Chapter 7 - THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
“Take the girls.”
I read the words again.
My hands shook.
Patricia stared at the photograph.
“I didn't write that.”
“I know.”
“You think I would hurt them?”
“I don't know what to think anymore.”
That answer broke her.
She sat down on the garage floor.
“I was supposed to marry you.”
“You still thought you could?”
“I thought I could fix it.”
“Fix what?”
“The trust.”
Rosa stepped forward.
“You were never going to fix it.”
Patricia looked at her.
“I thought if I controlled the money, I could keep Elena safe.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It does if you know what my uncle was doing.”
Everyone went quiet.
Patricia continued.
“He wasn't trying to steal the trust.”
“Then what?”
“He wanted to control the people who received it.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“Because the trust wasn't only money.”
She looked at me.
“It contained ownership interests in several companies your wife's family still controlled.”
I understood.
Whoever controlled the trust controlled more than a fortune.
They controlled influence.
Contracts.
Property.
Power.
“And my daughters?”
“They were the beneficiaries.”
Rosa nodded.
“That was why your wife was afraid.”
Patricia looked at me.
“Your wife discovered that the trust would transfer full control when the girls became adults.”
“And Elena?”
“Your wife's first daughter had a separate claim.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“Because the original trust was created before the adoption.”
Rosa added quietly:
“Your wife's father never knew Elena had been found.”
Patricia shook her head.
“He knew.”
Everyone looked at her.
“What?”
“He knew Elena was alive.”
“When?”
“Before the accident.”
“Then why didn't he come forward?”
“Because he believed Elena could challenge the entire estate arrangement.”
I looked at the photograph again.
The man beside my wife's car.
“He caused the accident.”
Patricia shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“You said you saw him.”
“I saw him near the car. I didn't see what happened.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because he threatened me.”
“With what?”
“He had evidence that my mother helped hide Elena.”
Patricia's voice cracked.
“He said if I spoke, he would destroy her.”
Rosa looked at her.
“Your mother is dead.”
“She wasn't then.”
The room became silent.
Patricia wiped her face.
“My mother died six months ago.”
I looked at the photograph.
“So you were protecting her.”
“Yes.”
“While hurting my daughters.”
Patricia looked down.
“I know.”
I wanted to hate her.
But the truth was more complicated.
She had made terrible choices.
She had frightened children.
She had lied to me.
But she had also been trapped by a family system she feared.
That didn't erase what she had done.
It only explained it.
Marcus interrupted.
“Sir, we have another problem.”
He showed me a security alert.
Someone had accessed the side gate remotely.
“Who?”
“We don't know.”
Then the house lights went out.
Martina screamed.
I ran inside.
“Dad!”
I found both girls in the hallway.
Rosa was with them.
Patricia stood frozen near the staircase.
Marcus rushed toward the electrical panel.
Then the emergency lights came on.
A vehicle was leaving the driveway.
Marcus ran outside.
I followed.
But the gate was already closing.
A brown sedan disappeared down the street.
On the ground beside the gate was a small object.
A child's necklace.
I picked it up.
Daniela gasped.
“That belongs to Elena.”
“How do you know?”
“She gave it to me.”
“When?”
“At school.”
I looked at Patricia.
She stared at the necklace.
Then she whispered:
“She was here.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
Rosa's face changed.
“Where?”
Patricia pointed toward the rear garden.
We searched the garden.
Nothing.
Then Martina noticed something near the old oak tree.
A small envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Elena standing outside the mansion.
Taken that morning.
On the back:
I came to meet my father. Someone told me he was away.
My heart stopped.
“She came here.”
Rosa nodded.
“She was looking for you.”
I turned the photograph over again.
There was one more sentence.
Patricia is not the person you should fear.
I looked at Patricia.
She started crying.
Then Marcus found a second envelope beneath the tree.
This one contained a hotel key card.
And a handwritten note.
Room 814. Come alone. Bring the watch.
Patricia stared at it.
“That room belongs to my uncle.”
Marcus looked at me.
“Sir, this may be a trap.”
I looked at my daughters.
Then at the gold watch.
“No.”
Patricia stepped forward.
“You can't go alone.”
“I won't.”
She looked confused.
I handed the watch to Marcus.
“I'm not giving them what they want.”
Then my phone rang.
It was a number I didn't recognize.
I answered.
Nobody spoke.
Then a woman's voice whispered:
“Dad?”
My heart stopped.
“Who is this?”
The voice trembled.
“It's Elena.”
A pause.
May you like
Then she said:
“Please don't trust the man who taught you to trust everyone.”
