Chapter 5 - THE MAN WHO DIED IN MY FATHER’S CAR
Nobody spoke.
Vanessa was crying.
Mom looked like she might faint.
I held onto the edge of the table.
“My father was alive.”
Dominic nodded.
“We have to verify the photograph.”
“Why?”
“Because if your father survived that night, then everything you've been told about his death may be false.”
My mind raced.
“Who died in the car?”
“We don't know.”
“And Derek?”
“He knew.”
I looked at Vanessa.
“You said he told you Dad was dangerous.”
“Yes.”
“Did he ever say Dad was dead?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“The morning after the accident.”
My stomach turned.
The photograph was dated the same day.
Derek had seen my father alive.
Yet told people he was dead.
Why?
We left the restaurant through a private exit.
Dominic arranged for us to stay at one of his secured properties.
I didn't ask what kind of property.
I didn't care.
For the first time in my life, I was afraid that the biggest lie wasn't my marriage.
It was my entire understanding of what happened to my father.
That night, Dominic placed the photograph on the table.
“There is something wrong.”
“What?”
“The shadow.”
I looked.
He pointed toward the building in the background.
“Your father was standing outside a storage facility.”
“Yes.”
“The sign says the facility opened that morning.”
I frowned.
“So?”
“So the photograph couldn't have been taken there the day after his death unless someone staged the date.”
My heart sank.
“So the photograph may be fake.”
“Yes.”
“But the watch is real.”
Dominic nodded.
“Your father's watch.”
“Derek had it.”
“Yes.”
“That means he had access to something of Dad's.”
“Or he wanted us to think he did.”
I sat down.
“Everything feels like a trap.”
“It may be.”
There was a knock at the door.
Dominic's security chief entered.
“Mr. Moretti, we found something.”
He placed a package on the table.
Inside was a small envelope.
No address.
Just my name.
I opened it.
A single photograph fell out.
Me.
Pregnant.
Leaving the doctor's office three months earlier.
I felt cold.
Someone had been following me.
Under the photograph was a note.
Your husband isn't the only one protecting the baby.
Dominic read it.
His face hardened.
“I'm moving you.”
“I can't keep running.”
“This isn't running.”
He looked at me.
“It's surviving long enough to learn who's behind this.”
My baby kicked.
I touched my stomach.
“What do they want?”
“Your father's assets.”
“That makes no sense. Derek has access to my accounts.”
“Not the one he doesn't know about.”
“What account?”
Dominic looked at me.
“Your father left you a trust.”
I stared.
“I don't have a trust.”
“You do.”
Mom confirmed it.
“Your father told me he set one up.”
“How much?”
“I don't know.”
Dominic answered.
“Enough that several people would kill to control it.”
I felt sick.
“Why didn't Dad tell me?”
“Because the trust activates only after his death.”
“It should have activated years ago.”
“Only if his death was legally confirmed.”
I stared at him.
“If the death was falsified…”
“The trust never opened.”
Everything suddenly made sense.
Derek wasn't trying to divorce me.
He was trying to keep me dependent.
If I left, lawyers would uncover the trust.
If the trust opened, someone might lose control of millions.
And my father's supposed death kept it locked.
“Who benefits if I stay married to Derek?”
Dominic looked at me.
“Derek.”
“And after divorce?”
“You.”
“What about the baby?”
“Your child becomes another protected beneficiary.”
My hand tightened over my stomach.
“That explains the pressure.”
“Yes.”
I looked toward the windows.
“What if Derek isn't the mastermind?”
Dominic paused.
“That possibility has occurred to me.”
“Then who is?”
He didn't answer.
Instead, he showed me a second photograph.
Derek.
Vanessa.
And a woman I didn't recognize.
The woman was older.
Elegant.
And wearing a pearl necklace.
I stared.
“Who is she?”
Mom went completely pale.
“That woman.”
“What?”
“She worked for your father.”
“Who?”
Mom whispered:
“Margaret Bell.”
Dominic nodded.
“Your father's attorney.”
I looked at him.
“She died ten years ago.”
Dominic shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed to the photograph.
“She was alive six months ago.”
My stomach dropped.
Then my phone buzzed.
May you like
A message from Derek.
Come to the old warehouse alone. I can prove your father is alive.
