Chapter 10 - The Lawyer Who Knew Too Much
Pierce.
My lawyer.
Harold's lawyer.
The man who had sat across from me that morning and spoken about trust clauses with the confidence of a priest discussing scripture.
The man who had told me to trust the recordings.
I stared at the screen.
Daniel whispered:
“That's impossible.”
Rachel looked at me.
“It isn't.”
The footage continued.
Pierce walked into Harold's office.
He knelt beside him.
Harold was barely conscious.
Pierce said something.
The audio was damaged, but one sentence came through.
“Where is the original?”
Harold tried to answer.
Pierce grabbed his collar.
“Where is it?”
Daniel shouted:
“I didn't know what he meant.”
Pierce turned toward him.
“Get out.”
Daniel didn't move.
Then Brooke stepped between them.
“What are you looking for?”
Pierce stared at her.
“Something that never should have existed.”
I felt sick.
Rachel paused the video.
“That's the missing piece.”
“What?”
“Pierce wasn't protecting you.”
My voice went quiet.
“He was protecting the secret.”
I looked at the trust documents.
“The fourteen million?”
Rachel shook her head.
“More.”
She zoomed in on the video.
Harold's desk.
A small black notebook sat beside his hand.
Pierce picked it up.
Then the recording ended.
My mouth went dry.
“The notebook.”
Rachel nodded.
“Harold's financial records.”
“Where is it?”
“I don't know.”
Chelsea spoke softly.
“Neither do I.”
Everyone looked at her.
She stared at the floor.
“After Harold died, Pierce took the notebook.”
I felt dizzy.
“Then why did he tell me about the trust?”
“To make you think the paperwork was the whole story.”
Rachel nodded.
“He needed you to find the legal documents because they pointed in the right direction.”
“And the notebook?”
“Was the evidence.”
Daniel looked at me.
“Mom.”
I turned.
“What?”
“There is something else.”
He took out his phone.
An old photograph.
Harold standing beside a warehouse.
The same warehouse Rachel had tracked.
But this time, there was a symbol painted on the wall.
A black circle.
Inside it, three white letters.
RWC.
Rachel froze.
“Where did you get that?”
“Dad sent it to me.”
“When?”
“Three days before he died.”
Rachel stared.
“Why didn't you show me?”
“I was scared.”
I took the phone.
“What does RWC mean?”
Chelsea answered.
“Redwood Capital.”
I looked at her.
“You know them?”
“Yes.”
“Who are they?”
She hesitated.
“An investment group.”
“That sounds harmless.”
“It isn't.”
Rachel looked at me.
“They finance political campaigns, real estate developments, and private security firms.”
I frowned.
“And why would they care about our house?”
“Because your house is the final missing parcel.”
I felt cold.
“Missing parcel for what?”
Rachel opened a map.
The property sat directly across from a proposed highway extension.
If the development went ahead, the land surrounding us would explode in value.
But the real plan was bigger.
The project wasn't just townhouses.
It included a private medical center, a commercial district, and a transportation hub.
The entire development would be worth hundreds of millions.
My two-acre property controlled the access road.
Without it, the project was impossible.
Harold's refusal had cost them everything.
So they had found another way.
My eyes returned to the map.
“Redwood Capital.”
Rachel nodded.
“Exactly.”
“Then Brooke was working for them.”
“Yes.”
“And Daniel?”
“Compromised.”
“Chelsea?”
“Embedded.”
“Evelyn?”
“Executive level.”
I looked at Pierce's face on the frozen screen.
“And Pierce?”
Nobody answered.
That scared me more than anything.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
Pierce's voice came through.
“Linda.”
I froze.
“How are you calling me?”
“Don't worry about that.”
I looked at Rachel.
She immediately started tracing the call.
Pierce continued.
“You've made a terrible mistake.”
“Where are you?”
“You don't need to know.”
“You killed Harold.”
A pause.
“No.”
“You were there.”
“Yes.”
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He sighed.
“Because Harold left you something far more dangerous than money.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“You think the trust protects you.”
“It does.”
“No.”
His voice became cold.
“The trust protects the property.”
I looked at the map.
“And what doesn't it protect?”
“You.”
The call ended.
Rachel stared at me.
“We need to move.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere Pierce cannot reach.”
Daniel suddenly grabbed my arm.
“Mom.”
He pointed at the window.
A black SUV had stopped outside.
Three people got out.
One of them was wearing a police uniform.
Rachel went pale.
“The police.”
“Are they yours?”
“No.”
“Then whose?”
She looked at me.
“Redwood.”
The front door rattled.
Someone shouted:
“Open the door!”
Rachel pulled the blinds shut.
Daniel locked the deadbolt.
I clutched Harold's trust.
Then a voice shouted from outside.
“Linda Wentworth, you're under arrest for fraud and financial elder abuse.”
I stared at the door.
Brooke smiled.
May you like
“Now,” she whispered, “you understand why I told you to leave.”
:::
