Chapter 4: The Call from a Dead Man
For three seconds, nobody moved.
The phone inside Nia's handbag kept ringing.
Richard Bennett.
The name glowed against the black screen like a warning.
I looked at my wife. She stared at the bag as if something inside it might crawl out and expose her.
Then she grabbed it.
"Don't answer that," she said.
I lowered my own phone slowly.
"Why is my dead grandfather calling you?""
"He's not.""
"His name is on your screen.""
"It's a saved contact.""
"Then why are you frightened?""
"I'm not frightened, Marcus. I'm angry that you're turning a stupid coincidence into another accusation.""
The phone stopped ringing.
A second later, it started again.
Nia flinched.
That tiny movement told me more than her explanation.
"Give me the phone.""
"No.""
"Nia.""
"It's private.""
I held out my hand.
For five years, I'd never demanded to see her phone. I'd believed trust meant giving someone room to have a life that didn't revolve around me.
But the woman standing in front of me had helped force my mother to pack a suitcase. She had presented me with a suspicious birth certificate and tried to convince me that the woman who raised me was a liar.
Privacy wasn't the issue anymore.
"Give me the phone," I repeated.
Nia clutched the handbag to her chest.
"You're not going to control me.""
"I'm asking you to explain why a dead man is calling you.""
"And I'm telling you to stop interrogating me!""
The phone went silent.
Then a message appeared.
I couldn't see all of it, but I caught the first line before Nia turned the screen away.
The original is still missing. Did you get Evelyn to sign?
My stomach dropped.
"What original?""
She shoved the phone into her bag.
"Nothing.""
"What was Evelyn supposed to sign?""
"You're twisting everything.""
I reached for the trust folder.
Nia moved first.
She snatched the blue folder off the desk and held it against her chest.
"Give that back.""
"No.""
"Those documents belong to my family.""
"Your family?"" I asked.
"You just told me my biological father was Richard Bennett. Now you're saying the documents belong to your family?""
Her mouth tightened.
"I didn't mean it that way.""
"Then explain it.""
She looked toward the study door.
For the first time, I realized she was checking whether someone might be listening.
I took out my phone again.
"Mr. Price, are you still there?""
"Yes, Marcus.""
"There's a contact on my wife's phone saved under Richard Bennett. It's calling her right now.""
Samuel was silent for a moment.
Then he asked, "Did you hear the call yourself?""
"Yes.""
"Did you see any messages?""
"I saw one asking whether Evelyn had signed something.""
The lawyer exhaled sharply.
"Then we need to meet immediately.""
"Why?""
"Because three days ago, someone contacted my office claiming to represent the surviving interests of Richard Bennett's estate. They requested copies of the original trust documents and asked whether the beneficiary had been notified of his upcoming eligibility date.""
"Who contacted you?""
"A woman who identified herself as Claire Bennett.""
I glanced at Nia.
She had gone pale.
"Do you know that name?"" I asked her.
She said nothing.
Samuel continued.
"I refused to release anything without verified authority. The woman then claimed she had a signed declaration from Evelyn confirming that you were not entitled to the trust.""
My fingers tightened around the phone.
"My mother signed no such thing.""
"That is what I suspected.""
"Then who is Claire Bennett?""
"Richard Bennett had a daughter from his first marriage. She would be in her late sixties now. I haven't spoken to her in years.""
Nia suddenly laughed.
It was a brittle, ugly sound.
"Wonderful. Now we're bringing ghosts into this.""
I covered the phone.
"Who is Claire Bennett?""
"Nobody you need to worry about.""
"Then why did you turn white when he mentioned her?""
"Because your lawyer is making ridiculous claims.""
Samuel's voice came through the speaker.
"Mr. Bennett, I strongly advise that you preserve every document you found and arrange an independent examination of the birth certificate. Also, do not confront anyone who may be involved until we can establish what has been submitted to the court.""
I looked at Nia.
She was watching the trust folder.
Not me.
The folder.
"Mr. Price, I'll call you back.""
"Marcus, one more thing.""
"Yes?""
"If your wife possesses any document bearing your signature, do not assume you signed it voluntarily. I received a suspicious inquiry about a power of attorney bearing your name.""
My heart seemed to stop.
"What power of attorney?""
"I don't know yet. I'll send you the details when I have them.""
I ended the call.
For a long moment, the study remained silent.
Then Nia put the folder on the desk.
"Your lawyer is trying to frighten you.""
"Why would he do that?""
"Because lawyers make money from complicated family disputes.""
"Samuel handled my father's affairs for years.""
"That doesn't mean he's trustworthy.""
"Neither does being married to me.""
Her eyes flashed.
"How dare you?""
I stepped closer.
"Did you submit a false birth certificate?""
"No.""
"Did you contact Samuel Price pretending to represent my grandfather's estate?""
"No.""
"Did you ask my mother to sign something?""
She hesitated.
Just long enough.
I felt something inside me break.
"What did you put in front of her?""
Nia's voice rose.
"It was a simple acknowledgment!""
"Of what?""
"That she had no claim to the trust.""
"She isn't claiming anything. She's trying to get you to leave her alone.""
"Because she knows what she's hiding!""
She grabbed the cream-colored envelope from the desk and waved it at me.
"Your father knew the truth. He knew Richard Bennett was your biological father. And he left you an inheritance that could make you one of the wealthiest men in this city. But your mother has spent thirty years keeping you ignorant.""
"Why?""
"Ask her!""
"I did. She said she was afraid of losing me.""
Nia laughed again.
"Of course she did. That's what she always says. She makes herself the victim, and you come running.""
I stared at my wife.
"Did you bruise her wrist?""
She looked away.
I stepped in front of her.
"Look at me.""
She did.
For a moment, I thought she might tell the truth.
Instead, she said, "She wouldn't give me the key to the box.""
My breath caught.
"What box?""
"The wooden box in her room. I asked her to let me see the documents inside. She refused.
We argued. She tried to pull the box away, and I grabbed her wrist.""
The admission landed like a stone.
"You hurt her because she wouldn't hand over my father's letter?""
"I didn't mean to hurt her!""
"You frightened her so badly she thought she had to leave her own home.""
"She was being unreasonable!""
I stared at her.
There was no remorse in her voice.
Only irritation that she'd been caught.
"Get out," I said.
Her eyes widened.
"Excuse me?""
"Leave the study. Leave the guest suite alone. And don't touch another document in this house.""
"You can't throw me out.""
"Watch me.""
She stepped toward me, lowering her voice.
"If you do this, Marcus, you'll regret it.""
I opened the study door.
"Maybe. But at least I'll know why.""
She stood there for a moment, breathing hard.
Then she lifted her chin.
"You think Evelyn loves you more than I do? She doesn't. She loves what you represent. You've been her retirement plan since the day your father died.""
I didn't move.
Nia continued, each word sharper than the last.
"She's spent your entire life making you feel indebted to her. She gave up everything so you'd spend the rest of your life feeling guilty. And now she wants to keep you from your inheritance because she knows you'll never need her again.""
I felt the old instinct rise inside me.
The instinct to defend my mother.
But this time, I didn't answer with anger.
I answered with a question.
"If that's true, why was she willing to leave without telling me what she knew?""
Nia opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
I pointed toward the hallway.
"Go.""
She walked out, her heels striking the marble with hard, furious clicks.
At the top of the stairs, she turned.
"Don't call me when you realize what you've done.""
I watched her disappear.
Then I locked the study door.
My hands were shaking.
I returned to the desk and opened the black notebook again.
The note about Samuel Price was still there.
Beneath it, in my father's handwriting, was another entry I'd overlooked.
*August 14. Richard telephoned. He says Claire has begun asking questions about Marcus.
He believes she knows about the trust. I told him I would protect the boy, whatever happens.*
I checked the date.
August 14.
The year was missing.
I turned the page.
There was a name written in the margin.
*Diane Whitmore.*
Nia's mother.
I read it again.
Diane's maiden name was Whitmore.
I knew that because I'd helped her fill out paperwork when she purchased a condo several years earlier.
Why would my father have written her name beside a note about my biological grandfather?
I heard a soft knock at the door.
"Marcus?""
It was Evelyn.
I unlocked the door immediately.
She stood in the hallway, holding the small wooden box against her chest.
Her face was pale.
"I need to tell you something before Nia does.""
I stepped aside.
She entered the study and closed the door behind her.
Then she placed the box on the desk.
"When your father married me," she said, "he made me promise that I would never let Richard Bennett's family take you away from us.""
I felt a chill move through me.
"Take me away?""
She nodded.
"Your grandfather wanted custody of you after your biological mother died. He said you belonged to him by blood.""
I stared at her.
"Why didn't he take me?""
"Because your father fought him.""
She opened the box.
Beneath the photographs lay another envelope, smaller than the first.
The paper was yellowed, and the seal bore a name I recognized.
Richard Bennett.
Evelyn's fingers trembled as she pushed it toward me.
"Your father received this letter three days before he died.""
I picked it up.
On the front, in dark blue ink, were seven words.
Daniel, if anything happens to me, tell Marcus the truth.
I looked at Evelyn.
"Anything happens to him?""
She nodded slowly.
"Your father believed Richard was afraid someone would kill him.""
My mouth went dry.
"Did someone?""
She didn't answer.
Instead, she reached into the box and pulled out a folded newspaper clipping.
The headline read:
*REAL ESTATE TYCOON RICHARD BENNETT DIES IN PRIVATE RESIDENCE*
The date was printed beneath it.
Thirty-seven years ago.
But the article contained a detail I'd never seen.
Richard Bennett had been found dead in his home.
The cause of death was listed as natural causes.
His body had been discovered by a housekeeper.
A woman named Diane Whitmore.
I looked at Evelyn.
She was crying again.
"Marcus," she whispered, "there is something else you need to know.""
I waited.
She looked toward the locked door.
"Your grandfather didn't die thirty-seven years ago.""
The words made no sense.
"What?""
She swallowed.
"That was the official story.""
I gripped the edge of the desk.
"Mom, what are you saying?""
She looked at the newspaper clipping.
May you like
Then she said the sentence that changed everything.
"Richard Bennett was alive when your father died. I saw him standing at the back of the church during the funeral.""
