Chapter 4: The Death Certificate That Should Never Have Existed
For several seconds, Mara couldn't move.
The death certificate lay on the conference table beneath the harsh white lights.
Daniel Bennett.
Date of death: September 18, 2009.
Authorized by: Richard Whitmore.
The same man who had stood in front of the American press seventeen years earlier and called her father a criminal.
The same man who had told her mother that Daniel had abandoned his family.
And now, according to an official document, Richard had personally authorized his death.
Mara slowly raised her eyes.
“You signed it.””
Richard didn't answer.
“Mr. Whitmore, I'm asking you a question.””
“I heard you.””
“Then answer.””
Richard picked up his champagne glass, realized it was empty, and placed it back down.
“Documents can be forged.””
Nathan Cole shook his head.
“Mr. Whitmore, this certificate was issued through the New Jersey state vital records system. I've checked the registration number. It's authentic.””
Richard turned toward him.
“You checked it in twenty minutes?””
“I checked the public record and the archived registration. I haven't verified the original physical signature yet.””
“Then you haven't verified anything.””
Nathan opened his laptop again.
“There's a second problem.””
Alexander looked at him.
“What?””
“The certificate was registered under a hospital identification number. But the hospital says no body was ever released to a funeral home.””
Mara felt her stomach tighten.
“Then where is the body?””
Nathan hesitated.
“According to the hospital's records, there wasn't one.””
The silence was immediate.
Victoria slowly lowered herself into a chair.
Arthur Hensley closed his portfolio.
Richard looked at the lawyer.
It was a small movement.
But Mara caught it.
“Mr. Hensley,” she said, “you knew.””
Arthur adjusted his glasses.
“I knew nothing about the medical circumstances surrounding Mr. Bennett.””
“You signed the financial documents.””
“I signed thousands of documents during that period.””
“You signed the paper that moved seventy million dollars into my father's name.””
“That document has not been authenticated.””
Nathan turned the laptop toward him.
“Actually, the electronic signature verification is complete. The authorization came from your office terminal.””
Arthur's mouth tightened.
Richard slammed his palm against the table.
“Enough!””
The sound echoed through the conference room.
Alexander stepped forward.
“No, Father. Not enough.””
Richard pointed at him.
“You are about to make a catastrophic mistake.””
“Then tell me what I'm missing.””
“You're missing the fact that you have no idea what your mother sacrificed to protect this family.””
Alexander went completely still.
Mara looked from father to son.
“Your mother?””
Richard's eyes narrowed.
“Leave her out of this.””
“Your father mentioned her earlier,” Mara said.
“He said she begged him to keep everything buried.””
Alexander turned toward Richard.
“What did Mother know?””
Richard looked toward the window.
For the first time that evening, he appeared older than his sixty-eight years.
“Your mother was the reason Daniel Bennett was hired.””
Alexander stared.
“What?””
“Margaret believed he was the only person in the company honest enough to challenge the board.””
Richard paused.
“She was wrong.””
Mara shook her head.
“No. You're changing the subject.””
Richard looked at her.
“Your father wasn't the innocent man your mother described.””
Mara's voice hardened.
“Then prove it.””
Richard said nothing.
“Show me the evidence. Show me the transactions. Show me the investigation. Don't give me another speech.””
Alexander moved beside her.
“She's right.””
Richard laughed bitterly.
“You've been standing beside this woman for less than an hour, and suddenly you think you understand your family?””
“No. But I understand that you've been lying.””
Victoria stood abruptly.
“This is insane. Alexander, we're leaving.””
He looked at her.
“Did your father know about Daniel Bennett?””
Victoria hesitated.
“I'm not answering another question about my father.””
“Why?””
“Because you're turning an old financial dispute into a public execution.””
Mara looked at her.
“An old financial dispute doesn't end with a fake death certificate.””
Victoria grabbed her handbag.
“I'm done.””
She headed toward the door.
But before she reached it, Nathan spoke.
“Miss Sinclair?””
Victoria stopped.
He held up another sheet.
“Your father signed a document three days after Daniel Bennett's supposed death.””
She slowly turned around.
“What document?””
Nathan read the heading.
“An emergency beneficiary amendment.””
He looked at Alexander.
“It transferred controlling authority over the family trust to the secondary trustee.””
“Who was that?”” Alexander asked.
Nathan glanced down.
“Victoria Sinclair.””
Nobody spoke.
Victoria's face went blank.
Then she laughed.
“That is ridiculous.””
Nathan slid the paper across the table.
“Your signature isn't required because you were listed as the beneficiary's representative, not the trustee. But your father's authorization is there.””
Alexander stared at his fiancée.
“You were connected to the trust?””
“I was twenty years old.””
“You were listed as the person who could control its assets.””
“I didn't know.””
Mara stepped forward.
“Seventy million dollars was placed into a trust connected to Alexander. Your father made you its representative three days after my father was declared dead. And you expect us to believe you knew nothing?””
Victoria's cheeks flushed.
“I didn't know about the money!””
“Did you know about my father?””
“No!””
“Did you know he was alive?””
Victoria's eyes flickered.
Just once.
But enough.
Mara moved closer.
“Why did you react like that?””
Victoria shook her head.
“Because this is unbelievable.””
Mara held her gaze.
“Then say it clearly. You didn't know Daniel Bennett was alive.””
Victoria opened her mouth.
No words came.
Richard immediately stepped between them.
“That's enough. Victoria was a child.””
Alexander looked at him.
“She was twenty.””
“She was young enough to be manipulated.””
“By whom?””
Richard's face hardened.
“By people who understood the consequences of exposing the company.””
Mara felt a chill.
“Who?””
Richard didn't answer.
Instead, he looked directly at Arthur.
“Get the car.””
Arthur nodded and headed for the door.
Mara reached into her bag.
“Before anyone leaves, I want you to hear something.””
She removed a second recording device.
Richard's expression changed.
“You said the first recording was everything,” Alexander said.
“I said I had something better than accusations.””
Mara pressed play.
A woman's voice filled the room.
Soft.
Tired.
But unmistakably familiar.
Evelyn Bennett.
“If anything happens to Daniel, the original ledger is hidden where the first photograph was taken. The people who signed the trust documents believe they own everything. But they don't know what Daniel left behind.””
Mara stopped breathing.
It was her mother's voice.
A recording she had never heard before.
Then came another sentence.
“Richard, Edward, Arthur... and Margaret. All four of them knew.””
Alexander's face drained of color.
“Margaret?””
Mara looked at him.
“Your mother?””
He nodded slowly.
The recording continued.
“And if Mara ever finds this, tell her the truth about the child.””
The device clicked.
Silence.
Mara stared at the recorder.
“What child?””
Nobody answered.
Alexander looked toward his father.
Richard had closed his eyes.
And when he finally opened them, he whispered:
“Your mother wasn't supposed to leave you that recording.””
Mara stepped closer.
“Who was the child?””
Richard looked at her.
“Daniel had another family.””
Mara felt the room tilt.
“My father had another family?””
“No,” Richard said.
He swallowed.
“He had another child.””
Before Mara could ask another question, the conference room lights went out.
A crash sounded in the hallway.
Someone shouted.
Then the emergency lights flickered on.
Nathan looked at the table.
The laptop was gone.
May you like
So was the folder containing the original trust documents.
And the conference room door was standing wide open.
