Chapter 6: What Happened at the Lake
Michael insisted we leave the bridal suite before contacting the police.
Not because he wanted to protect Isabella, he explained, but because he wanted to make sure the evidence was preserved and no one could accuse us of tampering with it.
Nathan refused to return to the reception.
"I don't care what the guests think," he said.
"My father may have been murdered, and my mother may know why.""
I stood beside him, still wearing the ruined gown.
"Then we find the truth. But we do it carefully.""
He looked at me, and his anger softened.
"I'm sorry your wedding has become this.""
I touched his hand.
"My wedding became something else the moment your mother stepped on my dress. We just didn't know how much else was hiding underneath.""
Michael arranged for a private room near the hotel's business center. Sarah stayed with us to provide the original photographs, while Lauren sat silently in a chair, twisting her bracelet around her wrist.
Nathan paced beside the window.
"When Dad died, Mom told me he had taken the boat out alone. She said Daniel had joined him unexpectedly. A storm came in, the boat overturned, and neither of them survived.""
Michael nodded.
"That was the official account.""
"But the weather report showed clear skies.""
"I remember.""
Nathan stopped pacing.
"You remember?""
Michael looked down at his briefcase.
"Your father called me that afternoon. He said he had discovered something alarming in the company's accounts. He wanted to meet me the following morning.""
"Why didn't you tell the police?""
"I did. They questioned me, but there was no evidence that the meeting concerned anything other than business. When the accident occurred, the investigators concluded there was no connection.""
I stared at him.
"What exactly had Richard discovered?""
Michael hesitated.
"Transfers from several company accounts into a private holding company. The transactions were structured to look like legitimate property expenses.""
Nathan frowned.
"Who owned the holding company?""
"We couldn't establish that. The registered owner was a corporate nominee.""
"Could it have been my mother?""
"Possibly. But suspicion is not proof.""
Lauren suddenly lifted her head.
"I heard Isabella talking about the lake once.""
Nathan turned toward her.
"When?""
"About six months ago. I was visiting her house. She was on the phone in the study, and she didn't know I was outside.""
"What did she say?""
Lauren closed her eyes, trying to remember.
"She said, 'You promised me the accident would settle everything. I paid you to make sure of it.''"
The room fell silent.
Michael set down his pen.
"Did you tell anyone?""
"No. I thought she was talking about a business deal. Then she saw me in the hallway and told me to forget what I'd heard.""
Nathan's face had gone pale.
"Did she mention Daniel?""
Lauren nodded.
"She said his name. Then she said something about the boat being found too quickly.""
Michael leaned forward.
"Lauren, I need you to be absolutely certain. Those are serious allegations.""
"I'm certain about the words. I didn't understand what they meant until tonight.""
Nathan turned away, gripping the windowsill.
For years, he had blamed himself for not spending more time with his father. He had been working in Chicago when the accident happened and had flown home too late to say goodbye.
Now the story he had built his grief around was beginning to collapse.
I approached him.
"Nathan.""
He shook his head.
"Every anniversary, Mom tells me how peaceful Dad looked at the funeral. She says he wouldn't have wanted me to keep investigating.""
His voice cracked.
"She always said I needed to let him rest.""
I held his hand.
"Maybe she knew you were getting close to something she wanted buried.""
He looked at me, his eyes red.
Then he straightened.
"Michael, I want the company records from the year Dad died. Every transfer, every insurance document, every board meeting.""
"I can request them first thing Monday morning.""
"No. Tonight.""
Michael studied him.
"Some records will require formal authorization.""
"Then tell me what I need to sign.""
Nathan's phone vibrated.
A message from Isabella appeared.
*Come home. We need to talk before you make a terrible mistake.*
A second message followed.
*I know you've found the phone.*
Nathan showed Michael.
The attorney's expression hardened.
"Don't respond.""
But another message arrived before he could put the phone away.
*Ask Michael what he did with the original accident report.*
Nathan slowly raised his eyes toward the attorney.
"What does she mean?""
Michael didn't answer.
He opened his briefcase, removed a thin folder, and placed it on the table.
"I was hoping we wouldn't have to discuss this tonight.""
Nathan stared at him.
"You have the original accident report?""
"No. I have a copy of a document that was never included in the official file.""
He unfolded a photocopied page.
It contained a handwritten note from a paramedic who had responded to the lake.
The note stated that one of the victims appeared to have been moved before emergency crews arrived.
Nathan read it twice.
"Moved?""
Michael nodded.
"The note was excluded from the final report because the paramedic later claimed he couldn't remember writing it.""
"Who was the paramedic?""
Michael pointed to the signature.
Nathan leaned closer.
Then he took a sharp breath.
"James Miller.""
I frowned.
"Who is that?""
Nathan looked at me.
"James was my father's personal driver. He was the one who took Dad to the lake that afternoon.""
Michael added, "He resigned two days after the accident and moved out of state.""
"Where is he now?"" Nathan asked.
"I don't know. I tried to locate him years ago, but he had disappeared from public records.""
Lauren's phone suddenly began ringing.
She glanced at the screen and went rigid.
Nathan noticed.
"Who is it?""
She didn't answer.
He stepped closer.
"Lauren, who is calling you?""
She turned the screen toward us.
The caller ID displayed a number she had saved under a single letter.
*D.*
Nathan reached for the phone, but Lauren pulled it against her chest.
"Don't answer it," she whispered.
"Why?""
"Because that's the number Isabella told me never to call.""
The phone stopped ringing.
A message appeared immediately.
*Tell Emily the truth about her mother, or I'll tell Nathan everything.*
I felt as if the air had been sucked from the room.
"What does that mean?"" I asked.
Lauren looked at me, tears spilling down her cheeks.
"I didn't know what Isabella was planning with your dress. But I knew she had been talking to someone about your family long before the wedding.""
"My family?""
She nodded helplessly.
"She told me your mother had a secret. Something that connected her to Richard Whitmore's death.""
I stared at my sister.
My mother had spent the last year fighting cancer. She had never spoken about Nathan's father except to say she was sorry he had died so young.
"What secret?"" I demanded.
Lauren's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Isabella said your mother was the last person to see Richard alive before he went to the lake.""
My hands began to shake.
"That's impossible. My mother had never met Richard.""
Lauren looked down.
"That's what I thought, too.""
Then she opened her handbag and removed a folded photograph.
She placed it on the table.
It showed my mother, Margaret, standing beside Richard Whitmore at a lakeside dock.
May you like
On the back, in my mother's handwriting, were six words that made my entire world stop.
*If anything happens to Richard, find Daniel.*
