Chapter 11 - The Bride’s Secret
Caleb stared at Sloane.
“What?”
Margaret kept one hand wrapped around her son’s.
“At the house, after they brought me here, Sloane came into the library alone. She unlocked the side door and told me to run when the guards changed shifts.”
Sloane began crying again, but this time there was no performance in it.
Victor’s face hardened.
“She is lying.”
Margaret looked directly at him. “You have underestimated me for eighteen months. Do not start again now.”
Detective Morales separated Victor from the others.
Caleb turned to Sloane.
“Why?”
She wiped her face with both hands.
“Because I finally understood what he was willing to do.”
“You understood months ago.”
“No. I understood the money. I understood the trust. I told myself it was business. I told myself your mother was paranoid and your father agreed with mine.”
“And tonight?”
“I heard my father tell the doctor he needed a permanent diagnosis before morning.”
Caleb stared at her.
“So you grew a conscience when the fraud became kidnapping.”
She flinched.
“I deserve that.”
“Yes.”
Sloane nodded slowly.
“Yes, you do.”
Margaret leaned against the desk, exhausted.
“Caleb, there’s something else.”
He turned.
“The documents in B-17 are copies.”
“Where are the originals?”
Margaret looked toward Thomas, who had just entered the library under police escort.
“Your father had them.”
Thomas stopped.
“No.”
Margaret’s eyes narrowed. “Eleanor gave them to you the night before she died.”
Thomas shook his head. “She gave me an envelope. I never opened it.”
Victor laughed from across the room.
For the first time all night, he looked almost relaxed.
“Then you are all wasting your time.”
Caleb turned toward him.
“Why?”
Victor smiled.
“Because copies can be challenged. Recordings can be questioned. Your mother can claim whatever she likes.”
Detective Morales said, “You should probably stop talking.”
Victor ignored her.
He looked at Caleb.
“Without the original trust amendment, your wedding was the cleanest path. But it was never the only one.”
Thomas went pale.
Caleb saw it.
“Dad. Where is the envelope?”
Thomas whispered, “In the wall safe at home.”
Margaret closed her eyes.
May you like
Victor’s smile widened.
“That safe is empty.”
