Chapter 11 - Margaret Speaks
Margaret insisted on speaking to Daniel alone first.
Her voice was weak, but her mind was clear.
“I need you to listen without interrupting,” she said.
Daniel sat beside the bed.
“I can do that.”
“No, you can’t. You get that from your father.”
Despite everything, a laugh escaped him.
Margaret smiled faintly.
Then the smile disappeared.
“I found the first forged transfer three months ago. I thought it was a clerical error.”
“When did you suspect Olivia?”
“Not until I saw Caleb in your house.”
She explained that she recognized him from old Phoenix Equity news coverage. She had researched Olivia before the wedding years ago, not because she hated her, but because Daniel’s father had once lost money to a fraudulent investment group.
“I knew Olivia had a brother,” Margaret said. “I did not know he was the same Caleb Ross until I saw him.”
Daniel rubbed his face.
“Why didn’t you tell me immediately?”
“Because I knew what you would do.”
“What?”
“Explode. Call the police. Destroy your marriage before I understood whether Olivia was trapped or participating willingly.”
Daniel looked at her.
“You were trying to protect her?”
“I was trying to protect Ethan.”
Margaret’s eyes filled.
“He loves his mother.”
Daniel looked away.
“What happened on the stairs?”
“I told Olivia she had until six o’clock to tell you everything. She begged me to wait.”
“And you wouldn’t.”
“No.”
Margaret swallowed.
“She said, ‘If Daniel knows, I lose my son.’ I told her that losing his trust was not the same as losing her child.”
Margaret stared toward the window.
“Then she reached for the folder in my hand. I pulled back. She grabbed my arm.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“I told her to let go.”
“Did she?”
“No.”
Margaret’s breathing changed.
“She looked at me, Daniel. Not past me. Not by accident. At me.”
Her voice broke.
“Then she put both hands on my shoulders and pushed.”
Daniel sat completely still.
Margaret closed her eyes.
“But that is not the part that frightens me most.”
“What could be worse?”
She opened her eyes again.
“After I fell, before you reached the foyer, Olivia came halfway down the stairs.”
Daniel felt cold.
“She looked at me. She knew I was conscious.”
May you like
Margaret’s fingers tightened around his.
“And she whispered, ‘You should have let me fix it.’”
