Chapter 9: Thirty-Eight Calls
Thomas pointed the gun toward the floor.
“Everyone stays calm.””
Vanessa looked at me.
“David.””
I barely recognized her.
Her expensive clothes were torn.
Her hair was disheveled.
Blood had dried along her temple.
“You're hurt.””
She shook her head.
“I'm okay.””
Thomas laughed.
“She isn't.””
Rebecca stepped forward.
“What do you want?””
Thomas looked at her.
“What I should have had forty years ago.””
“The trust?””
“The company.””
“The money?””
“All of it.””
Mom stepped in front of me.
“You'll never get it.””
Thomas raised the gun.
“You've said that before.””
Mom didn't move.
“I should have gone to the police.””
“You should have.””
“I was afraid.””
“You were always afraid.””
Thomas looked at Rebecca.
“Your mother died because of your father.””
Rebecca's voice shook.
“No. She died because of you.””
Thomas smiled.
“Perhaps.””
Vanessa suddenly spoke.
“David, don't let him take the trust.””
Thomas turned toward her.
“Quiet.””
“She moved the money to protect it,” I said.
Thomas looked at me.
“What?””
“The money Vanessa transferred.””
His expression changed.
“You don't understand.””
“I understand enough.””
“You have no idea what you're holding.””
“I have my father's trust agreement.””
Thomas's face hardened.
“Give it to me.””
“No.””
He raised the gun.
Vanessa stepped forward.
“David, don't.””
I held up the document.
“You want this?””
“Yes.””
“Then answer one question.””
Thomas smiled.
“Ask.””
“Did you kill my father?””
His smile disappeared.
Mom closed her eyes.
Rebecca stared at him.
Thomas didn't answer.
I asked again.
“Did you poison him?””
He lowered his gaze.
“No.””
I almost laughed.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“I didn't poison your father.””
“Then who did?””
Thomas looked at Mom.
My mother went pale.
I turned toward her.
“Mom?””
She whispered:
“I did.””
The room went silent.
“What?””
Mom stepped forward.
“I gave him the medication.””
Rebecca stared at her.
“Why?””
“He was dying.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“He had cancer.””
“You told me it was a heart attack.””
“He had months left.””
“You poisoned him?””
“No.””
Mom's voice broke.
“He asked me to help him die.””
I couldn't speak.
My father had asked my mother to end his suffering.
But there was more.
I could see it in her face.
“What aren't you telling me?””
Mom looked at Rebecca.
“Your father knew Thomas was going to kill him.””
Thomas laughed.
“That isn't true.””
Mom continued.
“Your father created the recording.””
“Because he knew.””
She nodded.
“He asked me to make sure David inherited the trust.””
Thomas stepped forward.
“Enough.””
I held up the document.
“You didn't come here for the money.””
Thomas looked at me.
“You came because this document proves you were involved.””
His expression changed.
Rebecca understood immediately.
“If Thomas was trustee,” she said, “he signed the financial transfers.””
“And if the transfers were fraudulent,” I added, “the documents prove it.””
Thomas's face hardened.
“You think paper will save you?””
“No.””
I looked at Vanessa.
“She will.””
Thomas turned.
“What?””
Vanessa smiled through the blood on her face.
“The police have the recordings.””
Thomas froze.
“You're lying.””
“I sent copies six months ago.””
His eyes widened.
“To whom?””
“Federal investigators.””
Thomas grabbed her arm.
“You stupid—”
Sirens sounded outside.
Thomas looked toward the window.
Police vehicles flooded the street.
Red and blue lights flashed across the walls.
He turned back.
Vanessa stepped away from him.
“You're finished.””
Thomas raised the gun.
Everything happened at once.
Rebecca screamed.
Mom shoved me sideways.
The gun went off.
The sound exploded through the house.
I hit the floor.
For a second, I couldn't hear anything.
Then another shot.
Then shouting.
“Drop the weapon!””
Thomas fell backward.
The gun skidded across the floor.
Officers rushed through the doorway.
Someone pulled Vanessa away.
Another officer knelt beside Thomas.
I crawled toward Mom.
“Mom?””
She was on the floor.
Blood stained her sleeve.
“Mom!””
She looked at me.
“I’m okay.””
“You're bleeding.””
“It's not bad.””
Rebecca dropped beside her.
“Where are you hit?””
Mom looked down.
“Just my arm.””
Vanessa was crying.
“David…”
I looked at her.
She shook her head.
“I never wanted this.””
I stood.
“You lied to me.””
“I know.””
“You stole from my mother.””
“I know.””
“You married me knowing about the trust.””
“I didn't know about all of it.””
“Then what did you know?””
She looked at Rebecca.
“I knew your father had been searching for her.””
“And you knew about Thomas.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because he came to me.””
She wiped her eyes.
“He told me that if I didn't help him find the trust, he'd destroy your life.””
I stared at her.
“You could have told me.””
“I was scared.””
“So you manipulated me instead.””
“Yes.””
The word came quietly.
No excuse.
No defense.
Just the truth.
Michael arrived twenty minutes later.
He looked at the chaos.
“David.””
I nodded.
He turned toward Vanessa.
“She'll need counsel.””
Vanessa looked at him.
“I know.””
Then he looked at me.
“Your mother's accounts have been secured.””
I exhaled.
“And the trust?””
“Frozen temporarily.””
Rebecca stepped forward.
“Can it be restored?””
“Yes.””
She looked at me.
“For the first time in forty years, it will be legally yours and Rebecca's.””
I shook my head.
“Not mine.””
She frowned.
“My father intended it for her.””
Rebecca looked stunned.
“David…”
“She was robbed of it before she could even understand what money was.””
Mom began crying.
I took Rebecca's hand.
“We'll fix it.””
She squeezed my fingers.
For the first time, she didn't look like a stranger from an old photograph.
She looked like my sister.
Then my phone vibrated.
I looked down.
Thirty-eight missed calls from Vanessa.
I stared at the number.
Thirty-eight.
She had called thirty-eight times the following day after I walked away from her.
Now I finally understood why.
It wasn't because she was afraid I'd leave.
It was because she knew the truth was about to come out.
I looked at her.
“Why did you call me thirty-eight times?””
Vanessa lowered her head.
“Because the thirty-ninth call would have been from the hospital.””
“What?””
She looked up.
“I had arranged to meet someone that morning.””
“Who?””
Her lips trembled.
“Your father's former accountant.””
Michael suddenly went still.
“Where is he?””
Vanessa looked at him.
“He's dead.””
My stomach dropped.
“When?””
“Yesterday morning.””
Rebecca's face went pale.
“What did he know?””
Vanessa stared at me.
“Everything.””
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small key.
Then she placed it in my hand.
“The accountant gave me this before he died.””
I looked at the tiny brass key.
“What does it open?””
Vanessa whispered:
“Your father's safety-deposit box.””
And then Rebecca saw the number engraved on it.
Her face changed completely.
“David…”
“What?””
“That isn't your father's bank.””
May you like
She swallowed.
“That key belongs to the bank where my mother kept her records.””
