Chapter 8: The Man Who Followed My Mother
Thomas Reed agreed to meet us at a small restaurant outside the city.
Eleanor insisted on bringing security.
I insisted on bringing the photograph.
We arrived shortly before noon.
The restaurant smelled of coffee and fried onions. A television played quietly above the counter.
Thomas was sitting in the back booth.
He was older than I remembered.
His hair had turned almost completely white, and he walked with a slight limp.
But I recognized his eyes.
He had driven me to school when I was little.
He had attended my sixteenth birthday party.
He had stood beside my father at my mother's funeral.
When he saw me, he stood.
"Mara.""
I swallowed.
"Hello, Thomas.""
He looked at Lily's carrier.
"Your daughter?""
"Yes.""
He smiled sadly.
"Your mother would have loved her.""
I sat down.
"Then tell me what happened.""
Thomas lowered himself into the booth.
For several seconds, he stared at his hands.
Then he spoke.
"Your mother discovered that Martin was using the family investment accounts to move money into private companies.""
"Was my father involved?""
"No. Your father was trying to stop him.""
I looked at Eleanor.
"Then why did Ethan think Dad was involved?""
Thomas shook his head.
"Because your father hid the investigation. He was afraid the truth would destroy the family.""
"Why didn't he go to the police?""
"He tried.""
Thomas leaned forward.
"Your father had evidence that Martin had been falsifying corporate records. But Martin had friends in important places. He also knew about several old family transactions that could be used to make your father look guilty.""
Eleanor asked, "Was Catherine preparing to testify?""
Thomas nodded.
"She had copies of the records. She was going to meet a lawyer the night she died.""
My hands went cold.
"Who was the lawyer?""
Thomas looked at me.
"Robert's attorney. Eleanor Price.""
I turned toward Eleanor.
She looked shocked.
"I was a junior associate then," she said.
"I remember Catherine. She was supposed to meet me, but she never arrived.""
Thomas nodded.
"Your father told you she'd changed her mind.""
Eleanor slowly shook her head.
"He said she had decided not to proceed.""
"She hadn't.""
I looked at Thomas.
"How did you know?""
"Because I was driving her that evening.""
I stared at him.
"But the newspaper said she was alone.""
"That was the official story.""
Thomas looked down.
"She asked me to stop at the old office. She wanted to collect a folder. When she came back, she was frightened.""
"What happened?""
"She told me someone had taken the original documents.""
"Who?""
"Martin.""
Thomas took a sip of water.
"Then she asked me to drive her home. But before we reached the main road, a car began following us.""
My heart was pounding.
"What car?""
"A black Mercedes.""
I remembered the black SUV outside my house.
Thomas continued.
"I recognized the driver.""
"Daniel?""
He nodded.
"He was young, but I knew him. He'd been working for Martin.""
"Was Martin in the car?""
"No. Daniel was driving. There was another man in the passenger seat.""
"Who?""
Thomas hesitated.
"I couldn't see his face.""
Eleanor leaned forward.
"Did Daniel cause the accident?""
Thomas looked at her.
"I don't know what he intended to do. But he followed us closely. When Catherine tried to turn onto the narrow road near the river, he accelerated.""
I felt my stomach turn.
"Did he hit her car?""
Thomas nodded.
"Not hard enough to look deliberate from a distance. But hard enough to send us off the road.""
I couldn't breathe.
"Where were you?""
"I was in the passenger seat.""
I stared at him.
"But you said my mother was driving alone.""
Thomas's eyes filled with tears.
"I was ordered to say that.""
"By whom?""
"Your father.""
I recoiled.
"What?""
Thomas reached into his coat and removed an old envelope.
"Robert came to the hospital the next morning. He told me your mother had died before the ambulance arrived. He said if I told anyone I had been there, the people responsible would come after you and Ethan.""
I shook my head.
"You're saying my father covered it up?""
"He believed he was protecting you.""
"By letting us believe she died alone?""
Thomas looked devastated.
"I know.""
I stared at the table.
My father had spent years telling me that he loved my mother more than anything.
He had kept her photographs everywhere.
He had preserved her wedding dress.
He had never allowed anyone to speak badly about her.
And he had hidden the truth about the night she died.
"Did my father know Daniel was involved?""
Thomas nodded.
"He found out later.""
"When?""
"About six months after the accident.""
"Then why did he keep Daniel around?""
Thomas leaned back.
"Because Daniel wasn't the person your father was most afraid of.""
I looked up.
"Who was?""
"Martin.""
Thomas opened the envelope.
Inside was a photocopy of a hospital record and a handwritten statement.
He placed them in front of me.
The statement was dated two days after the accident.
It contained Thomas's original account.
At the bottom was his signature.
But there was another signature beneath it.
Robert Whitmore.
My father's handwriting.
And beside it were the words:
*Keep Mara and Ethan safe. Do not let them know what Daniel witnessed.*
I read the sentence repeatedly.
"What did Daniel witness?""
Thomas looked at me.
"Your mother was alive when we were pulled from the car.""
I felt the blood drain from my face.
"What?""
"She was conscious. She asked me to find the blue folder.""
"Did you?""
"I tried.""
He swallowed.
"But Daniel got there first.""
The restaurant seemed to disappear around me.
"What did he do?""
Thomas closed his eyes.
"He took the folder from the car. Then he stood beside your mother while I tried to get her out.""
I gripped the edge of the table.
"Did he help her?""
Thomas looked away.
"I don't know what he could have done. But he didn't call for help.""
I stared at him.
"How long?""
"Several minutes.""
I couldn't speak.
Thomas pushed the envelope toward me.
"There's something else.""
"What?""
"Your father didn't keep the investigation secret because he wanted to protect Martin. He kept it secret because Martin threatened to release documents showing that your mother had secretly changed the trust's ownership structure before she died.""
Eleanor picked up the papers.
"Changed it how?""
Thomas looked at me.
"Your mother had named you as the sole future controlling beneficiary.""
I blinked.
"Me?""
"Yes.""
"Why?""
"Because she knew Martin was trying to gain control through your father.""
I thought of the original investment agreements.
The forty-two percent voting rights.
The hidden clauses.
The blue key.
My father hadn't created those protections alone.
My mother had started them.
Thomas continued.
"Martin wanted the second ledger because it contained the original ownership instructions. If he destroyed them, he could argue that the trust had been improperly transferred.""
Eleanor nodded slowly.
"That would explain the forged agreement.""
I looked at the photograph of Daniel and my mother.
"Why did Daniel marry me?""
Thomas hesitated.
Then he said:
"Because Martin told him the marriage would give him access to the trust.""
The words settled over me like ice.
My marriage had been a business strategy.
My pregnancy had been an inconvenience.
And the divorce papers had been the final step in a plan that had begun before Daniel ever kissed me.
I picked up my phone.
I needed to hear his voice.
I called.
He answered on the second ring.
"Mara.""
"Did you follow my mother the night she died?""
Silence.
Then a quiet laugh.
"Who told you that?""
"Thomas.""
I heard him inhale sharply.
"That old man should have stayed out of it.""
"Did you follow her?""
"Mara, you're being manipulated.""
"Did you?""
He didn't answer.
I looked at Eleanor.
She was recording the conversation with my consent and had instructed me not to make threats or accusations beyond what I knew.
I continued.
"Did you know my mother was alive after the crash?""
Daniel's voice changed.
"Stop.""
"Did you take something from her car?""
"You're going too far.""
"Did you take the blue folder?""
He exhaled.
Then he said something I would never forget.
"Your mother should never have gotten involved.""
My eyes filled with tears.
"She was your wife's mother.""
"She was interfering with something she didn't understand.""
"She was dying, Daniel.""
Silence.
Then he said:
"You don't know what happened that night.""
"Then tell me.""
"I can't.""
"Because you're guilty?""
"Because if you keep digging, you'll destroy people who have nothing to do with this.""
I swallowed.
"Like Lily?""
He didn't respond.
Then his voice became cold.
"Listen carefully. I know where you're staying. I know where your brother is. And I know exactly what your father left behind.""
My stomach tightened.
"What do you want?""
"The ledger.""
"Why?""
"Because it belongs to me.""
I almost laughed.
"Nothing belonging to my family belongs to you.""
His next words came slowly.
"Then perhaps you should ask Eleanor why she never told you what your mother signed before she died.""
I looked at my attorney.
Eleanor's face had gone completely white.
Daniel continued.
"Ask her who was standing in the room when your mother changed the trust.""
Then he hung up.
I lowered the phone.
Thomas stared at Eleanor.
"What is he talking about?""
Eleanor didn't answer.
I turned toward her.
"Eleanor.""
She closed her eyes.
"Mara, there is something I should have told you years ago.""
I felt my heart drop.
"What?""
She looked at the photograph of my mother.
"I wasn't just Catherine's attorney.""
She paused.
"I was the person who witnessed her final amendment to the trust.""
I stared at her.
"And?""
Eleanor's voice trembled.
"Your mother didn't name you as the sole beneficiary.""
She reached into her bag and removed a sealed document.
"She named two people.""
I looked at the paper.
Two names appeared beneath the amendment.
May you like
Mine.
And Daniel's.
