Chapter 13: What Rebecca Was Hiding
By the time we reached Linda’s house, three police cars were parked outside.
Christmas lights still blinked along the roof.
Red.
Green.
Gold.
It looked obscene now.
A detective stopped Daniel at the front door.
“You wait here.””
“That’s my mother inside.””
“And this is an active investigation.””
Daniel looked at me.
I didn’t defend him.
I walked inside with Claire.
Linda sat at the dining table where she had slapped me hours earlier.
Rebecca sat opposite her.
Between them was a metal box.
The soup had been cleaned from the floor.
My overturned chair had been returned to its place.
But my homemade pie was still sitting untouched beside the recycling bin.
Linda looked at me.
Her face seemed twenty years older.
“You heard the tape.””
“Yes.””
Her eyes closed.
“I didn’t mean for Catherine to die.””
“Don’t.””
“Sarah—”
“You left my mother after a crash.””
“Martin threatened Daniel.””
“And my mother was dying.””
Her mouth trembled.
“I was afraid.””
“So was she.””
Linda looked down.
I had spent years imagining what I would do if I could confront the person responsible for my mother’s death.
I thought I would scream.
Instead, I felt strangely calm.
“You chose yourself.””
Linda shook her head.
“I chose my son.””
“No.””
I looked toward the doorway where Daniel stood behind the detective.
“You taught your son that protecting family means letting someone else pay the price.””
Daniel lowered his eyes.
Linda’s face crumpled.
Rebecca pushed the metal box toward Claire.
“This is what she called me about.””
Claire opened it.
Inside were financial records dating from the year after Mom died.
“What are these?”” I asked.
Rebecca answered.
“Martin’s second ledger.””
I stared at her.
“You knew about it?””
“I knew it existed.””
“For how long?””
“About eight months.””
Daniel’s voice came from the doorway.
“Eight months?””
Rebecca looked at him.
“I found references while restructuring Lake North.””
“And you didn’t tell me?””
“I didn’t trust you.””
He flinched.
Neither did I.
Claire began sorting documents.
Payments from shell companies.
Properties.
Loans.
Names.
Then she stopped.
“Sarah.””
She placed one document in front of me.
A trust account had been created twenty-two years earlier.
Beneficiary:
Sarah Mitchell.
My father stepped closer.
“I didn’t create that.””
The account had received regular deposits.
Ten thousand.
Twenty thousand.
Sometimes fifty.
The payments continued for almost two decades.
“Where did this money come from?””
Rebecca pointed to an abbreviation.
“M.H.””
Martin.
My stomach turned.
“He was putting money in my name?””
“Not exactly.””
Claire examined the structure.
“This appears to have been intended as restitution.””
Dad laughed bitterly.
“Martin stole using Sarah’s identity and then created a hidden account to repay what he took.””
Rebecca nodded.
“But Linda found it.””
Of course she did.
“When?””
“Five years ago.””
Five years.
Around the time Daniel and I met.
Everything clicked.
I looked at Linda.
“This is why you arranged for Daniel to meet me.””
She said nothing.
“You thought the account belonged to me.””
“It did.””
“You thought if Daniel married me, he could reach it.””
“I thought it belonged to our family.””
Dad slammed his hand onto the table.
“It belonged to Sarah!””
Linda stood.
“Martin took years from me!””
“And Catherine paid with her life!””
“I lost everything too!””
“You walked away!””
The room fell silent.
Linda looked at me.
“I spent twenty-three years knowing what I had done.””
“That was your punishment?””
“Yes.””
“No.””
My voice stayed quiet.
“That was guilt. Punishment is what happened to my mother. Punishment is what happened to me every time I asked why she never came home.””
Linda started crying.
I felt nothing.
Rebecca pulled out one final folder.
“There’s more.””
I almost laughed.
“There’s always more.””
“This is why Linda needed Emma’s trust.””
Inside was a loan agreement.
Lake North had borrowed against the hidden account.
My account.
Without my knowledge.
“How?””
Rebecca looked at Daniel.
“Using the forged authorization.””
Daniel stepped into the room.
“I didn’t know that.””
Rebecca’s eyes hardened.
“You signed the financing package.””
“I thought it was backed by Lake North assets.””
“You didn’t read it.””
“No.””
“You signed your wife’s name and didn’t read what you were signing?””
He had no answer.
That was Daniel’s entire life.
He didn’t look.
He didn’t ask.
He didn’t confront.
He let Linda decide.
Until the consequences landed on someone else.
Claire turned to me.
“This is why they needed the $250,000.””
“To cover the loan?””
“Yes. The hidden account was being audited after Robert’s sale triggered a review.””
I looked at Linda.
“You weren’t saving your house.””
She wiped her face.
“No.””
“You were hiding what you stole.””
“Yes.””
Daniel sank into a chair.
His mother finally said the word he had avoided all night.
Stole.
A detective entered.
“Mrs. Whitmore.””
Linda looked up.
“You need to come with us.””
She didn’t resist.
As they led her away, she stopped beside Daniel.
“My baby.””
He stared at the floor.
“I did everything for you.””
Daniel slowly raised his head.
“No, Mom.””
His voice shook.
“You did everything so I would belong to you.””
Linda’s face broke.
Daniel stepped away.
She looked at me.
“Sarah.””
I waited.
“I am sorry.””
For once, there was no excuse afterward.
But some apologies arrive after the door has already closed.
I said nothing.
She was taken outside.
Daniel remained seated.
Rebecca quietly left with the detectives.
Dad and Claire went into the kitchen.
For the first time that night, Daniel and I were alone.
He pulled my wedding ring from his pocket.
Placed it on the table.
“I know I don’t deserve another chance.””
I stared at the ring.
“No.””
He nodded.
“But there’s one thing you still don’t know.””
I almost smiled from exhaustion.
“What could possibly be left?””
Daniel looked toward the staircase.
“When I found out Mom arranged our first meeting, I confronted her.””
“And?””
“She showed me the hidden account.””
My heart stopped.
“You knew about it?””
“Not everything.””
“How long?””
He looked at me.
May you like
“Since before our wedding.””
And suddenly, the last piece of my marriage broke.
