Chapter 14 - Thomas Finally Told the Truth
We returned to Dad’s hotel suite.
Naomi began calling the buyer’s attorneys.
Dad contacted Northstar’s board.
I stayed with Lily.
At four o’clock, Thomas arrived.
He asked to speak to me.
I almost refused.
Then I remembered the box.
We sat across from each other.
For twelve years, Thomas had treated me politely but distantly.
That afternoon, he looked ashamed.
“I knew Ryan was lying about you and Charles.”
“How much?”
“Not everything.”
“That’s not an answer.”
He nodded.
“I knew Diane helped keep the letters from you.”
My chest tightened.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“And you did nothing.”
“I told myself it wasn’t my marriage.”
I laughed bitterly.
“But my trust could finance your company.”
He lowered his head.
“Yes.”
There was no excuse in his voice.
That made the admission worse.
“Why?”
“Fear.”
He looked at me.
“When Charles financed Bennett Development, I thought we had been saved.”
“Then Ryan started making aggressive deals.”
“Every time I questioned him, he said he had your support.”
“He showed me documents with your signature.”
“I wanted to believe they were real.”
“Because the alternative meant admitting my son was stealing from his wife.”
I stared at him.
“And you chose the company.”
“Yes.”
The word hung between us.
Then he reached into his jacket.
He handed me a flash drive.
“What is this?”
“A recording from six years ago.”
“Of what?”
“The night Ryan and Diane decided to cut Charles out of your life.”
My pulse accelerated.
“Why do you have it?”
“Our home security system used to record audio in the office.”
“Ryan made me replace the system afterward.”
“I kept one backup.”
I wanted to scream at him.
“You had this for six years.”
“Yes.”
“Why now?”
Thomas’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because last night I watched my granddaughter stand between my son and her mother.”
His voice broke.
“And I realized exactly what my silence had purchased.”
I took the drive.
“You don’t get forgiveness because you finally became afraid of yourself.”
“I know.”
That answer stopped me.
Thomas stood.
“There’s one more thing.”
“What?”
“Ryan did not move closing because the buyer asked.”
“He moved it because he knows you found the ledger.”
“How?”
Thomas looked toward the door.
“Diane told him.”
My stomach dropped.
Even now, she was helping him.
Then Naomi rushed into the room.
“The buyer’s counsel finally responded.”
May you like
She held up her phone.
“They say Emily personally confirmed the sale by video call this morning.”
