Chapter 11 - The Woman in the DarkRebecca's Real Story
The footsteps stopped.
Nathan motioned for us to stay quiet.
Then a woman's voice drifted down the stairs.
“Diane.”
Rebecca.
My body went cold.
She walked into the hallway.
No coat.
No handbag.
No fear.
Just the calm expression of someone returning to a room that belonged to her.
“I told you not to trust anyone.”
I stared.
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“Did you kill Arthur?”
Rebecca looked at Trevor.
Then back at me.
“Yes.”
The room seemed to shrink.
“Why?”
“Because he was going to destroy everything.”
“You killed my husband.”
“He wasn't your husband when I met him.”
I felt my face burn.
“You don't get to rewrite what we had.”
“No.”
She looked almost sad.
“I don't.”
Nathan stepped forward.
“You've lied long enough.”
Rebecca smiled.
“You still blame me.”
“I blame you for Nathan.”
“Nathan was weak.”
“He was a child.”
“He was evidence.”
I looked at Nathan.
“What evidence?”
Rebecca pointed toward the office.
“Arthur found proof that Gregory stole millions.”
“And you?”
“I moved the money.”
“Why?”
“To survive.”
Nathan laughed bitterly.
“You always say that.”
Rebecca ignored him.
“Gregory threatened my son.”
“You abandoned him.”
“I protected him.”
“You faked his death.”
“Yes.”
I looked at Nathan.
“She wanted me to disappear,” he said, “because I knew about the final account.”
“What account?”
Nathan pulled out the USB.
“The trust account.”
I stared.
“Arthur didn't put the house into the trust to protect me.”
“No,” Rebecca said.
“He put it there to hide this.”
Nathan plugged the drive into my laptop.
A folder appeared.
NATHAN MILLER
Inside were financial records.
Thousands of transactions.
The final transfer was dated two days before Arthur died.
$3.2 million.
Destination:
Miller Family Events LLC
I stopped breathing.
“What?”
Nathan turned toward me.
“Your son didn't create the company.”
Trevor looked confused.
“What?”
Nathan continued.
“Rebecca did.”
Rebecca smiled faintly.
“Trevor was simply the face.”
I turned toward Trevor.
He looked devastated.
“Mom, I didn't know.”
“I believe you.”
That surprised him.
I looked at Rebecca.
“You used Sloan.”
“Yes.”
“And Sloan used Trevor.”
“Yes.”
“And they used me.”
Rebecca didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
Then Nathan clicked another file.
A list of bank accounts appeared.
One belonged to Sloan.
One belonged to Gregory.
One belonged to Vincent.
And one belonged to me.
I stared.
“What is that?”
“That account was opened in your name fourteen years ago.”
“I never opened it.”
“No.”
Rebecca looked at me.
“Arthur did.”
My heart stopped.
“Why?”
“To move money without your knowledge.”
I shook my head.
“That can't be true.”
“He was protecting you.”
“By stealing from me?”
“No.”
Rebecca pointed at the screen.
“The money was never yours.”
“What?”
“It belonged to the company.”
“And the house?”
“Was collateral.”
“For what?”
Rebecca looked at me.
“For the night your husband died.”
I didn't understand.
Then Nathan opened the final video file.
Arthur appeared on screen.
Alive.
Tired.
He looked directly at the camera.
“If you're seeing this, Diane, then Rebecca has probably returned.”
I began crying.
Arthur continued.
“There is something I never told you.”
He paused.
“I didn't die unexpectedly.”
I covered my mouth.
“I allowed them to believe I did.”
The video stopped.
I stared.
Trevor whispered:
“Dad staged his own death?”
Nathan shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at the screen.
“Someone changed the ending.”
I turned toward Rebecca.
She was already backing toward the door.
“Rebecca.”
She stopped.
“Who changed it?”
She smiled.
Then she said:
May you like
“Ask Sloan.”
And disappeared into the darkness.
