Chapter 3: My Mother's Signature
I read the letter three times.
Not because the words were difficult.
Because my mind refused to accept them.
My father's handwriting was unmistakable.
The slightly crooked capital letters.
The long tails on his lowercase y's.
The way he always wrote my name as if he had all the time in the world.
My dearest Claire,
If you are reading this, then the arrangements I made have finally reached the point where you deserve the truth.
I stopped.
The room blurred.
Daniel stood near the fireplace.
Lauren sat on the sofa, twisting a tissue between her fingers.
Neither of them spoke.
I continued.
I have spent much of my life believing that money gives people security. I was wrong. Money reveals what people are willing to do when they believe nobody is watching.
My fingers tightened around the paper.
Your sister has made mistakes. Serious mistakes. I have tried to help her, but I cannot allow those mistakes to destroy what I built for both of you.
I looked up.
"Both of us?""
Lauren lowered her head.
I continued reading.
Your mother knows the truth. Daniel knows the truth. And when the time comes, you will need to decide whether either of them deserves your trust.
The letter ended with a sentence that made my stomach drop.
Whatever happens, remember this: I did not arrange your marriage to Daniel. I arranged for Daniel to have the opportunity to tell you the truth. What he chose to do with that opportunity is his responsibility.
I lowered the letter.
"What does that mean?""
Daniel stepped closer.
"Your father wanted me to explain everything after we got married.""
I stared at him.
"How long after?""
"Once the trust transferred.""
"And when was that supposed to happen?""
"On your thirtieth birthday.""
I was thirty-one.
I had been married for five years.
My birthday had passed more than a year ago.
I looked at him.
"Why didn't you tell me then?""
He opened his mouth.
No words came out.
Lauren suddenly stood.
"Because I asked him not to.""
I turned.
"What?""
She walked toward the window.
"I was afraid you'd find out what I'd done.""
"So you convinced my husband to lie to me?""
"I didn't convince him. I begged him.""
"You kissed him in my kitchen.""
She closed her eyes.
"Claire, that isn't what you think.""
I laughed.
"Please. I'm almost embarrassed for you. You're going to tell me it was a misunderstanding?""
Lauren turned around.
"No. I'm going to tell you something worse.""
Daniel moved toward her.
"Don't.""
She shook her head.
"You don't get to control this anymore.""
Then she looked at me.
"The kisses weren't the secret.""
My skin prickled.
"What were they?""
Lauren swallowed.
"Daniel and I were pretending to be together.""
I stared at her.
"What?""
"Before you met him. We had a relationship.""
Daniel's expression changed.
Lauren continued.
"It lasted almost two years. We were serious. I thought we were going to get married.""
The room seemed to shrink.
I looked at Daniel.
"Is that true?""
He nodded slowly.
"Yes.""
My throat tightened.
"Then why did you start dating me?""
He looked ashamed.
"Lauren ended things.""
Lauren laughed bitterly.
"That's not how it happened.""
Daniel turned toward her.
"Don't do this.""
"You told me you couldn't marry me because you weren't ready to settle down.""
"Lauren—"
"And then six months later, you proposed to my sister.""
I felt something break inside my chest.
I looked between them.
"So you were together when I met him?""
Lauren nodded.
"Yes.""
I remembered that night again.
Lauren had been unusually quiet when I told her about Daniel.
She had asked what he looked like.
She had asked whether he wore a silver watch.
I had thought she was simply being curious.
Now I understood why.
"Did you know who I was when he approached me?"" I asked.
Daniel looked away.
"Yes.""
"Did you know I was Lauren's sister?""
"Yes.""
I pressed my hand against my mouth.
"Did you ever love me?""
He took a step forward.
"Claire, I developed feelings for you.""
"That's not what I asked.""
He stopped.
I wanted him to say yes.
Even if it was a lie.
I wanted him to tell me that somewhere in those five years, there had been a moment when he looked at me and forgot the arrangement, the money, and the woman standing beside him.
But he couldn't.
And that silence was an answer.
I placed the letter on the table.
"Where's Mom?""
Lauren looked at me.
"At home.""
"Call her.""
"Claire—"
"Call her now.""
Lauren took out her phone.
My mother answered on the second ring.
"Sweetheart? Is everything okay?""
I closed my eyes.
For years, that voice had been the safest sound in the world.
Now it made me feel sick.
"Mom, I need you to come over.""
"What's happened?""
I looked at Daniel.
Then Lauren.
"Your secret is out.""
Silence.
A long, terrible silence.
Then my mother said:
"Who told you?""
I almost dropped the phone.
Not What secret?
Not What are you talking about?
Who told you?
I felt my legs weaken.
"Mom, did you know Daniel before I met him?""
She exhaled.
"Claire, this isn't something we should discuss over the phone.""
"Did you?""
"Yes.""
The answer was immediate.
Cold.
Undeniable.
I looked at the ceiling.
"Did you know he was dating Lauren?""
Another silence.
Then:
"Yes.""
Lauren started crying.
Daniel sat down.
I gripped the phone harder.
"Did you know he was going to marry me?""
My mother's voice became softer.
"Claire, please listen to me. Everything I did was to protect you.""
I laughed.
"Everyone keeps saying that.""
"Your father had made arrangements. There were complicated financial issues.""
"Then why didn't you tell me?""
"Because you were happy.""
"Was I?""
My voice cracked.
"Or was I just the easiest person to deceive?""
My mother began crying.
"Claire, I know this looks terrible.""
"Looks terrible?""
I looked at the wedding photograph on the mantelpiece.
"Mom, you watched me marry a man you knew had been involved with my sister. You sat in the front row. You gave a speech about how Daniel was the perfect husband. You watched me cry when I promised to love him forever.""
She whispered my name.
I continued.
"And then you came to our house for dinner every Sunday. You hugged me. You asked when we were having children.""
My mother was sobbing now.
"Please, let me explain.""
"Then explain.""
She took a shaky breath.
"Your father discovered Lauren had been taking money from the company. He wanted to remove her from the trust, but he also wanted to give her a chance to make things right.""
I looked at Lauren.
She stared at the floor.
My mother continued.
"Daniel was supposed to help recover the missing funds. He agreed to work with your father. But after your father died, the situation became more complicated.""
"What does that have to do with my marriage?""
"Your father had transferred the controlling interest into a trust. You were the beneficiary, but you couldn't access the assets until the trust's conditions were met.""
I looked at the documents.
"Marriage.""
"Yes.""
"And Daniel was supposed to marry me?""
"No," my mother said quickly.
"Your father never demanded that. He wanted Daniel to make sure you understood the trust before you made any decisions.""
"Then why did Daniel marry me?""
My mother didn't answer.
I looked at him.
He stared at his hands.
And then my mother said something that changed the entire meaning of the last five years.
"Because Daniel needed the trust to activate.""
I frowned.
"Why?""
"Because your father had included a clause that gave Daniel a temporary position as executor once you married.""
I stared at the phone.
"Temporary?""
"Yes.""
"For how long?""
My mother hesitated.
"Until the controlling shares were transferred into your name.""
I looked at the papers again.
A date appeared near the bottom of the final page.
My thirtieth birthday.
More than a year ago.
"Mom, the transfer should have happened already.""
She didn't answer.
"Where are my shares?""
Silence.
I turned toward Daniel.
He had gone completely pale.
Then I noticed something.
The final document wasn't signed by my father.
It wasn't signed by Daniel.
It was signed by my mother.
I picked it up.
At the bottom, beneath a paragraph authorizing a transfer of assets, was her name.
Margaret Bennett.
And beside it was a date from three months earlier.
My hands began shaking.
"Mom, what did you sign?""
She started crying harder.
"Claire, please don't panic.""
I looked at the amount written on the next page.
The controlling shares had been valued at nearly eighteen million dollars.
But the transfer record showed they had been moved into a company I had never heard of.
A company registered under Lauren's name.
I slowly raised my eyes.
"Why does Lauren own my inheritance?""
My sister covered her face.
Daniel stood so quickly that his chair fell backward.
"Claire, don't sign anything. Don't touch those documents.""
I stared at him.
"Why?""
He looked toward the hallway.
Then he whispered:
"Because if those documents are real, your sister isn't the only person who could go to prison.""
My mother was still crying on the phone.
Then, in the background, I heard another voice.
A man's voice.
"Margaret, is she reading the papers?""
My blood ran cold.
I knew that voice.
It belonged to the family attorney who had handled my father's estate.
And he was supposed to be retired.
My mother quickly covered the phone.
But not before I heard her answer.
"Yes. She knows about the transfer.""
The attorney said something else.
Something that made Daniel's face turn white.
Then my mother came back on the line.
"Claire, listen carefully. Whatever Lauren tells you, do not believe her.""
I looked at my sister.
She slowly lowered her hands.
And for the first time that afternoon, she wasn't crying.
She was smiling.
May you like
"That's funny, Mom," Lauren said loudly enough for the phone to pick up.
"Because I was just about to tell Claire who actually stole the eighteen million dollars.""
