””
Payments moved between Northlake and Daniel's early companies.
Millions.
Dad said, “I believe Northlake was used to disguise financial transfers.””
I thought about the competency evaluations.
The doctors.
The guardianship petition.
“They've been working together for years.””
Emily Bennett nodded.
Dad's video continued.
“I confronted Daniel.””
The image changed.
A hidden-camera recording.
My father's office.
Daniel stood near the desk.
Younger.
Angrier.
Dad's voice came from behind the camera.
“You're stealing from investors.””
Daniel laughed.
“Prove it.””
“I will.””
“And then what?””
“I tell Sarah.””
Daniel's face changed.
“You leave her out of this.””
“You brought her into it when you took her money.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Sarah loves me.””
Dad replied, “That's what worries me.””
The recording ended.
Another began.
Daniel again.
This time Keller stood beside him.
I recognized the silver-haired psychiatrist immediately.
Keller said, “If Robert keeps digging, we have exposure.””
Daniel answered, “He's dying.””
My stomach turned.
Keller shrugged.
“Then time solves the problem.””
Daniel looked toward the window.
“What about Sarah?””
“What about her?””
“She owns twenty-one percent.””
Keller smiled.
“Then make sure she never understands what she owns.””
I stopped the video.
Nobody spoke.
I couldn't breathe.
My father had been dying while Daniel and Keller discussed waiting him out.
Vanessa finally whispered, “Sarah...””
“Don't.””
I stood and walked toward the window.
Outside, dawn was beginning to lighten the sky.
For eleven years, I had believed my marriage started with sacrifice.
I gave Daniel my inheritance.
He built a company.
We built a life.
But Daniel had never seen my sacrifice as love.
He saw it as access.
Michael broke the silence.
“There’s enough here to raise serious questions about the financial transactions and the guardianship filing.””
“Questions?””
“I need to be careful with what I call evidence before it's authenticated.””
I appreciated that.
For once, someone wasn't promising more than they knew.
Vanessa suddenly pointed at the screen.
“Open Rebecca's folder.””
Michael did.
Photographs appeared.
Rebecca Sloan.
Blonde.
Elegant.
Standing beside Daniel at company events from years earlier.
Then a photograph from eleven years ago.
Daniel kissing her.
My stomach barely reacted.
Compared with everything else, another affair felt almost ordinary.
But Vanessa saw something.
“Zoom in.””
Michael enlarged the image.
Rebecca wore a necklace.
My mother's necklace.
The same teardrop diamond now lying beside the laptop.
“No.””
Emily Bennett leaned closer.
The photograph's date was two months before Daniel supposedly gave the necklace to me.
“He gave it to her first,” I whispered.
My mother's necklace.
My father's hidden evidence.
Daniel had given it to his mistress.
Then taken it back.
Then given it to me as an anniversary gift.
Then years later stolen it from my safe and given it to Vanessa.
The cruelty was almost artistic.
Vanessa looked sick.
“I’m sorry.””
I didn't answer.
Michael opened another file.
A bank statement.
Rebecca had received payments from Northlake for years.
Then they stopped abruptly.
Date:
Eight years ago.
“What happened to her?”” I asked.
Emily Bennett's face changed.
“I don't know.””
Michael searched public records.
Then stopped.
“What?””
He turned the screen.
Rebecca Sloan had died eight years earlier.
Car accident.
Vanessa whispered, “Jesus.””
I stared at the date.
Three days before her death, Rebecca had transferred $2.4 million.
Recipient:
*Carter Meridian Holdings.*
My company.
The company I didn't know existed.
Michael opened the transfer authorization.
My forged signature appeared at the bottom.
“Daniel used my identity eight years ago.””
“Yes.””
Another document followed.
Insurance.
Rebecca had carried a $3 million life insurance policy.
Beneficiary:
Northlake Behavioral Health.
Vanessa stood.
“That's not normal.””
Michael's expression was grim.
“No.””
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone looked at it.
I answered.
“Who are you?””
No distortion this time.
A woman's voice.
Older.
Shaking.
“Sarah?””
“Yes.””
She began crying.
“My name is Laura Sloan.””
I looked at Michael.
“Sloan?””
“Rebecca was my daughter.””
The room went silent.
“How did you get my number?””
“I've been sending the messages.””
My knees weakened.
“Why?””
“Because I've been watching Daniel for eight years.””
I gripped the phone.
“Why didn't you go to the police?””
“I did. I couldn't prove what I believed.””
“What did you believe?””
Laura inhaled shakily.
“My daughter called me the night before she died.””
I closed my eyes.
“What did she say?””
“She said she'd helped Daniel do terrible things. She said she finally had proof.””
Michael moved closer to the phone.
“Mrs. Sloan, what proof?””
Laura ignored him.
“She told me that if anything happened to her, I should find Sarah Carter.””
My heart hammered.
“Why me?””
“Because Rebecca discovered Daniel had put stolen money under your name.””
I looked at Carter Meridian on the screen.
“She wanted to warn you?””
“Yes.””
“Then why wait eight years?””
Laura began crying harder.
“Because Daniel found me first.””
Nobody moved.
“What did he do?””
“He showed me documents with your signature. Bank transfers. Company records. He told me you and Rebecca were partners.””
My mouth went dry.
“He made you think I was involved.””
“For years.””
“And now?””
“Six months ago, someone mailed me a package.””
“What package?””
“A copy of your father's files.””
I looked at Emily Bennett.
She shook her head.
Not her.
“Who sent them?””
“I don't know.””
Laura's breathing became uneven.
“But there was a note.””
“What did it say?””
She paused.
“Daniel Carter is going to do to Sarah what he did to Rebecca.””
Every hair on my arms rose.
Then Laura said something that made the entire room freeze.
“Sarah, Rebecca's car accident wasn't an accident.””
Michael immediately said, “Mrs. Sloan, what evidence do you have?””
Laura began to answer.
Then I heard a loud crash on her end.
“Laura?””
A gasp.
Footsteps.
“Laura!””
She whispered urgently.
May you like
“He found me.””
The line went dead.
