They left the station through a service entrance.
Daniel insisted on checking every doorway before Mara passed through it.
Nobody spoke until they reached the car.
Evelyn was the first to break the silence.
“Richard lied.”
Daniel looked at her.
“About Arthur?”
“About something.”
Mara held the damaged agreement.
“Why would he give me something and remove the final page?”
“Because the final page contains the part he doesn't want you to know.”
Daniel started the engine.
“Where are we going?”
Mara answered.
“My parents' house.”
Daniel looked at her.
“That's dangerous.”
“So is everything else.”
They drove through empty streets.
Mara watched the city pass behind rain-streaked glass.
Jason had helped someone.
Richard had appeared.
Arthur was dead.
Someone had used Arthur's voice.
And her father had known about the trust.
The pieces still refused to fit.
When they reached the Bennett house, every light was off.
Mara's stomach tightened.
“My mother told me not to come home.”
Daniel parked.
“Then we shouldn't.”
“She also said Dad was involved.”
Evelyn looked toward the dark house.
“If she called you, she may still be inside.”
Mara opened the door.
Daniel caught her wrist.
“I go first.”
She nodded.
They approached the house.
The front door was unlocked.
Inside, the air smelled faintly of coffee.
A lamp burned in the kitchen.
Mara called, “Mom?”
No answer.
Daniel searched the hallway.
“Clear.”
Mara walked into the kitchen.
Her mother was sitting at the table.
She looked exhausted.
“You came.”
Mara rushed toward her.
“What happened?”
Her mother shook her head.
“I don't know how much time we have.”
Daniel closed the door.
“Who is watching the house?”
Her mother looked at him.
“You.”
Daniel stiffened.
“What?”
“Someone has been watching you for years.”
Mara sat beside her.
“Mom, tell me everything.”
Her mother looked at Evelyn.
“You brought her.”
“Yes.”
“Then it's time.”
She reached beneath the table and pulled out a small envelope.
“This belonged to Arthur.”
Mara opened it.
Inside was a handwritten note.
The handwriting matched the letters in the deposit box.
There was one sentence.
*Henry did not betray me. He betrayed himself.**
Mara looked up.
“What does that mean?”
Her mother wiped her eyes.
“Your father agreed to help Arthur expose Richard.”
“So why did he hide it?”
“Because Richard threatened Jason.”
Mara froze.
“How?”
“He had Jason followed. He threatened to hurt him.”
“When?”
“Twelve years ago.”
Jason had been a teenager.
Her mother continued.
“Your father made a deal. He would take responsibility for certain financial irregularities if Richard left Jason alone.”
Mara's voice dropped.
“Dad sacrificed himself.”
“Yes.”
“And Arthur?”
“He wanted to expose everything anyway.”
“Then what happened?”
“Arthur disappeared.”
Mara looked at Daniel.
He said nothing.
Her mother continued.
“Your father thought Arthur was dead.”
“Richard said Arthur died six months ago.”
Her mother's face went pale.
“He did.”
Mara stared.
“Then why was someone using his voice?”
“I don't know.”
Evelyn leaned forward.
“Who knew about the trust?”
Her mother answered.
“Only four people.”
“Who?”
“Your father. Me. Arthur. And Jason.”
Mara's heart sank.
“Jason.”
Her mother nodded.
“He was supposed to inherit control if anything happened to you.”
Mara stared.
“Why?”
“Because your father didn't trust the courts.”
Daniel's expression sharpened.
“What exactly was in the trust?”
Her mother hesitated.
“The clean assets.”
“How much?”
“Enough to destroy Richard.”
Mara understood.
The trust wasn't simply money.
It was leverage.
Records.
Property.
Company shares.
Evidence.
Everything Richard couldn't reach.
She looked at the missing page.
“The final page explains who controls it.”
Her mother nodded.
“Your father does.”
Mara shook her head.
“No. You said it was in my name.”
“It is.”
“Then why does Dad control it?”
“Because you're the beneficiary. He was the trustee.”
Daniel looked at Mara.
“Until what age?”
“Thirty.”
Mara stared.
She was twenty-nine.
Her birthday was in six weeks.
Her mother lowered her voice.
“On your thirtieth birthday, control transfers to you.”
Mara understood immediately.
Someone wasn't trying to steal money from her.
They were trying to stop her from taking control.
“That's why they want me.”
“Yes.”
The room went silent.
Then a car door slammed outside.
Daniel moved toward the window.
“Someone's here.”
Mara's mother grabbed her hand.
“Don't let your father see you.”
Mara looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because he thinks you are the one behind this.”
Mara's breath caught.
“What?”
Her mother started crying.
“He received evidence that you were working with Richard.”
“That's impossible.”
“I know.”
Daniel looked through the blinds.
“It's a setup.”
A light came on outside.
Headlights swept across the curtains.
Her father entered the house.
Mara heard his voice from the hallway.
“Eleanor?”
Her mother stood.
“Mara, hide.”
Mara refused.
“No.”
Daniel moved toward the hallway.
“Stay here.”
Footsteps approached.
Henry appeared in the doorway.
He stopped when he saw Mara.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then his eyes filled with something that looked like relief.
“You're alive.”
Mara frowned.
“What did you think?”
Henry looked at Daniel.
His expression changed.
“Get away from him.”
Mara shook her head.
“Not again.”
Henry reached into his coat.
Daniel stepped forward.
“Don't.”
Henry pulled out a photograph.
He threw it onto the table.
Mara looked down.
It showed her meeting Richard.
But she had never seen the location before.
She recognized her own coat.
The photograph was recent.
Henry said, “Tell me why you were there.”
Mara stared.
“I wasn't.”
Her father looked at Daniel.
“Then someone has been using her identity too.”
Mara slowly understood.
The person behind everything wasn't merely forging Daniel's identity.
They were forging hers.
Her father whispered the words that none of them wanted to hear.
“Someone has access to the trust.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 11: A Forged Photograph Exposed a Second Identity Scheme, and Mara Discovered the Person With Access Was Closer Than She Ever Suspected
She Married the Man Everyone Dismissed, Then One Phone Call Made Her Family Question Everything They Knew
Part 10 of 20
