Chapter 6 - ELEANOR’S LETTER
Richard read his dead wife’s letter four times before speaking.
His hands shook more with each reading.
Eleanor had died eighteen years earlier after a sudden stroke.
At the time, doctors found nothing suspicious.
Richard had mourned her for years.
He had never known she had been investigating Daniel.
Grace sat beside him.
“Did Mom ever mention this?”
“No.”
“Nothing?”
Richard shook his head.
“She told me she was reviewing old company accounts.”
Ethan stared at Sophia.
“How did you find the letter?”
“In Richard’s office.”
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
Richard looked at her.
“You entered my locked office three weeks ago?”
Sophia folded her arms.
“Yes.”
“With Daniel’s key?”
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
Her attorney closed his eyes.
Richard’s expression changed.
“Daniel knew the letter was there.”
Sophia said nothing.
Ethan understood.
“That’s why he gave you the key.”
Sophia’s voice hardened.
“He wanted me to see what kind of family I married into.”
Richard laughed bitterly.
“No.”
Everyone looked at him.
Richard held up the letter.
“If Daniel knew Eleanor had written this, he would want it destroyed.”
Sophia stared at him.
“Unless he wanted to use it.”
Grace frowned.
“Against Dad.”
Richard nodded slowly.
Ethan looked toward Sophia.
“Was the staged accusation Daniel’s idea?”
“No.”
“Caleb’s?”
“No.”
“Yours?”
Sophia did not answer.
Ethan’s voice rose.
“WHOSE IDEA WAS IT?”
Her attorney stepped forward.
“That’s enough.”
Sophia stared at Ethan.
Then she spoke quietly.
“Mine.”
The answer hurt more than Ethan expected.
“You planned it.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Two weeks.”
Richard’s eyes narrowed.
“After you discovered the audit.”
Sophia did not respond.
Ethan continued.
“You decided to make everyone think my father attacked you.”
“Yes.”
“You knew I would react.”
Sophia looked away.
Ethan’s face twisted.
“You knew I would hit him.”
“I knew you would defend me.”
“That is not the same thing.”
Sophia’s eyes flashed.
“I needed you to choose.”
“Between you and my father?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you never choose me.”
Ethan stared at her.
Sophia’s voice became emotional.
“For seventeen years I have watched you become a child every time Richard enters a room.”
Richard looked away.
“You ask his opinion about everything.”
“You worry whether he approves.”
“You let him control the company.”
“You let him control the money.”
Ethan whispered.
“So you framed him.”
Sophia nodded.
“I needed you to finally see him as the enemy.”
Grace looked disgusted.
“You could have asked for therapy.”
Sophia laughed sharply.
“Stay out of it.”
Ethan’s voice remained quiet.
“You destroyed my relationship with my father because you were jealous of it.”
“No.”
Sophia pointed toward the letter.
“Because Richard was going to destroy us.”
Richard looked at her.
“I was going to report theft.”
“And Ethan’s name was all over it.”
“Because you put it there.”
Sophia looked at Ethan.
“You don’t know that.”
Ethan stared back.
“Yes.”
His voice became colder.
“I do now.”
Sophia’s confidence slipped.
Ethan continued.
“You gave me papers to sign.”
“You had my passwords.”
“You created emails designed to make me hate Dad.”
“You planted a fake will.”
“You staged an attack.”
“And when the camera exposed you, you tried to destroy the recording.”
Sophia shook her head.
“You’re simplifying everything.”
“No.”
Ethan’s eyes filled.
“I’m finally seeing everything.”
Sophia took a step backward.
For the first time, fear appeared without performance.
Detective Brooks entered the kitchen.
She had heard enough.
“Mrs. Whitmore.”
Sophia’s attorney stepped in front of her.
“My client is finished speaking.”
Brooks nodded.
“I’m not here to interview her.”
“Then why are you here?”
Brooks looked toward Richard.
“Daniel Pierce regained consciousness.”
Richard stood.
“Did he say anything?”
“Yes.”
Sophia’s face went pale.
Brooks noticed.
“He asked for Richard.”
Sophia immediately looked toward her attorney.
Brooks continued.
“He also asked us not to allow Sophia or Caleb Mercer anywhere near him.”
Silence followed.
Richard grabbed his coat.
Sophia stepped forward.
“You can’t trust him.”
Richard stopped.
Sophia looked desperate.
“Daniel lies.”
Richard stared at her.
“So do you.”
He walked out.
Ethan followed.
Daniel lay in a dim hospital room with a bandage around his head.
A uniformed officer stood outside the door.
Richard entered alone at first.
Daniel opened his eyes.
For nearly twenty seconds, the two men looked at one another.
They had known each other for almost three decades.
Daniel had attended Eleanor’s funeral.
He had helped Grace through her divorce.
He had been Ethan’s legal adviser when Ethan bought his first house.
Richard moved beside the bed.
“What have you done?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“A lot.”
“Did Sophia attack you?”
“No.”
“Caleb?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Yes.”
Richard’s jaw tightened.
“Why?”
“Because I tried to stop them.”
“From what?”
Daniel looked toward the door.
“Everything.”
Richard pulled a chair closer.
“You have one chance.”
Daniel swallowed painfully.
“I helped create the companies.”
Richard stared.
“Mercer Development?”
“And four others.”
Richard’s face hardened.
“You helped them steal from me.”
“At first I thought the transfers would be temporary.”
Richard almost laughed.
“People always say that after they steal.”
Daniel winced.
“Sophia knew about old irregularities in the company.”
“From Eleanor’s letter.”
“Yes.”
Richard leaned closer.
“How did she know the letter existed?”
Daniel looked ashamed.
“I told her.”
“Why?”
“Because she had something on me.”
Richard’s expression changed.
“What?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Twenty years ago I moved company money without your authorization.”
Richard stared.
“For whom?”
Daniel did not answer.
“Daniel.”
The lawyer opened his eyes.
“For Eleanor.”
Richard went completely still.
“My wife?”
“She asked me to.”
“Why?”
“She discovered a secret account.”
Richard’s breathing slowed.
“What account?”
Daniel looked terrified even now.
“One used by your former business partner.”
Richard whispered a name.
“Victor Hale?”
Daniel nodded.
Victor Hale had died fifteen years earlier.
He had been Richard’s closest friend and first business partner.
Richard had trusted him completely.
Daniel continued.
“Eleanor discovered Victor was diverting company funds.”
“How much?”
“Almost six million.”
Richard closed his eyes.
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
“She was afraid.”
“Of Victor?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Of what Victor had discovered about you.”
Richard stared.
“What did he discover?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I never saw the file.”
Richard’s patience thinned.
“What does any of this have to do with Sophia?”
Daniel struggled to sit higher.
“She found Eleanor’s letter after I told her about the old account.”
“You gave her access.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she threatened to reveal my involvement.”
Richard stared at him.
“So you helped her forge my will.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Richard’s voice broke.
“You betrayed me.”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“Fear.”
Richard stood.
Daniel grabbed his sleeve.
“Wait.”
Richard looked down.
Daniel’s eyes filled.
“Sophia wasn’t trying to steal thirty-one million dollars.”
Richard frowned.
“The email says—”
“You misunderstood.”
Daniel struggled to breathe.
“The money isn’t the real target.”
“What is?”
Daniel looked toward the doorway.
“Whitmore Holdings.”
Richard stared.
Daniel continued.
“The trust owns forty-two percent of the company.”
“I know what it owns.”
“If you were removed and Ethan assumed control, Sophia planned to force a sale.”
“To whom?”
Daniel’s voice became a whisper.
“A private buyer.”
“Who?”
Daniel looked terrified.
“I never met him.”
“Name.”
“I don’t know his real name.”
Richard leaned closer.
“What name did you hear?”
Daniel swallowed.
“V.H.”
Richard froze.
Those were Victor Hale’s initials.
“That’s impossible.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I thought so too.”
Richard stared.
“Victor died fifteen years ago.”
Daniel gripped Richard’s sleeve more tightly.
“I know.”
The heart monitor quickened.
Richard leaned closer.
“Who is V.H.?”
Daniel’s eyes moved toward the door.
Then his face changed.
Someone was standing behind Richard.
Richard turned.
A nurse stood at the doorway.
She wore a mask and blue scrubs.
Nothing seemed unusual.
Then Daniel panicked.
“No.”
The nurse stepped backward.
Daniel raised a trembling finger.
“That’s not a nurse.”
Richard spun around.
The woman ran.
The officer outside shouted.
Footsteps thundered down the corridor.
Richard looked back at Daniel.
Daniel’s face had gone gray.
“What did she want?”
Daniel gasped for breath.
“She came before.”
“When?”
“Before I woke up.”
Richard stared.
Daniel forced out one final sentence.
May you like
“She told me if I said the name, Ethan would disappear next.”
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