Chapter 8 - My Mother Was Still AliveMy mother had been dead for eleven years.
Or so I believed.
I had been eighteen when they told me she died in a car accident.
My father never discussed it.
Every photograph of her disappeared from the house within a month.
Every piece of jewelry.
Every letter.
Every personal item.
Gone.
I had assumed grief had broken him.
Now I wondered whether he had been hiding her.
I looked at Marcus.
"My mother is alive?"
He didn't answer.
Sophie did.
"Yes."
I could barely speak.
"Where?"
"In Savannah."
Daniel stared.
"How do you know?"
"Because she sent me there."
My heart pounded.
"Why?"
Sophie looked at me.
"To keep me hidden."
I stepped closer.
"My mother knew about you."
"She knew before you did."
"Why?"
"Because she found out your father had another daughter."
I looked at Marcus.
"You lied to me."
He nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Your father ordered it."
"Why?"
"Because your mother wanted both daughters dead."
The room went silent.
I felt physically sick.
"She wanted us dead?"
Marcus looked at me.
"She believed the only way to protect herself was to eliminate every competing heir."
Sophie whispered:
"She tried."
I stared at her.
"What happened?"
"Rose took me and ran."
"Where?"
"Georgia."
"Then why did everyone think she died?"
Sophie shrugged.
"Your father created the story."
I looked at Daniel.
He seemed as stunned as I was.
"What about Claire?"
She shook her head.
"She knew none of this."
"What about Emma?"
"Your mother knew about Emma too."
My pulse quickened.
"How?"
"Because she is the one who changed the DNA report."
I stared at Sophie.
"Why?"
"To make Emma appear to be a Mercer."
"Then my mother engineered the inheritance."
"Yes."
"But why would she want Emma to inherit?"
Sophie looked directly at Daniel.
"Because Emma can be controlled."
Daniel stiffened.
"What are you saying?"
"Your mother never cared about the child."
I felt cold.
"Then what did she want?"
Sophie answered:
"Access to the trust."
A voice came from the doorway.
"That's enough."
We turned.
A woman stood there.
Elegant.
Silver-haired.
Wearing a cream suit.
My heart stopped.
I knew that face.
Even after eleven years.
My mother.
Alive.
She looked at me.
"Hello, Hannah."
I couldn't move.
Daniel whispered:
"Mrs. Mercer?"
She smiled.
"Daniel."
Then she looked at Sophie.
"You survived."
Sophie stepped backward.
My mother sighed.
"You should have stayed hidden."
I felt tears burning my eyes.
"You lied to me."
She looked at me calmly.
"I protected you."
"You let me believe you were dead."
"That was protection."
"You had me believe I was alone."
"You were never alone."
"Then why?"
She looked at Daniel.
"Because your father left you something dangerous."
"The company?"
"No."
"The trust?"
"No."
"What?"
My mother walked toward me.
"The truth."
She reached into her purse.
Pulled out a small key.
"Your father kept something beneath this house."
I stared.
"What?"
"A room."
"Where?"
"In the old chapel."
"The chapel?"
She nodded.
"There is a door behind the altar."
Marcus whispered:
"Elizabeth, don't."
My mother ignored him.
"Inside is the original ledger."
"What original ledger?"
"The one that proves who owns the empire."
I frowned.
"But we already know."
"No."
She smiled.
"You know who controls the companies."
"You don't know who owns them."
I felt a chill.
"Then who does?"
My mother looked at Daniel.
"Your husband."
I stared at him.
"What?"
She nodded.
"Daniel owns the beneficial interest."
Daniel went pale.
"That can't be."
"Oh, it can."
My mother looked at me.
"Your father built the trust around a hidden condition."
"Which is?"
"Whoever marries you legally becomes the ultimate beneficiary."
I froze.
Daniel stared at me.
My mother smiled.
"You married him."
I looked at the documents in my hand.
Then at Daniel.
Then back at her.
"Then why did the trust transfer to me?"
She laughed.
"Because you haven't read the final page."
Marcus stepped forward.
"Hannah, don't listen to her."
My mother turned.
"You've hidden enough, Marcus."
Then she looked at me.
"The final page says the transfer is temporary."
"Temporary until what?"
"Until you die."
Silence.
My mother's words seemed to echo through the basement.
Daniel's face went white.
Sophie backed away.
I stared at my mother.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"No."
She smiled.
"I expect you to check."
Then she turned toward the door.
I called after her.
"Where are you going?"
She stopped.
"To finish what your father started."
"What?"
She looked over her shoulder.
"Removing the last obstacle."
Then she said one final thing.
"Your husband."
And behind me, Daniel's phone rang.
A police officer spoke on the other end.
"Mr. Brooks?"
Daniel listened.
His face drained of color.
"What?"
He ended the call.
I looked at him.
"What happened?"
He stared at me.
"They found Elliot Whitmore's body."
My stomach tightened.
"And?"
He swallowed.
"The cause of death wasn't an accident."
May you like
He looked at my mother.
"Someone murdered him."
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