Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
I read Chloe's name three times.
Chloe Bennett.
The woman who had been sleeping with my husband.
The woman who had asked when she could stop hiding.
And apparently the woman who knew something about Arthur's money that I didn't.
I took a photograph of the note.
Then I placed it inside the safe where I kept our passports and birth certificates.
I didn't sleep.
At 6:15 the next morning, Kelly found me sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of untouched coffee.
“You didn't sleep.”
“Not much.”
She sat across from me.
“Did Dad leave?”
“Yes.”
“Is he staying at her house?”
I looked at my daughter.
“I don't know.”
She nodded slowly.
“Okay.”
Leo came in wearing pajamas.
“Can we go see Grandpa?”
“Yes.”
He smiled.
Then he noticed my face.
“Mom?”
“I'm okay.”
He didn't believe me.
Children rarely do.
At nine, we drove to Arthur's estate.
Luca wasn't there.
Rachel met us at the entrance.
Arthur was awake.
When he saw the children, his face transformed.
“There's my boy.”
Leo ran to him.
Arthur hugged him carefully.
Kelly followed more slowly.
“Hi, Grandpa.”
Arthur smiled.
“I've been waiting for you.”
They talked about school.
Soccer.
Kelly's science exam.
Arthur asked Leo whether he had improved his left-footed shots.
Normal things.
The kind of ordinary conversation that becomes precious when time is running out.
I stood near the doorway.
Arthur looked at me.
“Come here.”
I approached.
He took my hand.
“I owe you an apology.”
“You don't.”
“I should have seen what my son was becoming.”
“Arthur.”
“No.”
His eyes were tired.
“But I should have.”
Kelly and Leo were occupied with a television game.
Arthur lowered his voice.
“I want you to hear this from me.”
“What?”
“Luca is not being disinherited because he cheated.”
“I know.”
“He is being restricted because I discovered something much worse.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
Arthur looked toward the study.
“Someone has been moving company money.”
“Luca?”
“I don't know.”
That surprised me.
“Then why did you change the trust?”
“Because whoever is doing it believes my illness gives them a deadline.”
He paused.
“And I believe the affair may be connected.”
I felt cold.
“You think Chloe knows?”
“I think Chloe knows more than she realizes.”
Arthur reached for a small wooden box beside his chair.
He opened it.
Inside was an old brass key.
“What is that?”
“Something my father gave me.”
“Your grandfather?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you giving it to me?”
“Because I trust you.”
He placed the key in my palm.
“It opens a cabinet in my old office.”
“What cabinet?”
“The one behind the map.”
I stared.
“Arthur, why not open it yourself?”
He smiled sadly.
“Because I want you to decide what happens next.”
Before I could answer, his nurse came in.
“Mr. Vance, you need to rest.”
Arthur nodded.
Then he looked at me.
“Do not tell Luca about the key.”
I slipped it into my pocket.
“I won't.”
On the drive home, Kelly was unusually quiet.
Finally she said,
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Are you and Dad getting divorced?”
I swallowed.
“Yes.”
Leo looked out the window.
“Does that mean I don't get Dad anymore?”
“You will.”
“How do you know?”
“Because being a husband and being your father are two different things.”
He thought about it.
“Okay.”
Kelly looked at me.
“Do you hate him?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because hate is still carrying someone around.”
She stared at me.
Then nodded.
“I don't want to carry him.”
I reached across and squeezed her hand.
When we arrived home, a black sedan was parked across the street.
I noticed it immediately.
The driver wasn't visible.
The vehicle remained there for several minutes.
Then it drove away.
I didn't mention it to the children.
Inside, I locked the doors.
Then I called Arthur's security chief.
“Did you send someone to watch my house?”
“No.”
“Was there a black sedan outside?”
“License plate?”
I gave it to him.
There was a pause.
“We'll check.”
An hour later, he called back.
“Rental vehicle.”
“Who rented it?”
“Chloe Bennett.”
My stomach tightened.
That evening, I received a text from an unknown number.
PLEASE STOP LOOKING INTO THE TRUST.
I deleted it.
Not because I was afraid.
Because I didn't want to give whoever sent it the satisfaction of knowing I had seen it.
The next morning, I drove to Vance Industrial.
The receptionist looked uncomfortable when I entered.
“Mrs. Sterling.”
“I need access to Arthur's old office.”
“Mr. Luca isn't here.”
“I didn't ask for Luca.”
She hesitated.
Then she called someone.
Ten minutes later, Greg Harmon met me.
Greg had worked with Arthur for twenty-eight years.
He had known me since before Luca and I married.
“You shouldn't be here alone.”
“Why?”
He looked around.
“Because Arthur's office has been accessed three times this week.”
“By whom?”
“We don't know.”
“Security?”
“Footage was deleted.”
I stared at him.
“Deleted by whom?”
Greg shook his head.
“That is what we're trying to find out.”
I took out the brass key.
Greg's expression changed.
“Where did you get that?”
“Arthur.”
He stared at it.
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then we need to go upstairs.”
Arthur's old office was on the top floor.
The room hadn't changed much.
The large walnut desk.
The framed photographs.
The old city map.
The leather chair.
The shelves.
I walked toward the map.
There were three brass pins near the coastline.
One moved when I touched it.
Behind the map was a narrow cabinet.
The key fit.
Inside were folders.
A black ledger.
A small silver photograph frame.
And an envelope.
I opened the envelope.
The first page contained account numbers.
The second showed transfers from Vance Industrial.
Millions.
The recipients were not random companies.
They were accounts connected to a private investment firm.
The name at the bottom made my stomach drop.
Bennett Strategic Holdings.
“Chloe's family?”
Greg nodded slowly.
“That company belongs to her father.”
I looked at the dates.
The transfers had begun eleven months earlier.
Around the same time Luca's affair began.
I felt sick.
“Was Luca involved?”
Greg didn't answer.
“Greg.”
“I don't know.”
“Don't lie to me.”
He sighed.
“I know he signed some authorization documents.”
My heart sank.
“How many?”
“Six.”
“Why?”
“He told us his father approved them.”
“But Arthur didn't.”
“No.”
Greg looked toward the door.
“That is why this is dangerous.”
I opened the black ledger.
Inside were handwritten notes.
One phrase appeared repeatedly.
BRIDGE ACCOUNT.
Then:
C.B.
L.S.
A.V.
I recognized A.V.
Arthur Vance.
C.B.
Chloe Bennett.
L.S.
I didn't know.
I turned another page.
There was a photograph.
Luca and Chloe at a restaurant.
But this wasn't an affair photograph.
They were sitting across from a third person.
An older man.
I recognized him immediately.
Chloe's father.
Richard Bennett.
The photograph had been taken six months earlier.
Before I had ever suspected an affair.
On the back was a note.
THEY THINK LUCA IS THE EXIT.
I stared.
Greg whispered,
“What does that mean?”
I didn't know.
Then I found another photograph.
This one showed Luca alone.
Standing outside Arthur's office.
And beside him was the same older man.
The date was three months before the first payment.
Greg's face changed.
“Jessi.”
“What?”
“That photo was taken before Richard Bennett supposedly met Luca.”
I looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
“He told Arthur they had never spoken.”
I stared at the photograph.
Someone had lied.
Then my phone rang.
Arthur.
I answered immediately.
His voice was weak.
“Jessi.”
“Arthur?”
“You found the cabinet.”
“Yes.”
“Then listen carefully.”
“What?”
“I was wrong about one thing.”
My heart began pounding.
“About what?”
“Luca isn't the person stealing from me.”
I froze.
“Then who is?”
Arthur took a breath.
“It's someone you already trust.”
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Greg looked at me.
“Who?”
I couldn't answer.
Then the office door opened.
Rachel Vance stood there.
She was holding the original trust agreement.
Her face was pale.
“Jessi,” she said.
“We have a problem.”
“What?”
May you like
She looked at the ledger in my hands.
“Arthur just collapsed.”
