Chapter 12 - Midnight at the StationThe old train station had been closed for seventeen years.
Only one platform still had lights.
The rest were dark.
We arrived at 11:53.
Daniel wanted me to stay in the car.
I refused.
Arthur stayed fifty feet behind us with two investigators.
At midnight exactly, a figure stepped out from behind the old ticket booth.
Marcus Reed.
The accountant.
The man from Brooke's recordings.
Daniel stared.
“You.”
Marcus looked exhausted.
“I didn't know who else to trust.”
I stepped forward.
“You worked with Brooke.”
“Yes.”
“You helped move money.”
“Yes.”
“You helped hide documents.”
“Yes.”
His voice broke.
“Yes.”
Daniel took a step toward him.
“Did you hurt my father?”
Marcus shook his head violently.
“No.”
“Then why were you involved?”
“Because Robert had something on me.”
“What?”
“My daughter.”
He pulled a photograph from his pocket.
A little girl.
School uniform.
Smiling.
“Robert threatened her.”
I understood.
Fear again.
The most dangerous currency in any family.
“What happened to Harold?” I asked.
Marcus swallowed.
“The night he died, Brooke came to the office.”
“I know.”
“She brought Robert.”
“What did they want?”
“The mineral agreement.”
“Harold refused.”
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
“Robert threatened him.”
Marcus looked at Daniel.
“He told Harold that if he didn't sign, Daniel would lose everything.”
I shook my head.
“That makes no sense.”
Marcus nodded.
“Exactly.”
He looked at Arthur.
“Because Robert already knew the house wasn't the real prize.”
Arthur stepped forward.
“The company.”
Marcus nodded.
“Robert wanted control of Bennett Construction.”
“Why?”
“Because the company owned access rights tied to the mineral property.”
I felt a chill.
“So the land and the company were connected.”
“Yes.”
“And Brooke knew.”
“Yes.”
“What happened that night?”
Marcus looked down.
“Harold had hidden a second agreement.”
“What agreement?”
“The one giving control of the mineral rights to a charitable foundation after his death.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“To prevent anyone from selling them.”
Marcus continued.
“Robert became furious.”
“Did he hurt Harold?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Brooke argued with him.”
“What about?”
“Daniel.”
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What did she say?”
“She told Robert Daniel was useless.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Marcus continued.
“She said Daniel would never know the difference.”
Arthur frowned.
“The difference between what?”
“Between a legitimate transfer and a fake one.”
Marcus handed him a document.
Arthur unfolded it.
A forged assignment of the property rights.
The signature appeared to be Harold's.
But it wasn't.
“I knew this signature was fake,” Marcus said.
“So why did you participate?”
“Because Robert said if I didn't, my daughter would disappear.”
Daniel stared at him.
“You should have gone to the police.”
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“You think men like Robert leave evidence?”
I looked at Arthur.
“He had an accomplice.”
Marcus nodded.
“Someone inside the company.”
“Who?”
Marcus looked at Daniel.
Daniel went pale.
“Me?”
“No.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Not you.”
He reached into his coat.
Another photograph.
This time, it was of a man entering Harold's office.
I recognized him immediately.
Our family doctor.
Dr. Samuel Hart.
My stomach dropped.
“Why is he here?”
Marcus whispered:
“Because Robert needed Harold's medication altered.”
The world seemed to tilt.
“The heart attack.”
Marcus nodded.
“It wasn't supposed to kill him.”
“What?”
“He was supposed to become confused.”
Daniel looked horrified.
“Why?”
“So they could get him to sign.”
I could barely breathe.
“But Harold died.”
Marcus nodded.
“Someone increased the dose.”
“Who?”
Marcus looked at me.
“Brooke.”
Daniel stepped backward.
“No.”
Marcus reached into his pocket and gave me one final item.
A small pharmacy receipt.
Signed by Brooke.
The date.
The same day Harold collapsed.
I stared at it.
“This is proof?”
“Not enough by itself.”
“But?”
“There are cameras.”
“Where?”
“At the pharmacy.”
I looked at Arthur.
He nodded.
“We can get the footage.”
Marcus stepped back.
“That's why I called you.”
“Why now?”
He looked at Daniel.
“Because Brooke has figured out I kept copies.”
Daniel's phone rang.
He answered.
Nobody spoke at first.
Then Brooke's voice whispered:
“Marcus isn't telling you the whole story.”
Daniel said nothing.
Brooke continued.
“Your mother needs to know who really signed the forged documents.”
I looked at Daniel.
Brooke's voice became colder.
“It wasn't Robert.”
“Then who?”
She laughed softly.
“Ask your mother.”
The line went dead.
Daniel turned toward me.
“Mom?”
I looked at him.
I didn't know what she meant.
Then Arthur spoke.
“Linda.”
“What?”
He was staring at the receipt.
“There is a second signature.”
I looked closer.
Not Brooke's.
Not Robert's.
Not Marcus's.
A signature I knew immediately.
Mine.
I felt all the warmth leave my body.
The receipt had been signed by me.
But I had never seen it.
Never signed it.
Never even been in that pharmacy that day.
Arthur whispered:
“Someone forged your signature too.”
And suddenly I understood why Brooke had been so confident this morning.
May you like
She didn't just intend to throw me out.
She intended to make the world believe I had agreed to leave.
