Chapter 6 - The Man Inside Ashford
Mark spent the next two hours with detectives.
Aaron Bell refused to speak by phone.
He wanted an attorney.
He wanted federal protection.
And above all, he wanted Mark nowhere near him.
“He’s terrified,” Detective Lena Shaw explained.
“Of Victoria?”
Mark asked.
“Apparently not.”
“Then of whom?”
“That’s what we’re trying to determine.”
Mark’s company employed almost nine hundred people.
Ashford Development had built hospitals, hotels, apartment towers, and government projects across four states.
Only a handful of executives had access to the kind of information needed to manipulate his estate security and private accounts.
Mark mentally listed them.
Chief financial officer Robert Crane.
General counsel Patrick Sloan.
Chief operating officer Ethan Mercer.
His longtime assistant Julia Keene.
All had worked with him for years.
Some had known Sarah.
One of them might have helped destroy her.
The thought made him physically ill.
At noon, the toxicology report arrived.
The pills hidden beneath Liam’s bed contained a sedative.
Not a vitamin.
Not a harmless supplement.
A controlled medication intended for adult patients.
Dr. Hayes spoke quietly.
“At the doses Liam described, repeated use could cause confusion, memory problems, exhaustion, even unusual behavior.”
Mark stared at the report.
Exactly the symptoms Victoria had been documenting.
The tantrums.
The sleepiness.
The confusion.
She had created the condition and then used it as evidence.
Mark wanted to break something.
Instead, he walked upstairs.
Liam was building a tower with wooden blocks.
Elena sat nearby.
The boy looked at Mark.
“Are you mad at me?”
The question destroyed him.
Mark sat on the floor.
“Never.”
“But Victoria said I made everybody unhappy.”
“She lied.”
“She said Mommy left because I cried too much.”
Mark closed his eyes.
Elena looked away.
When Mark opened them again, his expression had changed.
“Your mommy loved you more than anything in this world.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she told me every day.”
Liam leaned against him.
Mark held his son for a long time.
Later, Elena found Mark in Sarah’s old office.
He had not entered the room in nearly two years.
Dust covered the framed photographs.
Sarah smiled from dozens of captured moments.
At charity events.
On beaches.
Holding newborn Liam.
Standing beside Mark on their wedding day.
“I forgot how loud she laughed.”
Mark spoke without looking up.
Elena smiled faintly.
“She laughed louder when she was angry.”
Mark turned.
“You really knew her.”
“A little.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because she asked me to protect Liam, not become part of your grief.”
Mark absorbed that.
“She trusted you more than she trusted me.”
“No.”
Elena stepped closer.
“She trusted you with her heart.”
Her eyes moved toward the flash drive.
“She trusted me with her fear.”
Mark looked at Sarah’s photograph.
His phone rang.
Detective Shaw.
“Aaron has agreed to talk.”
Mark stood immediately.
“When?”
“Now.”
The interview was conducted by secure video.
Aaron appeared exhausted.
His beard was unshaven.
His eyes kept moving toward the motel door.
Mark’s anger almost overwhelmed him.
“You drugged my son.”
Aaron flinched.
“I gave Rebecca the medication.”
“You knew who it was for.”
“She said small doses.”
“He’s five.”
“I know.”
Mark leaned toward the screen.
“Tell me who is behind this.”
Aaron swallowed.
“Rebecca thought she was in control.”
“She wasn’t?”
“No.”
“Who was?”
Aaron looked directly into the camera.
“Your chief financial officer.”
Mark stared.
“Robert Crane?”
Aaron nodded.
“He found Rebecca before Sarah did.”
Mark felt the air leave the room.
Crane had been Mark’s father’s closest employee.
He had attended Mark’s wedding.
He had carried Sarah’s casket.
“You’re lying.”
“I wish I was.”
Aaron continued.
“Crane used Rebecca to move foundation money.”
“Why?”
“Because he had already been stealing from Ashford Development for years.”
Mark’s mouth went dry.
Aaron leaned closer.
“Sarah found the foundation accounts.”
“She was getting too close.”
“What happened the night she died?”
Aaron looked terrified.
“I don’t know everything.”
“Tell me what you know.”
Aaron took a breath.
“She was supposed to meet Crane.”
Mark stopped moving.
“He told Rebecca he would handle Sarah.”
The video suddenly flickered.
Aaron looked offscreen.
A sound came from somewhere behind him.
Then the camera fell sideways.
May you like
Mark heard shouting.
The feed went black.
