PART 4 — THE NIGHT MY GRANDMOTHER DIED
The words hung in the room like smoke.
Because I was there.
Julian stared at his mother as though he no longer recognized her.
Thomas went completely still.
Even the officer by the door shifted his stance.
I looked at Eleanor.
“Where?”
Her lips parted.
No sound came out.
“Where were you?”
She shook her head.
“Sloan, this isn’t what you think.”
“Then tell me what it is.”
“I can’t.”
“You just told us you were there the night my grandmother died.”
“I said I was there. I didn’t say I killed her.”
My heart pounded.
“You knew something happened.”
Eleanor looked toward Thomas.
That was enough.
Thomas’s expression changed.
“You saw Richard.”
Eleanor closed her eyes.
Julian whispered, “Mom?”
She didn’t answer.
Thomas stepped closer.
“You saw him that night, didn’t you?”
Eleanor snapped, “You don’t know anything.”
“I know Richard called me at 12:16 a.m.”
The room went silent again.
I turned to Thomas.
“What?”
He looked at me.
“Your grandmother died at 12:42.”
I felt cold.
“Richard called you twenty-six minutes before?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
Thomas looked at Eleanor.
“He told me Evelyn had finally made a mistake.”
My stomach twisted.
“What mistake?”
“He wouldn’t say.”
Thomas paused.
“Then he told me to disappear.”
Julian frowned.
“Why?”
“Because I had copies of the financial records.”
“And you listened?”
“I had a son.”
His eyes moved to Julian.
Julian flinched.
Thomas’s voice softened.
“I had already received threats. Richard knew about you. He knew about Eleanor. He knew exactly what mattered to me.”
Eleanor looked away.
Julian’s expression crumpled.
“You left because of me?”
Thomas shook his head.
“I disappeared because I thought it would keep you alive.”
Julian stared at him.
“And my mother knew?”
Thomas didn’t answer.
Eleanor did.
“Yes.”
Julian laughed once.
A broken sound.
“You both decided my entire life for me.”
“Julian—”
“No.”
He backed away.
“You told me my father was dead.”
“I was protecting you.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
“No. Because it’s convenient.”
Eleanor’s face hardened.
“Do you think I wanted this life?”
Julian stared at her.
“What life?”
She gestured around the room.
“This. Cleaning up Richard’s messes. Hiding money. Watching everyone around me pretend they were innocent.”
Darcy’s eyes sharpened.
“Hiding money where?”
Eleanor froze.
Wrong sentence.
Again.
Darcy stepped closer.
“Hiding money where, Eleanor?”
“I misspoke.”
“No, you didn’t.”
Darcy looked at the officer.
“That sounded very specific.”
The officer nodded.
“Eleanor Mercer, I’m going to advise you not to answer any further questions without counsel.”
For once, Eleanor obeyed.
I didn’t.
“Not yet.”
Darcy looked at me.
“Sloan.”
“She knows what happened.”
“I know.”
“I need to hear it.”
Darcy studied my face.
Then she stepped back.
I looked at Eleanor.
“Tell me about that night.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“No.”
“Tell me.”
“No.”
“Then I read every page in that box, every transaction, every record, and I hand everything to investigators without ever giving you the chance to explain.”
Her jaw tightened.
“You’d do that anyway.”
“Probably.”
That startled her.
“But if there is one thing in your life that wasn’t a lie, this is your chance to prove it.”
Julian looked at her.
“Mom.”
She closed her eyes.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she sat down.
The transformation was strange.
For years, Eleanor had seemed indestructible.
Perfect hair.
Perfect posture.
Perfect smile.
Now she looked old.
Not physically.
Tired in a way I’d never seen.
“Your grandmother called me that evening.”
My throat tightened.
“What time?”
“Around nine.”
“Why?”
“She said she’d discovered a transfer.”
Thomas looked up.
“Which transfer?”
“The Belize account.”
His face changed.
Darcy immediately grabbed a notepad.
“Go on.”
Eleanor stared at the floor.
“Richard had been using it for years. Evelyn thought she’d shut it down.”
“But she hadn’t,” Thomas said.
“No.”
“How much?”
Eleanor swallowed.
“Almost eleven million.”
Julian stared at her.
“Eleven million dollars?”
“Not all at once.”
Darcy asked, “Whose money?”
“Whitmore Development. Trust assets. Private accounts. It was complicated.”
“No,” Darcy said. “The mechanism may be complicated. Theft isn’t.”
Eleanor’s eyes flashed.
“You think I don’t know that?”
“Then tell us what happened.”
Eleanor looked at me.
“Your grandmother asked me to come to the house.”
“The old estate?”
“Yes.”
“Why you?”
“Because she still thought I might help her.”
“Would you?”
Eleanor’s mouth tightened.
“I don’t know.”
That hurt more than I expected.
“You worked for her for twelve years.”
“Your grandmother wasn’t easy.”
“Neither are most people worth knowing.”
Eleanor almost smiled.
Then it vanished.
“I arrived around ten.”
“Was Richard there?”
“Not yet.”
“Thomas?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“Evelyn was angry. She had documents spread across the dining table. Bank statements. Transfer orders. Copies of signatures.”
Darcy asked, “Forged signatures?”
“Some.”
My stomach dropped.
The pattern went back decades.
“She said Richard had started moving assets again,” Eleanor continued. “She said she was going to the authorities in the morning.”
Thomas whispered, “God.”
I looked at him.
“You didn’t know?”
“No.”
Eleanor continued.
“She wanted me to testify.”
“Against Richard?”
“Yes.”
“And you refused.”
She didn’t answer.
I didn’t need one.
“Why?”
“Because Richard knew about Julian.”
Julian’s head snapped toward her.
“What about me?”
Eleanor stared at him.
“Everything.”
“What does that mean?”
“He knew Thomas was your father. He knew where we lived. Where you went to school. He knew who your friends were.”
Julian’s face drained of color.
“So you protected Richard because you were afraid he’d hurt me?”
“I protected you because I knew he could.”
Thomas stepped forward.
“You should have called me.”
Eleanor laughed bitterly.
“Where? You were gone.”
“You knew how to reach me.”
“No. I knew how to reach intermediaries. That wasn’t the same thing.”
Thomas didn’t answer.
I looked at Eleanor.
“Then Richard arrived.”
She closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He had a key.”
That stopped me.
“My grandmother gave him one?”
“No.”
“Then where did he get it?”
Eleanor looked at me.
“I did.”
My stomach twisted.
“You gave him a key.”
“Years earlier.”
“Why?”
“Because I was stupid.”
Thomas muttered, “That’s one word for it.”
Eleanor ignored him.
“Richard walked in around eleven fifteen.”
“What did he say?”
“Nothing at first.”
She looked somewhere far away.
“He just stood there.”
I could see the memory changing her.
“Evelyn told him it was over. She said she had everything.”
“Everything meaning the ledger?”
“That and more.”
Darcy asked, “What more?”
“The final account.”
My heartbeat jumped.
“The account Grandma warned Thomas not to mention?”
Eleanor nodded slowly.
Thomas stared at her.
“You know what it is.”
“Yes.”
“What?”
She looked at me.
“A contingency trust.”
I frowned.
“Another trust?”
“Not exactly.”
Darcy leaned forward.
“Explain.”
“Your grandfather knew Richard couldn’t be trusted. Before he died, he created an emergency structure. If Whitmore Development was ever compromised by fraud, controlling assets could be transferred automatically into a protected account.”
“Controlled by whom?”
Eleanor looked at me.
“You.”
I almost laughed.
“I was a child.”
“Not active control. Future beneficiary control. The account couldn’t be accessed until specific conditions were met.”
“What conditions?”
“Your grandmother’s death. Your thirtieth birthday. And verification from an independent trustee.”
Darcy asked, “How much is in it?”
Eleanor looked at the floor.
“Today?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“Estimate.”
“Maybe forty-two million.”
Nobody spoke.
I stared at her.
“Forty-two?”
Julian whispered, “Jesus.”
I looked at him.
He immediately looked ashamed.
Eleanor continued.
“Richard wanted access.”
“Of course he did.”
“But he couldn’t get it without destroying the contingency structure.”
“How?”
“By proving Evelyn acted fraudulently when she established it.”
Darcy frowned.
“Was there any basis for that?”
“No.”
“So he needed fabricated evidence.”
“Yes.”
Thomas looked at Eleanor.
“And you helped him.”
Her silence was the answer.
Julian whispered, “Mom.”
“I didn’t understand how far he’d go.”
Thomas laughed without humor.
“You always say that after you understand exactly how far he went.”
Eleanor stood.
“I made mistakes.”
“Mistakes?” Thomas snapped. “You erased records. You moved money. You lied to your son. You lied to Sloan.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“YES!”
The shout filled the room.
Then Eleanor began crying again.
Not delicately.
She pressed both hands against her face.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I know.”
No one spoke.
Finally, I asked, “What happened after Richard arrived?”
Eleanor lowered her hands.
“Evelyn told him she was going to expose everything.”
“And?”
“Richard laughed.”
My skin prickled.
“He said she wouldn’t make it to morning.”
The officer by the door looked sharply at her.
Darcy’s pen stopped moving.
I felt my pulse in my throat.
“What did Grandma say?”
“She told him to leave.”
“Did he?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
Eleanor looked at Thomas.
Then at me.
“They argued.”
“About money?”
“At first.”
“Then?”
“About Thomas.”
Thomas frowned.
“Me?”
“Evelyn told Richard you’d contacted her.”
His face changed.
“He didn’t know?”
“No.”
“That explains the call.”
Eleanor nodded.
“Richard panicked.”
“What did he do?”
“He grabbed Evelyn.”
My body went cold.
“How?”
“By the arm.”
I heard Julian breathe in sharply.
“She pulled away.”
Eleanor’s voice shook.
“Then she slapped him.”
For some reason, that detail almost made me smile.
It sounded exactly like my grandmother.
Then Eleanor continued.
“Richard pushed her.”
The smile disappeared.
“Hard?”
“Yes.”
“Did she fall?”
“She hit the edge of the table.”
My stomach dropped.
“Her head?”
“No. Her side.”
“What happened next?”
“She couldn’t breathe properly.”
Thomas whispered, “Evelyn had a heart condition.”
Eleanor nodded.
“Richard knew.”
I stared at her.
“Did he call an ambulance?”
“No.”
Everything inside me went still.
“Did you?”
Eleanor began shaking.
“I tried.”
“Did you?”
“Richard took my phone.”
My voice cracked.
“Then what?”
“He said if either of us called anyone, Julian would be the next person who needed an ambulance.”
Julian shut his eyes.
I looked at Eleanor.
“So you stood there?”
Tears streamed down her face.
“I was terrified.”
“You stood there while my grandmother was dying?”
“I didn’t know she was dying.”
“She couldn’t breathe.”
“I know.”
“You knew she had a heart condition.”
“I know.”
“You could have left.”
“Richard blocked the door.”
“You could have screamed.”
“I was scared.”
“You could have done something!”
“I KNOW!”
Her voice broke.
Then the room became silent.
I realized I was crying.
I hadn’t noticed.
Not until Darcy touched my arm.
Eleanor whispered, “She sat down.”
I wiped my face.
“What?”
“Your grandmother sat in the chair by the window.”
“Was she conscious?”
“Yes.”
“Did she say anything?”
Eleanor looked directly at me.
“Your name.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“What?”
“She said your name.”
My knees felt weak.
“What exactly did she say?”
Eleanor’s lips trembled.
“She said, ‘Sloan will finish this.'”
I closed my eyes.
The room disappeared for a moment.
My grandmother.
Alone.
Frightened.
Still thinking about me.
Then Thomas spoke.
“What did Richard do?”
Eleanor wiped her face.
“He searched the house.”
“For the ledger?”
“Yes.”
“Did he find it?”
“No.”
“The final account documents?”
“No.”
“What did he find?”
Eleanor hesitated.
I saw it.
Darcy did too.
“What did he find, Eleanor?”
She looked toward the metal box.
“A copy of Evelyn’s revised will.”
My stomach tightened.
“What was in it?”
“Something Richard didn’t expect.”
“What?”
Eleanor looked at Thomas.
Then at Julian.
Then at me.
“She had removed Richard entirely.”
That didn’t surprise me.
“But she added someone.”
Thomas’s expression changed.
“Who?”
Eleanor stared at him.
“You.”
Julian froze.
Thomas didn’t move.
“What?”
“Your grandmother planned to leave Thomas a significant share of voting rights in Whitmore Development.”
Thomas looked genuinely shocked.
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because she never told me.”
“She was going to.”
“When?”
“The next morning.”
The morning she never reached.
I looked at Thomas.
“Why would she do that?”
He looked dazed.
“I don’t know.”
Eleanor answered for him.
“Because she trusted him more than Richard.”
Then another thought hit me.
“And if Thomas controlled part of the company, Richard couldn’t seize everything.”
“Correct.”
Darcy looked at Eleanor.
“Which gave Richard another motive.”
Eleanor said nothing.
I asked the question I had been afraid to ask.
“Did Richard kill her?”
Eleanor stared at me.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s not enough.”
“I don’t know if the push killed her.”
“Did he stop you from getting help?”
“Yes.”
“Did he know she needed help?”
“Yes.”
“Did he leave before she died?”
Eleanor closed her eyes.
“No.”
The officer stepped forward.
“Ms. Mercer, I’m going to stop this conversation here.”
But Eleanor suddenly said, “She was still alive when he left the room.”
We all froze.
I stared at her.
“What?”
Eleanor looked terrified.
“He went upstairs.”
“Why?”
“To search.”
“And you were alone with Grandma?”
“Yes.”
“Then you could have called.”
“He took my phone.”
“You could have left.”
“The front door was locked from inside.”
“Use another door.”
“He had disabled the alarm and locked the rear doors.”
Thomas stared at her.
“You knew the house.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“What?”
“You worked there twelve years.”
He stepped closer.
“You knew the service corridor.”
Eleanor’s face changed.
“There was an exterior door behind the pantry.”
She said nothing.
“You could have used it.”
“I…”
“You could have left.”
She started shaking.
“Why didn’t you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of Richard?”
“Yes.”
Thomas stared at her.
“Or of what Evelyn would tell the police?”
Eleanor stopped breathing.
There.
Another crack.
I looked between them.
“What are you talking about?”
Thomas didn’t take his eyes off Eleanor.
“She wasn’t only afraid of Richard.”
Eleanor whispered, “Stop.”
“She was afraid Evelyn would expose her too.”
“Thomas.”
“You had your own stolen money.”
“No.”
“You did.”
“STOP.”
Julian stared at his mother.
“Is that true?”
Eleanor backed away.
Thomas looked at me.
“Richard directed many transfers, but not all of them.”
My stomach turned.
“Eleanor stole independently?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
Thomas looked at her.
“Tell them.”
“No.”
“Tell your son.”
Eleanor’s face collapsed.
“Three million.”
Julian stared.
“Three million dollars?”
“Over years.”
“You stole three million dollars?”
“I was going to repay it.”
He laughed bitterly.
“With what?”
She didn’t answer.
Then I understood.
“The Europe trip.”
Everyone looked at me.
I stared at Eleanor.
“The twenty-eight thousand dollars.”
She said nothing.
“It wasn’t just a vacation.”
Julian frowned.
“What?”
I looked at him.
“She needed money.”
Eleanor whispered, “No.”
“That’s why she was so desperate.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because…”
She stopped.
Darcy stepped forward.
“Because what?”
Eleanor lowered her head.
“Because I was leaving.”
Julian stared at her.
“Leaving where?”
“Europe.”
“For six weeks?”
“No.”
My stomach tightened.
“For how long?”
She looked at Julian.
“Forever.”
He went pale.
“What?”
“The tour was a cover.”
“Mom…”
“I was going to disappear.”
His face crumpled.
“You were going to leave me?”
Eleanor closed her eyes.
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“You always have a choice.”
He repeated the same words from earlier, but this time there was no anger.
Only pain.
“Why now?”
Darcy answered before Eleanor could.
“Because she knew someone was getting close.”
Eleanor looked at her.
Darcy continued.
“Was it Vanessa?”
Silence.
“Was Vanessa investigating you?”
Julian stared.
“What?”
I looked at him.
“You really didn’t know.”
He shook his head.
Darcy turned to Eleanor.
“Vanessa wasn’t just Julian’s affair partner, was she?”
Eleanor said nothing.
I felt another piece move into place.
“Who is she?”
Thomas suddenly spoke.
“Vanessa Cole isn’t her real name.”
I turned.
“You know her?”
“I know the name.”
“Then who is she?”
He hesitated.
“Her real name is Vanessa Vale.”
Julian stared at him.
“Vale?”
Thomas’s face tightened.
“My daughter.”
The room exploded.
“What?” Julian whispered.
Thomas looked at him.
“Your half-sister.”
Julian backed into the desk.
“No.”
I couldn’t even process it.
Vanessa.
The woman Julian had been sleeping with.
His half-sister?
Thomas immediately saw where our thoughts went.
“No. No. She knew who he was.”
Julian looked sick.
“She knew?”
“She wasn’t romantically involved with you.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“She was investigating you.”
Julian stared.
“The hotel?”
“Staged.”
“The dinners?”
“Work.”
“The messages?”
“Part of the cover.”
Julian’s face changed from horror to disbelief.
“You expect me to believe that?”
Thomas looked at me.
“Vanessa works as a forensic investigator.”
Darcy’s eyebrows rose.
“For whom?”
“Private clients. Financial crimes. Corporate fraud.”
I stared at him.
“Why was she investigating Julian?”
“She wasn’t.”
“Then who?”
Thomas looked directly at Eleanor.
“My daughter has spent six years investigating her.”
Eleanor sat down hard.
Julian stared at his mother.
“Why?”
Thomas’s expression went cold.
“Because Vanessa found evidence linking Eleanor to your grandmother’s death.”
Nobody spoke.
I felt the room tilt.
“What evidence?”
Thomas reached into his coat again.
The officer stopped him.
He nodded.
“Inside pocket. Phone.”
The officer retrieved it.
Thomas unlocked the screen.
Then he opened a file.
An audio recording.
My heart started pounding.
“What is that?”
“A voicemail.”
“From who?”
Thomas looked at Eleanor.
“Your grandmother.”
Everything stopped.
“When?”
“The night she died.”
My knees nearly gave out.
“She called you?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
“Vanessa’s mother.”
Julian frowned.
Thomas’s voice softened.
“Years before Eleanor and I were together, I was married.”
Eleanor looked away.
“My wife died when Vanessa was eleven.”
Julian looked completely lost.
“What does this have to do with Evelyn?”
“My wife worked for your grandmother too.”
“Who was she?”
“Maria Vale.”
I knew the name.
Barely.
My grandmother had mentioned Maria once.
Her bookkeeper.
A woman she trusted.
Thomas continued.
“Maria kept an old answering service active after she became ill. Evelyn knew the number.”
Darcy asked, “And she called it the night she died?”
“At 11:58.”
My chest tightened.
“Before she died.”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
Thomas looked at me.
“I think you should hear it yourself.”
He pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then a voice.
Weak.
Breathless.
My grandmother.
“Sloan…”
My hand flew to my mouth.
I hadn’t heard her voice in years.
The recording crackled.
“If anyone finds this…”
A breath.
“Richard is here.”
Another breath.
“Eleanor is here too.”
Eleanor began shaking.
Then Grandma said:
“Richard pushed me.”
My vision blurred.
“But Eleanor…”
The recording cut with static.
Then returned.
“…wouldn’t let me leave.”
Everyone froze.
I looked at Eleanor.
She whispered, “No.”
The recording continued.
“She took the key.”
I turned slowly.
“What key?”
Eleanor’s face went white.
Grandma’s voice crackled again.
“The medicine…”
My stomach dropped.
Thomas shut his eyes.
“The medicine?”
Grandma continued.
“Eleanor has it.”
Julian stared at his mother.
“No.”
Eleanor began crying.
“No, no, no.”
The recording ended with one final sentence.
“If I don’t survive this, tell Sloan…”
Static.
Then:
“…Eleanor chose.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Julian looked at his mother.
“What did you choose?”
She couldn’t speak.
He stepped closer.
“WHAT DID YOU CHOOSE?”
Eleanor covered her face.
Thomas’s voice shook with rage.
“Evelyn carried heart medication.”
I stared at Eleanor.
“You had it.”
“No.”
“The recording says you did.”
“She gave it to me earlier.”
“Why?”
“Because her hands were shaking.”
“So you had the medicine.”
“Yes.”
“And when she needed it?”
Eleanor sobbed.
I stepped closer.
“When she needed it, what did you do?”
She looked up at me.
For the first time since I’d known her, there was no defense left.
No arrogance.
No excuse.
Only terror.
“Richard told me if I gave it to her, he’d tell the police about the money I stole.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“You chose yourself.”
She shook her head wildly.
“I was scared.”
“You chose yourself.”
“Sloan—”
“My grandmother was dying, and you chose yourself.”
“I thought she would recover.”
“You chose yourself!”
The officers moved forward.
Eleanor collapsed into the chair.
“I’M SORRY!”
Julian turned away.
Thomas looked like he might break.
Darcy took my hand.
I barely felt it.
Then the officer spoke.
“Eleanor Mercer, based on what we’ve heard, I’m going to need you to come with us.”
She looked up.
“What?”
“We’ll sort the legal specifics properly, but you’re not leaving on a plane.”
For the first time, Eleanor seemed to understand.
Europe was gone.
The money was gone.
The life she had been planning to escape into was gone.
An officer approached her.
She looked at Julian.
“Help me.”
He didn’t move.
“Julian.”
Nothing.
“I’m your mother.”
He looked at her.
Tears filled his eyes.
“And she was Sloan’s grandmother.”
Eleanor’s face broke.
The officer led her from the room.
I stood completely still until her footsteps disappeared.
Then Julian sat down.
He looked destroyed.
Thomas stood several feet away.
Neither knew what to say.
Finally, Julian whispered, “Did you know?”
Thomas looked at him.
“About Eleanor withholding the medication?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Would you tell me if you did?”
Thomas flinched.
“I’ve lied about many things. Not that.”
Julian rubbed his face.
I looked at him.
Strangely, I didn’t hate him in that moment.
I hated what he’d done.
I hated the lies.
The manipulation.
The forged signature.
The way he’d treated me.
But hatred required more energy than I had left.
Mostly, I felt tired.
Julian looked at me.
“Sloan.”
I didn’t answer.
“I’m sorry.”
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because the words were so small.
Seven years.
A staged meeting.
Money.
Lies.
Betrayal.
And all he had was two words.
“I know that doesn’t fix anything,” he said.
“No.”
“I really did love you.”
“Maybe.”
His eyes widened.
“You believe me?”
“I believe you probably convinced yourself you did.”
He looked down.
“But love that requires someone to stay useful isn’t love.”
He said nothing.
I looked at Darcy.
“What happens now?”
“Now we secure everything.”
“The trusts?”
“Yes.”
“The accounts?”
“Yes.”
“The house?”
“Yes.”
“And Julian?”
Darcy looked at him.
“That’s ultimately your decision legally and personally, within the proper process.”
Julian closed his eyes.
I already knew.
There was nothing left to decide.
Then Thomas’s phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
“Vanessa.”
I immediately looked up.
“Answer.”
He did.
“Vanessa?”
Her voice was loud enough that I could hear panic.
“Dad, where are you?”
“At Sloan’s.”
“Get out.”
Thomas frowned.
“What?”
“Get Sloan out of that house right now.”
My heart jumped.
“Why?”
Thomas put the call on speaker.
Vanessa’s voice shook.
“I found the missing transfer logs.”
Darcy stepped closer.
“What logs?”
“The ones tied to the final account.”
“What did you find?”
A pause.
Then Vanessa said:
“Richard activated a contingency clause yesterday.”
My stomach dropped.
“What does that mean?”
Darcy asked.
Vanessa answered.
“It means if Sloan challenges the trust before the independent trustee verifies her identity, temporary control transfers to the alternate executor.”
Thomas went pale.
“Richard.”
“No.”
Vanessa’s voice became quieter.
“That’s the problem.”
Darcy frowned.
“Then who?”
Vanessa took a breath.
“The alternate executor isn’t Richard.”
My entire body went cold.
“Who is it?”
Vanessa said one name.
“Julian.”
Everyone turned.
Julian stared at the phone.
“What?”
I looked at him.
“No.”
He stood.
“I swear I didn’t know.”
Darcy’s expression hardened.
“How could you be named executor without knowing?”
“I don’t know.”
Vanessa interrupted.
“Because the document naming him was filed when he was seventeen.”
Thomas went white.
Seventeen.
Years before Julian met me.
Years before my grandmother died.
Years before Eleanor supposedly sent him to find me.
I looked at Thomas.
“What does that mean?”
He stared at Julian.
Then slowly at me.
“It means Evelyn knew about Julian long before Eleanor thought she did.”
My heart pounded.
Darcy whispered, “And if Evelyn named him…”
Thomas finished the sentence.
“…then she had a reason.”
Julian looked terrified.
“What reason?”
Nobody answered.
Then Vanessa spoke again.
“There is one more thing.”
“What?”
“The executor document includes a sealed attachment.”
“Can you open it?”
“I already did.”
Silence.
“What does it say?”
Vanessa hesitated.
Then:
“It says Julian Mercer is not Eleanor Mercer’s legal son.”
Julian stopped breathing.
Thomas stared.
“What?”
Vanessa continued.
“The birth certificate Eleanor used is fraudulent.”
Thomas’s face emptied.
I looked at him.
“If he’s not Eleanor’s legal son…”
Vanessa whispered:
“Then we need to find out who his biological mother actually was.”
Julian sat down.
Nobody moved.
Then Thomas said something so quietly I almost missed it.
“I know who she was.”
Julian looked up.
Thomas’s eyes filled with tears.
“I’ve always known.”
And suddenly, every secret we’d uncovered that day looked small compared with the one Thomas had been hiding from his own son for thirty-four years.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Here is PART 5 — FINAL PART
