Chapter 10 - The CemeteryWe went to the cemetery before sunrise.
Police watched from a distance.
Christopher insisted I bring the ledger.
I didn't.
Instead, I brought a photocopy.
The real one stayed in a safe at the police station.
We waited beside Grandma's grave.
The air was cold.
Fog hung low over the grass.
Ben stood several yards away.
Claire stayed beside me.
My mother looked exhausted.
Then a man appeared between the trees.
Gray coat.
Walking stick.
Silver hair.
My heart stopped.
I knew that face.
Even after twenty years.
My father.
I couldn't move.
He looked at me.
“Ryan.”
My throat tightened.
“You're alive.”
He smiled sadly.
“Barely.”
My mother began crying.
“Daniel…”
He didn't look at her.
“You shouldn't have come.”
I stepped forward.
“Why did you do this?”
“Because I had to.”
“You tried to kill me?”
“No.”
“You had insurance policies on me.”
“To protect you.”
“You faked your death.”
“To protect you.”
“You abandoned us.”
He looked at Grandma's grave.
“She wanted you safe.”
“You stole millions.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your grandmother was being robbed.”
“By whom?”
He looked at Ben.
“By everyone.”
Ben stepped forward.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“Claire?”
“No.”
“Mom?”
Daniel looked at Linda.
“She didn't know everything.”
My mother sobbed.
“You lied to me.”
“I lied to everyone.”
I stared at him.
“Then tell me the truth now.”
He pulled a small envelope from his coat.
Inside was a bank statement.
Account balance:
$31,700,000.
“Your grandmother didn't just leave you money.”
He handed me another paper.
“She left you ownership.”
“Of what?”
“Everything.”
“The house?”
“The investments.”
“The companies?”
“Yes.”
“The hidden accounts?”
“Yes.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“Because you were the only person she believed wouldn't destroy it.”
Ben laughed bitterly.
“Then why did she give me the house?”
Daniel looked at him.
“She didn't.”
Ben froze.
“The deed is fake?”
“No.”
Daniel smiled.
“The deed is real.”
“Then what?”
“The house is worth approximately $410,000.”
Ben frowned.
“And?”
“Your grandmother put a $38 million liability against it.”
Silence.
Ben's face changed.
“What liability?”
Daniel looked at me.
“The debt associated with the family trust.”
Ben whispered:
“So I inherited the debt.”
“Yes.”
Christopher stepped forward.
“That was the condition.”
I finally understood.
Grandma didn't need to stop Ben.
She wanted him to stop himself.
But then Daniel said:
“There's one problem.”
“What?”
“The $31 million isn't actually yours yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because the trust requires one final signature.”
“Mine?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Your mother's.”
Everyone looked at Linda.
She whispered:
“What signature?”
May you like
Daniel stared at her.
“The confession.”
