Chapter 10: My Father's Brother Called With an Offer
Dad stared at the name on his phone.
DAVID WILLIAMS.
His younger brother had called almost every Sunday for as long as I could remember. He was the uncle who brought me baseball gloves, took me fishing, and slipped twenty-dollar bills into my birthday cards.
Now his name was appearing beside evidence of a financial conspiracy involving my dead mother.
“Don't answer it,” Richard warned.
Dad ignored him.
“David?””
A familiar voice came through the speaker.
“Marcus! I've been trying to reach you all morning. What's going on?””
Dad looked at the laptop.
“Where are you?””
“At the office. Why?””
“Did you submit a transfer request for Ethan's inheritance?””
There was a pause.
Then David chuckled.
“What are you talking about?””
“Six hundred and forty thousand dollars. Northstar Holdings. Your signature is on the authorization.””
The chuckling stopped.
“Marcus, listen to me. You've been talking to the wrong people.””
Dad's eyes narrowed.
“Answer the question.””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“From what?””
“From Danielle's mistakes.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
Dad slowly sat down.
“What did you just say?””
David sighed.
“Marcus, your first wife was involved in things you never understood. She made promises to people she couldn't afford to disappoint.””
Richard stepped closer to the phone.
“David, this is Richard Cole.””
Silence.
Then David laughed.
“Well, I'll be damned. The dead man finally decided to come home.””
Richard's jaw tightened.
“You know I wasn't dead.””
“I know you disappeared.””
“Because you threatened me.””
Dad stood abruptly.
“YOU THREATENED RICHARD?””
David sighed.
“Marcus, you're getting emotional. You need to calm down.””
“Why is your signature on the transfer documents?””
“Because Vanessa asked me to handle some paperwork.””
“What paperwork?””
“It's complicated.””
“Then explain it!””
David's voice became colder.
“You've spent your entire life protecting Danielle's boy. Maybe it's time you considered the rest of your family.””
Dad stared at the floor.
“Ethan is my son.””
“And Brittany is family too. Vanessa is family. I've spent years cleaning up the mess your first wife left behind.””
I couldn't remain silent.
“Uncle David?””
The line went quiet.
“Ethan?””
“Why did you help Vanessa steal my mother's money?””
He exhaled.
“Son, you don't understand what happened.””
“Then explain it.””
“Your mother was sitting on money that could have saved the company. She refused to release it. She wanted everything placed in your name.””
“Because it was my inheritance.””
“Because she didn't trust anyone!””
“Apparently, she had good reason.””
David's voice sharpened.
“Watch your mouth, boy.””
Dad grabbed the phone.
“Don't speak to my son like that.””
David laughed.
“Fine. Here's what I'll tell you. Cancel tomorrow's meeting, stop listening to Robert, and let the transfer proceed. Everyone walks away happy.””
“And if I refuse?””
Another pause.
“Then you'll learn things about Danielle that you won't enjoy.””
The call ended.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Daniel closed his laptop.
“We need to secure the original documents and preserve that recording.””
Dad looked at him.
“Can you stop tomorrow's transfer?””
“We can notify the financial institution immediately. But the legal document also needs to be challenged before anyone attempts to execute it.””
Richard nodded.
“I know someone who can help.””
Dad looked exhausted.
“I want my brother arrested.””
“First,” Daniel replied, “we need to establish exactly what he did.””
I sat at the dining table, staring at the list of names.
“Why did Uncle David hate Mom?””
Richard pulled out a chair.
“He didn't hate her at first. He admired her.””
“What changed?””
“Your mother discovered that David had been using company money to finance private property deals. She confronted him. Instead of admitting what he'd done, he convinced Vanessa to help him cover it up.””
Dad shook his head.
“David wouldn't have needed to steal. I would have helped him.””
Richard looked at him.
“He didn't want help, Marcus. He wanted control.””
Daniel's phone rang.
He answered, listened, and then looked at Dad.
“The bank has confirmed that the attempted transfer is scheduled for processing at nine tomorrow morning.””
Dad frowned.
“But the document hasn't been signed.””
“There's another authorization already on file.””
My stomach dropped.
“What authorization?””
Daniel turned his laptop around.
A scanned document appeared.
It was dated six years earlier.
My father's signature sat at the bottom.
Dad stared at it.
“I've never seen that.””
Richard leaned closer.
“That's a forged signature.””
Daniel nodded.
“The bank agrees. The document has been flagged, but the transfer request is still under review.””
Dad stood.
“Then we go to the bank now.””
“Not yet,” Daniel said.
“There's something else.””
He opened the original estate file.
A second trust agreement appeared.
This one had a different beneficiary designation.
I leaned forward.
“What does it say?””
Daniel enlarged the page.
*CONTINGENT BENEFICIARY: BRITTANY WILLIAMS.*
I looked at Dad.
“Why is Brittany listed?””
Richard studied the document.
“Because Danielle anticipated that someone might attempt to remove Ethan as the beneficiary.””
Dad shook his head.
“Why would she put Brittany there?””
“Not necessarily to give her the money,” Richard explained.
“The document appears to establish a temporary protective arrangement if Ethan's legal rights were compromised.””
Daniel scrolled down.
There was a handwritten condition.
Only if the primary beneficiary is declared legally incapacitated, missing, or deceased.
My blood ran cold.
Dad read it twice.
“Missing or deceased?””
Richard nodded slowly.
“Danielle knew the people targeting the trust might eventually try something more extreme.””
Before anyone could respond, my phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
*Your uncle wants to meet you alone. He says he has proof about your mother.*
A second message appeared.
*If you want to know what really happened on the night she died, come to the old Williams warehouse at 8 p.m.*
I showed Dad.
He immediately shook his head.
“Absolutely not.””
But there was something else beneath the message.
A photograph.
My mother standing in the hospital corridor.
Taken on the night she died.
May you like
And behind her, partially visible through the doorway, stood a man wearing a silver watch.
My father's watch.
