Chapter 7: The Man Waiting Outside My Mother's House
The sound of the car door slamming echoed through the lake house.
Thomas immediately closed the laptop.
Patricia grabbed my arm.
“Don't move.””
I looked toward the front windows.
A dark SUV was parked near the end of the driveway. Its headlights were off, but someone was sitting behind the steering wheel.
“Is that Vanessa?”” I whispered.
Patricia shook her head.
“I can't tell.””
Thomas reached for his phone.
“I'm calling the police.””
Before he could finish dialing, the SUV's driver's door opened.
A tall man stepped out.
Even from a distance, I recognized the expensive gray suit and the familiar way he carried himself.
Richard Cole.
My father's business partner.
The man whose voice had appeared on my mother's final recording.
The man who had apparently planned my future marriage without my knowledge.
I felt my stomach turn.
“Why is he here?”” I whispered.
Thomas moved toward the curtains.
“He may have been tracking the property.””
Patricia shook her head.
“He knows about this house. Evelyn told him years ago that it belonged to her.””
Richard walked toward the front door.
Three knocks followed.
“Patricia!”” he called.
Nobody answered.
“Patricia, I know you're in there.””
I looked at Thomas.
He raised one finger to his lips.
Richard knocked again.
“Camille, sweetheart. I know you're inside.””
The use of that word made my skin crawl.
Sweetheart.
He had called me that since I was a child.
I remembered him giving me birthday presents, asking about school, and telling me how proud my mother would be.
Now I wondered whether every kind gesture had been part of a performance.
Thomas whispered, “Stay behind me.””
Then he opened the door.
Richard smiled.
“Thomas. What a surprise.””
Thomas didn't return the smile.
“What are you doing here?””
“I came to speak with Camille.””
“She isn't available.””
Richard glanced past him.
“Camille?””
I stepped into view.
“Why are you here?””
His expression softened.
“I heard you were visiting the property. I thought we could have a conversation.””
“About what?””
“Family matters.””
I laughed.
“You're not family.””
His smile faded slightly.
“Your father and I have known each other for a very long time.””
“That doesn't make you family.””
Richard looked toward the table.
The metal box was still open.
His eyes settled on the recorder.
For the first time, he looked genuinely angry.
“What have you found?””
I stared at him.
“Enough.””
He stepped inside without permission.
Thomas immediately blocked his path.
“Mr. Cole, you're not authorized to enter.””
Richard raised his hands.
“Let's not turn this into a scene.””
“You're already creating one,” Thomas replied.
Richard looked at me.
“Camille, your mother was a wonderful woman, but she became increasingly paranoid toward the end. She misunderstood some perfectly legitimate business arrangements.””
I held up the recording device.
“Is that what you call discussing my future marriage while stealing from a charitable trust?””
His expression went cold.
“Where did you get that?””
“From my mother.””
He looked toward Patricia.
“You should have stayed out of this.””
Patricia stood straighter.
“I stayed quiet for five years. I'm finished being afraid of you.””
Richard laughed.
“You have no idea what you're involving yourself in.””
“I know exactly what I'm doing,” she replied.
Richard turned back to me.
“Your father is in a very difficult position. You don't need to make things worse.””
“Then perhaps you should stop making them worse.””
He took a slow breath.
“Listen to me. There are documents you don't understand. Financial arrangements that were made for your benefit. Your mother was trying to protect an empire she didn't know how to manage.””
I held his gaze.
“My mother built that foundation.””
“And your father maintained it.””
“By signing forged transfers?””
Richard's jaw tightened.
Thomas stepped forward.
“I think you should leave.””
Richard ignored him.
“Camille, you have an opportunity to walk away from this with your family intact.””
I looked at him.
“What family?””
“The Brooks family.””
I glanced at the photograph of my mother above the fireplace.
“You mean the family that stole from my mother, hid her letters, and tried to transfer my rights to Brielle?””
Richard's expression changed.
Then he said quietly:
“You should ask your father why he signed that marriage agreement.””
My blood ran cold.
“Why?””
“Because it wasn't just about money.””
He looked directly into my eyes.
“Your father was trying to save you from something.””
Before I could ask what he meant, Thomas stepped between us.
“Leave. Now.””
Richard straightened his jacket.
“This isn't over.””
“No,” I said.
“It isn't.””
He walked out.
As soon as his SUV disappeared down the driveway, Thomas called the police.
Patricia sat heavily on the sofa.
I remained standing.
“Why did he say my father was saving me?””
Thomas looked at the documents.
“I don't know.””
I picked up the marriage agreement again.
There was another page beneath it that I hadn't noticed earlier.
A handwritten note was attached.
Richard has requested that the arrangement be completed before Camille's twenty-fourth birthday. Daniel insists that she must not know about the financial obligations until the wedding.
I felt sick.
“Financial obligations?””
Thomas took the page.
He read it carefully.
Then he looked at me.
“This agreement appears to involve more than a marriage.””
“What does that mean?””
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he opened the accompanying document.
It was a private investment agreement between Daniel Brooks and Richard Cole.
The final section contained a clause describing a financial guarantee.
My father's signature appeared at the bottom.
So did Richard's.
And beneath their signatures was a reference to my mother's personal estate.
I understood only one thing.
My father had used my future as collateral.
The police arrived twenty minutes later.
Richard was already gone.
Thomas gave a statement and handed over copies of the recording.
The officers advised us not to return to the property until the security arrangements had been reviewed.
Before leaving, Patricia insisted on taking the metal box.
I drove her to her house while Thomas followed.
Neither of us spoke much.
Finally, Patricia turned toward me.
“Camille, your mother would have been proud of you.””
I stared at the road.
“I don't feel brave.””
“You don't have to feel brave to do the right thing.””
I smiled sadly.
“Did Mom ever tell you why she trusted me with everything?””
Patricia nodded.
“She said you had a strong sense of fairness. She believed you would understand that money was never the most important part of the foundation.””
I looked down at my mother's bracelet.
“Then I need to make sure the children who depend on it don't lose anything.””
Patricia squeezed my hand.
“That's exactly what she wanted.””
At 11:38 p.m., I received a message from an unknown number.
You need to stop before Saturday.
Another message followed.
You don't know what your father agreed to.
I typed:
Who is this?
The reply came immediately.
Someone who knows what happened to Evelyn.
My heart began racing.
Tell me who you are.
The typing indicator appeared.
Then disappeared.
A photograph arrived.
It showed my father standing outside the Brooks Foundation with Richard Cole.
Between them was a woman holding a folder.
I recognized her instantly.
Vanessa.
But there was something else.
The photograph was dated five days before my mother's death.
On the back, someone had written:
The final agreement was approved.
I called the number.
It went straight to voicemail.
Then a final message appeared.
Ask your father what happened to the missing $3 million. And ask him why Richard needed you married into his family.
I stared at the screen.
Three million dollars.
A marriage agreement.
My mother's death.
And a family secret that seemed to grow darker every time I uncovered another piece.
Then my phone rang.
My father.
I answered.
“Dad?””
His voice sounded broken.
“Camille, I need you to come home.””
“Why?””
“Vanessa knows you've been to the lake house.””
I closed my eyes.
“Richard told her?””
“No.””
A pause.
May you like
Then he whispered:
“Because she's the one who followed you.””
