Chapter 13 - THE CLOCK STARTS RUNNING
Marion Sterling agreed to meet Willow under one condition.
No Richard.
No attorneys.
No recording devices.
Willow agreed to the first two.
She lied about the third.
Helena placed a tiny recorder inside Willow’s necklace clasp.
The meeting took place in a private room at the Chicago Athletic Association.
Marion arrived wearing cream wool and pearls.
She looked composed until Willow placed Evelyn’s letter on the table.
Then her hands began trembling.
“You found the box.”
“Yes.”
Marion closed her eyes.
“Nathaniel should have destroyed it.”
“Why?”
“To end this.”
“End what?”
“Thirty years of damage.”
Willow leaned forward.
“Where is Evelyn?”
Marion’s eyes opened.
“I don’t know.”
“Lucas said you were there.”
Marion stared toward the window.
“I was at the Sterling lake house the night she disappeared.”
“What happened?”
“Evelyn came looking for Nathaniel.”
“Richard intercepted her.”
“Did they fight?”
“Yes.”
“Did he hurt her?”
Marion’s eyes filled with something Willow had never seen in them.
Shame.
“I heard shouting.”
“Then glass breaking.”
“I went downstairs.”
“Evelyn was bleeding from her hand.”
“Richard was furious.”
“What did Evelyn say?”
Marion swallowed.
“She said she had already mailed copies of everything.”
“To whom?”
“She wouldn’t say.”
Willow’s pulse quickened.
“What happened next?”
“Richard told me to go upstairs.”
“And you did?”
Marion looked at her.
“I was pregnant.”
“I was frightened.”
“So you left her alone with him.”
“Yes.”
Willow sat back.
“Did you ever see Evelyn again?”
Marion shook her head.
“At six the next morning, Richard said she had left.”
“Did you believe him?”
Marion did not answer.
That was answer enough.
“Why stay with him?”
Marion’s expression hardened defensively.
“I had Lucas.”
“My family had nothing left.”
“Richard promised safety.”
“Safety?”
Willow almost laughed.
“You call this safety?”
Marion suddenly leaned forward.
“You don’t understand Richard.”
“He does not lose.”
Willow stared at her.
“He lost his voting authority yesterday.”
“Temporarily.”
“He lost control of Nathaniel.”
“Temporarily.”
Marion grabbed Willow’s wrist.
“You need to stop.”
Willow looked down at her hand.
“Why?”
“Because he knows about the box.”
Willow froze.
“How?”
Marion’s face drained.
“Because the bank president called him.”
Helena’s warning echoed in Willow’s mind.
Influence everywhere.
Marion whispered.
“You have very little time.”
“For what?”
“To get the originals somewhere he cannot reach.”
Willow pulled her hand free.
“What is he planning?”
Marion looked toward the door.
“I don’t know.”
But Willow could tell she did.
“Marion.”
Lucas’s mother stood abruptly.
She gathered her purse.
Before leaving, she whispered.
“By midnight tomorrow, Richard intends to have Nathaniel declared incompetent again.”
Willow’s heartbeat jumped.
“If he succeeds, everything your grandfather signed disappears.”
“My great-grandfather.”
Marion stopped.
Something flickered across her face.
“Yes.”
“Your great-grandfather.”
Then she walked toward the door.
Willow called after her.
“Why are you helping me?”
Marion stopped with her hand on the handle.
Without turning, she answered.
“Because I watched one young woman disappear while I stayed silent.”
“I do not want to watch another.”
The door closed.
Willow checked the recorder.
Everything was there.
Then her phone vibrated.
A message from the Briarwood attorney.
URGENT.
May you like
Nathaniel has been transferred.
We do not know where.
