Chapter 13 - The Man at the PorchThe dead man finally came home, and he brought a confession.
Thomas entered the house without resistance.
He looked at my mother.
"Eleanor."
She started crying.
"You shouldn't be here."
"I've been waiting fourteen years."
I stepped between them.
"Who are you?"
He looked at me.
"You know."
"Not anymore."
He nodded.
"Fair."
Thomas looked at Juny.
"I'm sorry."
Juny stepped behind me.
"Don't go near her."
Thomas stopped.
"I won't."
He sat down.
"I didn't kill Elise."
"Then why did my father say you were involved?"
"Because I knew the truth."
"What truth?"
Thomas looked at Miss Castellano.
"Your grandfather was laundering money through three companies."
"We know."
"No."
He smiled bitterly.
"You know the money. You don't know why."
He explained.
The offshore accounts had not been created for greed.
They had been created to pay people who protected the family.
Judges.
Investigators.
Doctors.
Police officers.
Politicians.
My stomach turned.
"Your father inherited the network," Thomas said.
"He used it to protect himself."
"From what?"
"From the man who built it."
"Richard?"
Thomas nodded.
"Your grandfather knew he was dying. He wanted out."
"Then why did he keep it?"
"Because someone else controlled the largest account."
"Who?"
Thomas looked at me.
"Your mother."
Eleanor covered her face.
"No."
Thomas continued.
"Your mother discovered the account years before Richard died."
"Why?"
"Because she was the only person who could access his personal records."
My mother whispered:
"I didn't know what it was."
"You knew enough."
"How much?"
Thomas answered.
"Almost twelve million."
My father had been protecting the money.
My mother had been hiding it.
Davina had been siphoning from it.
Holt had been moving it.
And Augusta had been documenting it.
"Where is the account now?" I asked.
Thomas looked at Juny.
"Under her name."
Everything stopped.
"The trust?"
"No."
He shook his head.
"The original account."
Miss Castellano stood.
"That account should have been closed."
"It wasn't."
"How do you know?"
"Because I opened it."
"When?"
"Yesterday."
I looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because someone tried to withdraw everything."
"Who?"
Thomas placed a bank statement on the table.
The attempted withdrawal was from the day Juny entered surgery.
The authorization code belonged to:
Davina Bennett.
I turned toward my sister.
She went pale.
"I didn't do it."
Thomas looked at Holt.
"Then ask your husband."
Holt stepped backward.
Police surrounded the room.
He whispered:
"She doesn't know."
Davina stared at him.
"What did you do?"
"I was trying to save us."
"You tried to steal my niece's money."
"It wasn't hers."
Thomas laughed.
"It was never yours."
Holt suddenly ran.
Two officers tackled him near the front door.
Davina screamed.
My mother began sobbing.
My father looked older than I had ever seen him.
Then Thomas stood.
"I still owe you one answer."
"About Elise?"
He nodded.
"She survived the crash."
Sarah stood up.
"Where is she?"
Thomas looked at her.
"She died three years later."
Sarah's face broke.
"How?"
"Complications from her injuries."
Sarah covered her mouth.
"I saw her."
"What?"
"Before she died."
Thomas stared.
"Who took me to her?"
Sarah looked at Juny.
"Augusta."
I froze.
"Juny knew?"
Sarah nodded.
"They met."
Juny whispered:
"I remember a woman with a scar."
"Elise."
She nodded.
"She told me something."
"What?"
Juny looked at me.
"She said, 'When you're old enough, tell your mother not to forgive them.'"
I felt tears burn my eyes.
Then Thomas placed one final envelope on the table.
"For you."
Inside was a photograph of Elise holding Juny.
On the back:
My daughter doesn't know me yet. But one day she'll know who protected her.
I turned the photograph over.
There was a second name written beneath it.
Eleanor did.
My mother went white.
Because she had been the one who carried Juny to Elise.
May you like
She had known.
All along.
