Chapter 13 - Vivian's ConfessionVivian arrived at the police station at 9:15 the following morning.
She wore a dark suit and carried a handbag worth more than the first car I had ever owned. Nothing about her appearance suggested that the previous night had nearly ended with a house burned to its foundations.
She asked to speak with Detective Quinn.
Instead, Quinn arranged for me to be present during part of the interview because Vivian had specifically requested it.
When I entered the room, my stepmother stood.
“Evelyn.”
I sat down without returning her greeting.
“Why were your fingerprints in Mercer's car?”
She glanced at Quinn.
“I gave him documents.”
“What documents?”
“Instructions from your father. He asked me to retrieve something from the house months ago, but I didn't know what it was.”
“Did you know he planned to burn the building?”
Her face crumpled.
“No.”
I didn't believe her.
Quinn placed a photograph on the table. It showed Vivian entering Richard's office on the evening before the fire.
“Your husband transferred money to Mercer's company,” Quinn said. “You signed one of the payment approvals.”
Vivian looked at the photograph for a long time.
“Richard told me the payment was for legal services.”
“Was that true?”
“No.”
Her voice was barely audible.
She opened her handbag and removed a small notebook.
“I kept records of his business dealings for years. He asked me to sign documents because he said it was easier than explaining things to the accountants. I never asked questions.”
“Why are you bringing this to us now?” I asked.
She looked at me.
“Because he told me you were going to die.”
The room became silent.
“When?” Quinn asked.
“Last week. Richard came home after speaking to Mercer. He said Evelyn had found the old evidence and would never stop digging. He said that if she kept interfering, the family would have no choice but to make the problem disappear.”
I stared at her.
“And you didn't warn me?”
Vivian lowered her eyes.
“I was afraid.”
“So was my grandmother.”
The words struck harder than I expected.
Vivian closed her eyes.
“I know.”
She began explaining the transfers. Richard had created a series of companies to move money out of the family trust. Some funds went to real estate investments. Others were used to pay people connected to the warehouse investigation.
After Margaret became suspicious, Richard began arranging for documents to be removed from the family archives.
He told Vivian that the original trust agreement contained outdated clauses that could allow an administrator to freeze his access to the assets.
“If Margaret had taken the records to an independent trustee,” Vivian said, “he would have lost control of everything.”
“So he stole the money to stop her?”
“He told himself he was entitled to it.”
Quinn asked about the fire.
Vivian hesitated before answering.
“The night Arthur died, Richard came home with a cut on his hand and a burned sleeve. He said there had been an accident at the warehouse. When I asked about the blood, he told me Martin had attacked him.”
“Did you believe him?”
“I wanted to.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I had just married him. I didn't know what I know now.”
Quinn asked about the firearm found behind the wall.
Vivian said Richard had once told her that Arthur's gun had disappeared after the fire. Years later, she saw a similar weapon inside a locked case in his office.
“He said it was a family heirloom,” she whispered.
“Did you know he hid it at Birch Hollow?”
“No. I swear I didn't.”
She gave Quinn the notebook.
Inside were dates, account numbers, and handwritten summaries of conversations with Richard. One entry was dated three weeks before Margaret's death.
Richard says the old woman has copied everything. He believes she will leave it to Evelyn.
Below that, another line had been written in a different pen.
He says the house must never be searched.
Quinn turned the page.
A final entry was dated two days before the will reading.
Richard says the new will is signed. Evelyn has been dealt with.
I stared at the words.
“What does that mean?”
Vivian shook her head.
“I don't know.”
But I had a terrible suspicion.
My grandmother had not merely hidden evidence from my father.
She had tried to leave me an inheritance that would expose him, and someone had altered her final instructions before the estate was settled.
When the interview ended, Quinn escorted Vivian from the room.
Before leaving, my stepmother turned back.
“Evelyn, there's one thing you should know.”
“What?”
“Your father didn't choose that house for you because he thought it was worthless.”
May you like
She took a shaky breath.
“He chose it because he believed your grandmother had hidden something there that he could never afford to let anyone find.”
