The red file lay between us.
Nobody touched it.
Gregory stared at Dad.
“You've had that all these years?”
“Yes.”
“And you never opened it?”
“I did.”
“Then you know what she wrote.”
“I know what she believed.”
Gregory's jaw tightened.
“That isn't the same thing.”
I looked at Dad.
“What happened three days before Mom died?”
He opened the file.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
The paper was yellowed at the edges.
Dad passed it to me.
I recognized Mom's handwriting immediately.
Raymond has lied to me.
My stomach tightened.
I read the next line.
He told me he was protecting Simone, but I discovered that he has been meeting Adrian without my knowledge.
I looked at Gregory.
He shook his head.
“I met Adrian.”
“When?”
“Once.”
Mom's letter continued.
If anything happens to me, do not allow Raymond to become guardian of Simone's child.
My hands trembled.
Dad looked at Gregory.
“This is why I never trusted you.”
Gregory looked devastated.
“She misunderstood.”
“Then explain.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because I made a promise.”
I looked up.
“To whom?”
“Your mother.”
“That isn't enough anymore.”
Gregory closed his eyes.
“She asked me to meet Adrian.”
“Why?”
“To find out what he knew.”
Dad stared at him.
“You told me you never spoke to Adrian.”
“I said I never worked for him.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
Gregory looked at me.
“Your mother suspected Adrian was watching you.”
“So she sent you.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't she know?”
“Because she believed someone inside the family was leaking information.”
“Who?”
“I never found out.”
I looked back at the letter.
The words suddenly seemed different.
Mom hadn't written that Gregory betrayed her.
She had written that she believed he had.
There was a difference.
Lena pointed to the bottom.
“There is a missing page.”
“How do you know?”
“The letter ends mid-sentence.”
She showed me the torn edge.
Someone had removed the final page.
Dad frowned.
“Where did it go?”
Gregory answered.
“Your mother gave it to me.”
Everyone looked at him.
“You have it?”
“Yes.”
He reached inside his jacket.
The page was folded four times.
He placed it on the table.
I unfolded it.
Mom had written:
If Raymond gives you this, understand that I asked him to meet Adrian. I was afraid Adrian had found out about Simone's inheritance. Raymond has agreed to protect her without revealing his identity.
I stopped breathing.
Dad read over my shoulder.
His face changed.
“She knew.”
“Yes,” Gregory said.
“She trusted you.”
“She did.”
I looked at Dad.
“You thought he betrayed her.”
“I thought he might have.”
“Why?”
“Because after your mother died, Raymond disappeared for six months.”
Gregory nodded.
“I was tracking Adrian.”
“Without telling me?”
“You were grieving.”
Dad looked away.
“I thought you had abandoned us.”
“I was trying to keep Simone alive.”
The anger drained from the room.
Then I saw another line.
Mom had written one final sentence.
If Adrian ever appears, do not let him speak to Simone alone.
I folded the paper.
“Then he knows I'm looking for him.”
“Yes.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
Detective Ellis answered from her own phone before I could.
“Don't pick up.”
The call ended.
A message appeared.
Your mother misunderstood me.
Then another.
I never wanted her dead.
Dad stood.
“That's Adrian.”
The next message arrived.
I only wanted what should have been mine.
Lena looked at the trust documents.
“There's the motive.”
“No,” Gregory said.
“There is more,” he added.
He looked at me.
“Adrian isn't after the forty-two million.”
I stared at him.
“Then what?”
“The controlling shares.”
“Of what?”
“Your father's companies.”
Dad's expression changed.
“The trust holds voting shares.”
“Enough to control the board,” Gregory said.
“And Wren inherited them?”
“Partly.”
I understood.
The money was a distraction.
The real prize was control.
If Adrian could manipulate whoever controlled Wren's trust, he could influence the Caldwell business empire.
Roland had been useful because he was close to me.
Judith had been useful because she could pressure him.
Rourke had been useful because he could manufacture medical evidence.
But Adrian had been directing them.
Then Lena found something.
A wire transfer.
The recipient was an account belonging to Judith.
Date: four months before Wren was born.
I stared at it.
“Four months ago?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because this wasn't planned after your pregnancy.”
It had begun before Wren was born.
That explained the strange behavior.
The family gatherings.
The questions about my health.
The sudden interest in my finances.
The insistence that I stay home.
They had been preparing long before I understood there was a battle.
Then I noticed another payment.
To Faye.
Then another.
To Roland.
Then one final payment.
To someone named M. Ellis.
Detective Ellis frowned.
“That isn't me.”
Lena zoomed in.
“Different middle initial.”
The recipient was an attorney.
Marcus Ellis.
Adrian had been paying a lawyer with the same surname as the detective.
Coincidence or camouflage, we couldn't know.
But there was one thing we did know.
Adrian had money everywhere.
He had planted people around us.
He had watched the trust.
And he had expected me to collapse.
That evening, Roland's attorney requested a private meeting.
I refused.
Then Roland called from detention.
“I need to tell you something.”
“I don't want to hear another excuse.”
“It isn't an excuse.”
“Then what?”
“My mother knew Adrian.”
I went still.
“How?”
“She used to work for him.”
“When?”
“Before she married my father.”
I closed my eyes.
That was the missing connection.
Judith had not simply been manipulated.
She had history with him.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“I didn't know until tonight.”
“Who told you?”
“Faye.”
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
Roland lowered his voice.
“She disappeared.”
I felt cold.
“From where?”
“The police station.”
“What?”
“She was released on bail.”
“Who posted it?”
He hesitated.
“Adrian.”
The call ended.
I immediately called Detective Ellis.
She confirmed it.
Faye was gone.
So was Judith's attorney.
And Dr. Rourke had vanished from the secure location where police had placed him.
Three people.
One night.
One organizer.
Dad ordered the gates sealed.
Gregory checked every camera.
Then the estate lights went out.
Wren began crying upstairs.
I ran toward the nursery.
The emergency lights came on.
The crib was empty.
Again.
I froze.
Then I heard a soft voice behind me.
“She's safe.”
I turned.
Faye stood in the doorway.
She held Wren.
Her face was wet with tears.
“Don't scream,” she whispered.
“I won't hurt her.”
“You already did.”
“I know.”
“Give her to me.”
Faye looked at the baby.
“Adrian is coming.”
“Why?”
“He wants the trust.”
“Then why bring Wren here?”
“Because he told me he would kill her if I didn't.”
I stared at her.
“Where is he?”
Faye looked toward the hallway.
“He's already inside.”
A floorboard creaked downstairs.
Then every door in the house locked at once.
Faye handed Wren to me.
“Now run.”
Click Here to continue read next: PART8: When Adrian Finally Entered the House, He Revealed Why Wren Was Never the Real Target and Who Had Been Controlling the Entire Scheme
Six Days After Giving Birth, I Realized My Husband Had Not Left Me Behind by Accident
Part 7 of 16
