Chapter 8 - My Mother's SecretMy mother's name was Eleanor Carter.
She died when I was twenty-one.
At least, that's what every document said.
I went to the county archive.
My mother's death certificate was there.
Cause of death:
Cardiac arrest.
No suspicious circumstances.
No investigation.
I requested the original hospital record.
The clerk frowned.
“This file was sealed.”
“By whom?”
“Court order.”
“Why?”
She checked the screen.
“Confidential.”
I showed identification.
“She was my mother.”
The clerk hesitated.
Then she disappeared into the back.
When she returned, she handed me a thin folder.
“There were special restrictions.”
I opened it.
One document stood out.
A handwritten note from a physician.
Patient's daughter has not been informed of second diagnosis.
I froze.
Second diagnosis?
I turned the page.
The next page was missing.
Only a staple remained.
I asked the clerk.
“Where is the rest?”
“That's all we have.”
“No.”
She shrugged.
“I can't help you.”
I left.
In the parking lot, someone was waiting.
An elderly woman stood beside a silver sedan.
She looked at me.
“Rachel?”
I stopped.
“Yes?”
“My name is Margaret.”
“Do I know you?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know me?”
She smiled sadly.
“I knew your mother.”
My heart accelerated.
“You knew Eleanor?”
“Yes.”
“What did she die from?”
Margaret looked around.
“Not what they told you.”
“What happened?”
“She was investigating something.”
“What?”
“Money.”
I almost laughed.
Everything came back to money.
“What kind?”
“Trusts. Shell companies. Stolen identities.”
My blood chilled.
“Melissa?”
Margaret looked surprised.
“You know her?”
“Yes.”
“Then you're already in danger.”
“What did my mother discover?”
Margaret reached into her purse.
She handed me an old key.
“Your mother told me to give you this if anyone ever came asking about her.”
“What does it open?”
“I don't know.”
“Why didn't you give it to me years ago?”
“Because nobody came.”
“And now?”
Margaret looked at me.
“Someone has.”
I stared at the key.
On it was engraved:
B-217
“Where is this?”
“Central Phoenix storage facility.”
“What's inside?”
Margaret's expression changed.
“Your mother never told me.”
I thanked her.
As I turned to leave, she grabbed my arm.
“Rachel.”
I looked back.
“She was afraid of your husband.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“Your mother said Daniel knew more than he admitted.”
I pulled away.
“Why would my mother know Daniel?”
“She didn't.”
Margaret lowered her voice.
“She knew his family.”
That sentence followed me all the way to the storage facility.
Unit B-217 was old.
Dusty.
Locked.
I inserted the key.
The lock clicked.
The door rolled upward.
Inside was one metal box.
No furniture.
No clothes.
Just one box.
I opened it.
Documents.
Photographs.
A USB drive.
And a handwritten letter.
My mother's handwriting.
I unfolded it.
Rachel,
If you're reading this, then I failed to protect you.
My hands trembled.
There are people who have spent years trying to control our family. Daniel is involved, but he is not the one in charge.
I stopped.
Not the one in charge.
I read on.
Melissa is only a middleman. The person you should fear is the man who taught her how to use you.
The final line was underlined twice.
His name is Richard Vale.
I knew that name.
Everyone in Phoenix knew it.
Richard Vale was a billionaire investor.
Philanthropist.
Hospital donor.
Political fundraiser.
A man whose name appeared on buildings.
I opened the USB drive on my laptop.
There was only one folder.
Inside were hundreds of files.
And one video.
I clicked it.
My mother appeared on screen.
Older than I remembered.
Terrified.
She looked directly into the camera.
“Rachel, if you ever see this, do not trust Daniel.”
I stopped breathing.
Then she said:
May you like
“He was never trying to protect you.”
The video ended.
