Chapter 11: The Woman Daniel Tried to Silence
Thomas called the police immediately.
He gave them Laura's name, the threatening messages, and the details of Daniel's call. Two officers returned to take statements, while another team began searching for Laura's vehicle.
I wanted to go after Daniel myself.
Thomas stopped me at the front door.
"Don't.""
"He's threatening a woman because she knows what happened to my father!""
"And if you confront him, you'll give him exactly what he wants. He has already accused you of hiding evidence. We need to keep you out of anything that could be twisted into another accusation.""
I clenched my fists.
"Then what am I supposed to do?""
"Help us find Laura. Preserve the evidence. And don't let Daniel turn this into a private war.""
His words were sensible.
That made them even harder to accept.
Emily came downstairs carrying a notebook.
"Dad, I found something.""
She opened it on the kitchen table.
It was the notebook from my father's lockbox, the one I had thought was missing. I had overlooked it beneath the folder when we first searched the compartment.
Inside were handwritten entries recording payments, dates, and names.
Several entries referred to Northbridge Holdings.
Others mentioned Arthur Mills.
But one page contained a name that made Thomas go silent.
*Dr. Samuel Price — $25,000.*
The payment had been made six days after my father's death.
Beneath it, my father had written:
Medical records changed. Price denies involvement. Verify original timeline.
I looked at Thomas.
"Did you know about this?""
He shook his head.
"No.""
"Then we have a doctor who altered the hospital report, a lawyer who disappeared, and my brother paying people to keep quiet.""
Thomas closed the notebook carefully.
"We have evidence that warrants investigation. We do not yet know what the payments were for.""
I understood his caution, but I was tired of cautious answers.
"Can we at least find Dr. Price?""
Thomas called a colleague who specialized in criminal investigations. Within an hour, we had confirmed that Price was working at a private medical clinic in Madison, Wisconsin.
The police arranged to contact him.
While we waited, I went into the living room to speak with Ashley.
She was sitting on the sofa, staring at the Toyota keys I'd placed on the coffee table.
She looked up when I entered.
"Are you going to return the car?""
I sat in the armchair opposite her.
"I haven't decided.""
"You should.""
"Why?""
She rubbed her eyes.
"Because I don't deserve it.""
I studied her.
"That's not how gifts work, Ashley. I bought it because I wanted you to have something safe and reliable. Whether you deserve it isn't the question.""
She began crying.
"I said horrible things to you.""
"Yes, you did.""
"I thought you hated me.""
I leaned forward.
"Why?""
"Because Daniel told me you knew he was my father and deliberately kept the inheritance from me. He said you wanted me to feel like an outsider so I'd never ask questions.""
I felt a familiar anger rise.
"Daniel lied to you.""
"I know that now.""
She looked toward the kitchen.
"Mom told me to keep quiet about the money. She said everything would be fixed once Daniel got what he was owed.""
"And you believed her?""
Ashley nodded.
"I wanted to believe I mattered to someone who was actually my father.""
The honesty in her voice silenced me.
I thought about Emily's mother, about the promises I'd made to my daughter, and about how desperately I had wanted to give both girls a stable home.
Ashley had been manipulated by the same man who had manipulated Rebecca.
That didn't excuse her cruelty, but it explained the fear underneath it.
"I'm not going to pretend this is fixed," I told her.
"Trust doesn't work that way. But you don't have to earn your place in this family by proving something to Daniel.""
She wiped her cheeks.
"Do you still consider me your daughter?""
I couldn't answer immediately.
The question deserved more than a comforting lie.
"I still care about you," I said finally.
"But I need time to understand everything that's happened. And you need to be honest with me from now on.""
She nodded.
"I will.""
My phone rang before I could say anything else.
The police had located Laura's car outside a closed shopping center near the interstate. The vehicle was locked, and her purse remained inside.
Laura was missing.
An officer asked whether I knew of anyone who might have taken her.
I told him about Daniel.
He promised to update us as soon as they had more information.
When I returned to the kitchen, Rebecca was sitting alone at the table.
"I need to tell you something," she said.
I remained standing.
"Go ahead.""
"Daniel didn't just threaten me with Ashley. He told me that if I ever left him, he'd reveal something about my past that could destroy my relationship with you.""
"What?""
She took a trembling breath.
"Before I met your father, I worked for Arthur Mills. I handled confidential property files. Daniel asked me to copy documents from the office, and I did.""
"You helped him forge the trust?""
"Not the original trust. I copied the property schedules and account details he needed to create the fraudulent documents.""
I stared at her.
"You knew he was committing fraud.""
"I suspected it. I didn't understand the entire scheme until later.""
"And you never told me.""
"No.""
I walked to the window.
Outside, the Toyota sat in the driveway, its red bow now drooping against the hood.
The gift had become a symbol of everything I had misunderstood about my family.
Rebecca had used my trust.
Daniel had used my grief.
Ashley had been used as leverage.
And Emily had been the only person willing to tell me the truth.
"Why tell me now?"" I asked.
"Because I don't want Daniel to hurt anyone else.""
I turned toward her.
"That should have mattered to you six years ago.""
She lowered her head.
"I know.""
A knock sounded at the front door.
Thomas answered it.
A police detective stood outside, holding a sealed evidence bag.
Inside was a small silver watch.
I recognized it immediately.
It belonged to Laura's father, Arthur Mills.
The detective explained that it had been found inside Laura's abandoned car, along with a handwritten note.
Thomas read the note aloud.
The recording was never about who entered the room. It was about who left.
I looked at him.
"What does that mean?""
He didn't answer.
The detective placed another item on the table.
A photograph.
It showed my father in his hospital bed, Rebecca standing beside him, and a second figure reflected in the glass of the room's door.
The figure wore a doctor's coat.
But the face wasn't Dr. Price's.
It was Thomas Bennett's.
My attorney stared at the photograph.
Then he whispered, "That's impossible.""
I stepped away from him.
"Why?""
Thomas looked at me with an expression I had never seen before.
"Because I left the hospital before your father was admitted.""
The detective opened his notebook.
"Then, Mr. Bennett, I suggest you explain why the photograph appears to show you entering his room at 1:17 a.m.""
Thomas said nothing.
May you like
For the first time in twenty years, I no longer knew whether my attorney was the man protecting my family.
Or the man my father had been trying to expose.
