Chapter 6: The Other Mother
“She knows who your son really is.””
I read the message twice.
Then a third time.
My eyes went to the photograph.
Daniel stood in the Mercer house with the woman who looked enough like me to fool a camera.
They were not touching.
They didn't need to.
Something about the way Daniel was looking at her made my skin crawl.
Not love.
Not anger.
Recognition.
Familiarity.
The kind that comes from a secret repeated so many times it stops feeling like a secret.
I looked at Martin.
“Find her.””
“I've been trying.””
“No.””
I handed him my phone.
“You find her now.””
Evelyn stepped closer.
“Roz, we don't know that message is real.””
I turned toward her.
“Then let's assume it's a lie.””
She nodded.
“What would the lie be trying to make you do?””
“Panic.””
“Exactly.””
I looked back at the screen.
“And what would the truth make me do?””
“Investigate.””
I handed the phone back to Martin.
“Then investigate.””
He opened the laptop.
“There's a problem.””
“What?””
“The message wasn't sent from a phone.””
“Then from what?””
“A secure messaging service.””
“Can you trace it?””
“Not directly.””
“Can you trace where the image came from?””
He hesitated.
“Yes.””
I waited.
“The original image was uploaded from a device registered to Halston Group.””
My stomach tightened.
“When?””
“Seven minutes ago.””
“Who has access?””
“Several people.””
“Daniel?””
“Among them.””
I looked at Evelyn.
“He's watching us.””
She nodded.
“Maybe.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because Daniel would want me to think he was watching me.””
I looked at Martin.
“Who else has executive access?””
He listed six names.
Daniel.
Robert.
Martin himself.
The CFO.
The legal director.
And—
I stopped him.
“Say that last one again.””
“Caroline Mercer.””
I frowned.
“Who?””
“Daniel's aunt.””
“Robert's sister?””
“Yes.””
“I've never met her.””
“You wouldn't have.””
“Why?””
“She doesn't work at Halston.””
“Then why does she have executive access?””
Martin's expression tightened.
“Because she's the trustee overseeing the Mercer Family Trust.””
Evelyn walked to the window.
“That's the missing piece.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
“Robert controls the company.””
“Caroline controls the trust.””
“And Daniel?””
Martin looked up from the screen.
“Apparently controls both.””
I thought about the payment records.
Northbridge.
Mercer Family Holdings.
Wellington Private.
The trust.
The missing girl.
The fake digital trail.
My hands began to shake.
Not from fear this time.
From anger.
“Why would they need me out of the company?””
Martin answered immediately.
“Because you're dangerous.””
“I've heard that before.””
“No.””
He turned the laptop toward me.
“Before maternity leave, you were reviewing operational fraud.””
“I was reviewing vendor payments.””
“And your review was moving toward the trust.””
I stared at the screen.
“What trust?””
“The Mercer Family Trust.””
I frowned.
“I didn't know that.””
“You didn't know because your access was cut off before you got there.””
“When?””
“The day before you took maternity leave.””
I remembered.
Daniel had come into my office late in the afternoon.
He'd stood beside my desk.
“Take the time off,” he'd said.
I'd laughed.
“I have a report due Friday.””
“You're having a baby.””
“I can write a report and have a baby.””
He hadn't laughed.
“Stop working, Roz.””
I'd thought he was being protective.
Now I wondered whether he'd been terrified.
“What did I find?””
Martin scrolled.
“Four transfers from Halston into Northbridge.””
“I know about the first.””
“There were three more.””
I leaned closer.
Same vendor.
Same payment description.
Different dates.
$480,000.
$650,000.
$275,000.
$900,000.
Total:
$2.305 million.
All routed through Northbridge.
“Who approved them?””
Martin highlighted the names.
Robert.
Daniel.
Caroline.
My mouth went dry.
“Three people.””
“All family.””
“And the money?””
“We traced one portion.””
“To the trust?””
Martin nodded.
“Exactly.””
I stared at him.
“Why would a company move over two million dollars into a private family trust?””
“It wasn't supposed to look like a transfer.””
“What did it look like?””
“Consulting expenses.””
“So they were laundering money.””
Martin winced.
“I'd call it fraudulent disbursement.””
I gave him a look.
He sighed.
“Yes.””
My son made a soft noise.
I went to him.
He was awake, staring at the ceiling.
I lifted him into my arms.
For a moment, everything else disappeared.
His tiny hand closed around my finger.
I remembered Daniel holding him on the day we left the hospital.
He had kissed our son's forehead.
Then whispered, “He's perfect.””
I'd never heard anything strange in his voice.
Never.
Until now.
Martin said, “Roz.””
I looked up.
“We found Elena.””
My entire body went still.
“Where?””
“A safe apartment registered under another name.””
“Which name?””
He showed me the screen.
Elena Clarke.
“Is she there?””
“We think so.””
“Then call her.””
“I can't.””
“Why?””
“She called me.””
I stared at him.
“When?””
“Three minutes ago.””
“What did she say?””
He looked at Evelyn.
Then back at me.
“She said she wouldn't speak to me.””
“Why?””
“She wants to speak to you.””
My heart began pounding.
“Call her.””
Martin shook his head.
“She said one condition.””
“What?””
“You go alone.””
“No.””
Evelyn answered immediately.
“Absolutely not.””
I understood.
“She thinks someone is listening.””
Martin nodded.
“She said Daniel told her he'd kill her if she spoke to me.””
The room fell silent.
I tightened my hold on my son.
“And she believes him?””
“She said he's threatened her before.””
“Then she's afraid.””
“Yes.””
I looked at the photograph.
The woman beside Daniel.
The woman who looked like me.
“She isn't my enemy.””
“No,” Evelyn said.
“She might be my witness.””
Martin closed the laptop.
“I can arrange a secure meeting.””
“Where?””
“An abandoned church outside the city.””
Evelyn stared at him.
“Too obvious.””
“Then where?””
I thought.
A public place.
Somewhere with cameras.
Somewhere crowded.
Somewhere Daniel wouldn't risk approaching.
“The train station.””
Martin frowned.
“Too many variables.””
“Exactly.””
Three hours later, I sat in a quiet café inside the station.
My son was with Evelyn in a nearby hotel.
Martin watched from somewhere I couldn't see.
I wore a dark coat.
A scarf.
Nothing distinctive.
I hadn't told anyone exactly where I'd sit.
I kept my hands around a cup of untouched coffee.
At 2:14 p.m., a woman entered.
Dark hair.
Gray coat.
She stopped just inside the café.
Her eyes moved across the room.
Then landed on me.
Even from twenty feet away, I knew.
Elena.
She walked toward my table.
She looked younger than I'd expected.
Maybe thirty.
There was a faint scar beneath her left eyebrow.
The one from the photograph.
She sat down.
Neither of us spoke.
Then she said, “You're Roz.””
“Yes.””
“You look tired.””
I almost laughed.
“So do you.””
She smiled faintly.
“You have his eyes.””
“Daniel?””
“No.””
She looked toward the window.
“Marcus.””
I felt my breath catch.
“You knew my husband's brother?””
“I knew who he was.””
“How?””
She looked directly at me.
“He was my father.””
I stared at her.
“My father was told I died.””
I didn't understand.
“What?””
Elena's fingers tightened around her cup.
“My mother ran after Marcus was killed. She took me with her. Robert found us six months later.””
“Found you?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did you disappear again?””
“He wanted the trust.””
“Robert?””
She nodded.
“The trust had been created for me.””
“I know.””
“You don't know the half of it.””
She leaned closer.
“Marcus didn't leave me money because he loved me.””
I frowned.
“Then why?””
“Because he knew his family.””
I waited.
“He knew what they were doing.””
I felt the air leave my lungs.
“What were they doing?””
“Stealing.””
“From Halston?””
“From everyone.””
She reached inside her coat.
She took out an old envelope.
“Marcus found the first scheme.””
I stared at it.
“What scheme?””
“He told my mother to disappear because he believed Robert would kill him.””
“Did he?””
“Yes.””
I shook my head.
“Marcus died in an accident.””
Elena laughed bitterly.
“That's what they told everyone.””
“Wasn't it?””
“No.””
“Then what happened?””
She looked around the café.
“He was poisoned.””
My stomach turned.
“By whom?””
“I don't know.””
“Then how can you be sure?””
“Because he told me.””
I stared at her.
“Elena, you said he died eleven years ago.””
“He did.””
“Then how could he tell you?””
She reached into her bag.
She placed a small digital recorder on the table.
“Because he left a message.””
My hands went cold.
“Where did you get that?””
“He hid it in my mother's house.””
“Why show it to me?””
“Because you're next.””
The words barely left her mouth before my phone vibrated.
One message.
Unknown number.
DON'T TRUST THE GIRL.
Then another.
I looked up.
Elena had seen my face.
“What?””
I turned the screen toward her.
She didn't look surprised.
Instead, she whispered, “They found us.””
A chair scraped behind me.
A man stood near the entrance.
Black coat.
Baseball cap.
Looking directly at our table.
Elena's face drained of color.
“Get up.””
“Where?””
“Don't run.””
“Why?””
“Because that's what they want.””
The man started walking toward us.
Elena gripped my wrist.
“There is a service corridor behind the kitchen.””
“Then let's go.””
She shook her head.
“You go.””
“What?””
“They're here for me.””
I stared at her.
“No.””
“Roz, listen to me.””
She pushed the envelope into my hand.
“Do not let Daniel see this.””
The man was getting closer.
Elena leaned toward me.
“And whatever happens, don't let them take your son.””
I stood.
“Come with me.””
She shook her head.
“I can't.””
“Why?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because I'm not the one they want.””
I froze.
“Then who?””
She looked at me.
“The baby.””
The man reached our table.
Elena stood and stepped between us.
He grabbed her arm.
I reached for her.
She screamed.
“RUN!””
I backed away.
The man pulled her toward the exit.
Then Elena looked at me over her shoulder.
Her final words were almost swallowed by the noise of the station.
“Your son isn't Daniel's.””
May you like
My blood went cold.
And in her hand, I saw the same black wedding ring Daniel had worn every day since the day we got married.
