Chapter 11 - Linda’s Secret
Claire returned to the house before noon.
Linda was packing a suitcase.
Not neatly.
Clothes were being shoved into the bag without folding. Her hands shook so badly she dropped a sweater twice.
Claire stood in the bedroom doorway.
“Where are you going?”
Linda froze.
For a few seconds, neither spoke.
Then Linda sat on the edge of the bed.
“So Mark told you.”
“He said your name is in Walter’s ledger.”
Linda nodded.
Claire stepped inside.
“How much?”
“Fifty thousand.”
“For what?”
Linda’s eyes filled.
“To leave Robert.”
Claire had expected a lie.
She had not expected that.
“What?”
“In 2012, I found out about the money Walter paid your father. I found a deposit slip. I confronted him. Robert told me part of the truth.”
“Part?”
“He said Walter had threatened us after Samuel started asking questions. He didn’t tell me he had warned Walter.”
Claire folded her arms.
“So Walter paid you to leave Dad?”
“No. He offered me money to disappear and stop asking questions.”
“Why take it?”
“I didn’t.”
Claire stared.
“Then why is your name in the ledger?”
Linda stood and opened the closet safe.
She removed an old envelope.
Inside was a cashier’s check.
Uncashed.
Fifty thousand dollars.
Dated March 12, 2012.
Walter Price.
Claire looked at it.
“You kept this?”
“I wanted proof.”
“For fourteen years?”
“I was afraid.”
Claire almost laughed at the repetition.
Fear.
The Bennett family inheritance.
Linda wiped her face.
“I took pictures of documents from Robert’s office. I hid them.”
“Where?”
Linda walked to the dresser and pulled out the bottom drawer.
Under the lining was a thin memory card.
Claire took it.
“What’s on this?”
“Letters. Bank statements. Walter’s payments. Your father’s notes.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“Because Mark was already spiraling. Ethan was trying to start his business. You were deploying again. I kept waiting for a better time.”
“There is no better time for the truth.”
“I know that now.”
Claire looked at the suitcase.
“You’re not leaving.”
Linda gave a tired laugh.
“I think your father may be arrested. Mark may be charged. Walter may have had your grandfather killed. And Ethan won’t speak to me. What exactly am I staying for?”
Claire’s answer came without thought.
“To stop running.”
Linda looked at her daughter.
For the first time that day, something steadied in her face.
Claire handed her the memory card.
“No. You keep it.”
“Why?”
“Because I made a copy last year.”
Claire stared.
Linda reached into the suitcase and pulled out a sealed envelope addressed to the State Attorney General.
“I mailed the original records three days ago.”
Claire’s heart jumped.
“You did what?”
Linda swallowed.
“After you called and said you were coming home, I decided I couldn’t live like this anymore.”
A car door slammed outside.
Both women turned toward the window.
Ethan’s truck was in the driveway.
May you like
But Ethan did not get out.
Mark did.
