Chapter 4: The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
“Absolutely not.””
Eleanor snatched the photograph from my hand so quickly that the corner tore beneath her fingers.
“You are not going anywhere near that address,” she said.
“Not alone, and certainly not while you're carrying a child.””
I stared at the torn photograph.
“Then come with me.””
Her mouth opened, but no answer came.
Grant Mercer rose from his chair and walked to the conference room door. He checked the hallway before closing it, then returned to the table with a grave expression.
“Eleanor, we need to discuss the implications of this before anyone takes another step.””
“What implications?”” I demanded.
“A woman who may be my husband's relative has contacted me. She says she knows something about this trust. Why is everyone acting as though meeting her would be more dangerous than letting Marcus continue whatever he's doing?””
“Because,” Grant said carefully, “we don't know who sent the photograph, whether the woman is actually Katherine Hale, or what she expects from you.””
I lifted the note.
“She knows I'm pregnant.””
“Your pregnancy isn't a secret,” Eleanor replied.
“Marcus has mentioned it to people at the company. Vivian has probably mentioned it to half the city.””
The thought made my skin crawl.
I had spent months believing my pregnancy was the one part of my life Marcus still treated as sacred.
Apparently, even that had become gossip.
Grant took the note and examined the handwriting.
“There's something else. The language suggests the sender believes your child may have a claim of his own.””
“Does he?”” I asked.
“Potentially. Descendants can have rights under certain trust provisions, but that depends on the exact wording and the circumstances.””
Eleanor stood and walked to the window.
“Richard made that trust deliberately complicated. He wanted to prevent any one person from gaining absolute control.””
“Then why did Marcus try to make me sign away my rights?””
She turned.
“Because he may be attempting to consolidate control before the trustees complete their investigation.””
“May be?””
“I refuse to accuse my son of something I cannot prove.””
I almost laughed.
“Your son brought his mistress to humiliate me, tried to make me sign away my inheritance, and watched her hit me. What exactly would he have to do before you stopped giving him the benefit of the doubt?””
Eleanor flinched.
For the first time, I saw how deeply my words had struck her.
“You're right,” she said quietly.
“I have spent too long explaining his behavior instead of confronting it.””
Grant cleared his throat.
“If we intend to investigate Katherine, we should begin with the address. I'll have my office verify the property records and arrange for an independent investigator to confirm the woman's identity.””
“No,” I said.
Both of them looked at me.
“I want to go.””
“Claire—” Eleanor began.
“I don't mean tonight. I mean when it's safe and when we have verified the address. But I want to hear what she has to say from her own mouth. If someone is trying to use me, I deserve to know who and why.””
Grant considered that.
“I can arrange a meeting in a controlled location. We should also have your own attorney present.””
“Fine.””
Eleanor returned to the table.
“And I will be there.””
I shook my head.
“Not at first.””
Her face tightened.
“You cannot seriously expect me to let you meet a potentially dangerous stranger alone.””
“I'm not asking you to let me do anything. I'm telling you that if Katherine has been hiding for twenty-six years, she might not trust someone from the Hale family walking through her door.””
Eleanor went completely still.
It was the first time I had seen her consider that she might not be the person best suited to uncover this family's secrets.
Finally, she nodded.
“Then Grant will arrange the meeting, and your attorney will accompany you. But you will not go without professional support.””
It was the closest thing to a compromise I could get.
My phone vibrated.
Marcus.
I let it ring.
It stopped, then rang again.
Eleanor watched me.
“You should answer. Whatever he wants, we need to know.””
I accepted the call and put it on speaker.
“Claire.”” Marcus's voice was strained.
“Where are you?””
“Why?””
“Because I've been calling you for an hour.””
“I've been busy.””
“Mother told me you went to Grant's office.””
I looked at Eleanor.
She gave a small, grim nod.
“Then you know where I am,” I said.
“Claire, we need to talk. Privately.””
“We've had three years to talk privately, Marcus. You chose to have your mistress slap me in public instead.””
Silence.
Then he exhaled sharply.
“Vivian shouldn't have done that.””
“No. She shouldn't have.””
“I'll deal with her.””
I almost admired the absurdity of it.
He still spoke as though Vivian were an employee who had made a mistake.
“You don't need to deal with her,” I said.
“You need to deal with yourself.””
“I'm trying to fix this.””
“Fix what? Our marriage? The trust? The fact that you lied to me for six weeks?””
“I know I handled things badly.””
“Badly?””
“Claire, please. I'm asking you to listen.””
I looked at the photograph on the table.
“Tell me about Katherine Hale.””
The silence on the other end was immediate.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
Then Marcus said, “Where did you hear that name?””
“Answer the question.””
“She has nothing to do with us.””
“Then why do you sound frightened?””
“Because you don't understand what you're getting involved in.””
I felt a chill move through me.
“What does that mean?””
“It means you should stop listening to Mother. She has her own reasons for keeping this trust alive.””
Eleanor reached for the phone, but I held up my hand.
“What reasons?””
Marcus lowered his voice.
“Your grandfather-in-law wasn't the man everyone thinks he was. Katherine was unstable, and she spent years making accusations against the family. Her disappearance was a tragedy, but it had nothing to do with me.””
“Did you ever meet her?””
“No.””
“Did your father?””
“I don't know.””
“Did your grandfather leave her money?””
“Claire, stop asking questions you can't possibly understand.””
I closed my eyes.
There it was again.
That familiar tone of superiority. The one he used whenever I asked something inconvenient.
“I'm going to meet her,” I said.
“No.””
The word came so sharply that I pulled the phone away from my ear.
Marcus continued.
“You will not meet that woman. You don't know what she wants.””
“Neither do you, apparently.””
“I'm serious, Claire. If she contacts you again, you tell me immediately.””
“Why?””
“Because she could destroy everything.””
I stared at Eleanor.
She had gone pale.
Marcus realized what he had said.
“I mean the company. The employees. Everything I've worked for.””
“Then perhaps you should have thought about that before trying to steal from your pregnant wife.””
“I never stole anything from you!””
“You tried to make me sign away rights I didn't know I had.””
“That was a legal settlement.””
“A settlement you wanted me to sign without independent advice.””
He said nothing.
I ended the call.
For several seconds, the room remained silent.
Then Grant opened his laptop.
“I'm going to make some calls.””
He stepped into the adjoining office, leaving Eleanor and me alone.
She sat across from me and studied the photograph.
“I need to tell you something about Marcus's father,” she said.
I stiffened.
“What?””
“David Hale was the person who handled most of Richard's estate after his death. He was convinced Katherine had no legitimate claim to the trust. When I married David, I was told that the matter had been resolved.””
“Was it?””
“I don't know.””
“You've been in this family for decades. How can you not know?””
“Because the people who controlled the records made certain I never saw them.””
I looked at her.
“You were his wife.””
“Yes.””
“And you trusted him.””
Eleanor nodded.
“Too much.””
She took a breath.
“When David died, I found a locked cabinet in his study. Inside were copies of correspondence between him and a private investigator. The investigator had been hired to locate Katherine. One letter suggested she was living under another name.””
“Did you find her?””
“No. The investigator's company had closed, and the last address was outdated.””
“Why didn't you tell the trustees?””
“I did. They said the evidence was insufficient to reopen the matter.””
“Then why are you telling me now?””
Eleanor looked down at her hands.
“Because that photograph means someone may finally have proof.””
A knock interrupted us.
Grant returned with his phone in one hand and a printed property record in the other.
“I have a preliminary result. The address is a small property outside Westbridge, about ninety minutes from the city. It belongs to a woman named Katherine Reed.””
“Reed?”” I asked.
“According to the public records, she purchased it twenty-two years ago. No obvious connection to the Hale family appears in the property file.””
Eleanor stared at the paper.
“Reed was Margaret's maiden name.””
My heart began to pound.
“Then it could be her.””
“It could,” Grant agreed.
“My investigator will verify the identity before we arrange a meeting.””
He glanced at the photograph again.
“One more thing. The envelope was delivered by hand. The building's security footage shows a woman leaving it at reception.””
“Can you identify her?”” I asked.
“Not yet. She wore a hat and kept her face turned away from the camera.””
I looked at the handwritten note.
Your baby deserves to know the truth about the family waiting to claim him.
A child had been dragged into this before he was even born.
My child.
I pressed a hand against my stomach.
“Arrange the meeting,” I said.
Grant nodded.
“Tomorrow morning. I'll have my investigator accompany you and your independent attorney. If the woman is Katherine, we'll ask her to explain the documents she claims to possess.””
“And Eleanor?””
“She can join us after we've established the woman's identity and obtained her consent.””
Eleanor didn't argue this time.
As I stood to leave, Grant handed me a business card with his direct number written on the back.
“If Marcus contacts you again, keep the messages. Don't agree to meet him alone, and don't sign anything he sends.””
I slipped the card into my purse.
Outside, the sky had darkened.
Eleanor's driver was waiting at the curb, but before I could climb into the car, a black SUV pulled up behind us.
The passenger door opened.
Vivian stepped out.
She was no longer smiling.
Her makeup was smudged, and her bracelet was gone. In one hand, she carried a manila envelope.
“Claire,” she called.
Eleanor immediately moved between us.
“You have some nerve coming here.””
Vivian ignored her.
“I need five minutes with your daughter-in-law.””
“You have nothing to say to her.””
“Actually, I do.””
She looked directly at me.
“Marcus has been lying to both of us, and if you meet Katherine tomorrow, you'll find out exactly how much.””
I froze.
“How do you know about tomorrow?””
Vivian swallowed.
For the first time since I had met her, she looked genuinely afraid.
Then she held out the envelope.
“Because I was the one who sent you the photograph.””
Eleanor reached for it.
Vivian pulled it back.
“No. Claire has to see this first.””
She opened the envelope and removed a photocopy of a document.
At the top was the name of a company I recognized from the trust papers.
At the bottom were two signatures.
One belonged to Marcus.
The other belonged to Vivian.
But it was the date that made my knees weaken.
The document had been executed six months earlier.
Two months before Marcus had first told me he wanted a divorce.
And directly beneath their signatures was a clause referring to an unborn child.
*My child.*
Vivian leaned toward me.
“Before you decide I'm your enemy, Claire, you need to know what Marcus promised me in exchange for helping him take control of the trust.””
May you like
She glanced at my stomach.
“He promised me your baby would never inherit a single dollar.””
