PART 13 — MY FATHER’S CONFESSION DESTROYED THE LAST LIE !!
“Rebecca… there’s something about those eight years I haven’t told you.”
My father’s voice came through the phone so quietly that for a moment, I wondered whether I had heard him correctly. I stood inside my grandfather’s library, staring at Margaret Ellis while the woman who had once brought me birthday presents trembled beside the doorway. On Veronica’s phone was a document bearing my forged signature and Margaret’s name as a witness. And now the father I had just discovered was alive was about to explain why he had been involved.
“Daddy,” I whispered, “please tell me Margaret is lying.”
A long silence followed.
Then he said, “She isn’t.”
Something inside me seemed to collapse.
I gripped the edge of the table.
“No.”
“Rebecca…”
“No, Daddy. You don’t get to say my name like that. You don’t get to come back from the dead, tell me you love me, and then admit you helped the people who tried to destroy my life.”
My mother began crying in the background.
“Robert, tell her everything.”
He took a shaky breath.
“Eight years ago, Adrian Kessler approached me with an offer. He said he would arrange your mother’s release if I helped him recover certain financial records from the Whitmore archive.”
I closed my eyes.
“And you agreed.”
“At first, I refused.”
“But eventually you said yes.”
“Yes.”
The word struck me like a blow.
My father continued.
“They showed me photographs of your mother. She was ill, Rebecca. She’d been moved between facilities for years. I believed she wouldn’t survive much longer.”
Tears burned behind my eyes.
“So you helped them steal?”
“I helped them locate accounts. I reviewed old agreements. I identified companies your grandfather had used to preserve the evidence.”
I stared at Veronica.
Her expression was tense, but she said nothing.
“And Margaret?” I asked.
My father hesitated.
“She was already being threatened by Charles. I contacted her because I believed she could help retrieve the records without putting you in danger.”
I looked toward Margaret.
She covered her mouth.
I spoke slowly.
“You asked her to sign a statement claiming she watched me authorize transfers I knew nothing about.”
My father’s voice broke.
“Yes.”
“WHY?”
He began crying.
“Because Adrian told me the authorization was temporary. He claimed the money would be returned after the ownership dispute was resolved.”
I laughed.
It came out sharp and terrible.
“Forty-eight million dollars, Daddy. Forty-eight million dollars belonging to a company employing more than four hundred people. And you believed it was temporary?”
“I wanted to save your mother.”
“And you were willing to sacrifice me?”
Silence.
The kind of silence that answers a question more completely than words ever could.
My mother sobbed.
“Robert, please.”
But I wasn’t finished.
“Tell me something. When you signed those agreements, did you know they were going to accuse me of stealing?”
My father’s breathing became uneven.
“Not when I first agreed.”
“And later?”
He couldn’t answer.
I felt my heart breaking all over again.
“Later, Daddy?”
Finally, he whispered, “Yes.”
I stepped backward.
My father, the man who had taught me honesty, had known someone was preparing to frame me for a crime involving millions of dollars.
And he had remained silent.
I stared at the phone.
“How long have you known?”
“Six months.”
Six months.
Six months of my company being slowly drained.
Six months of Mauro pretending to be my loving husband.
Six months of Patricia preparing to throw me out of a house she didn’t own.
Six months of Daniel falsifying records.
And somewhere in Wisconsin, my father had known.
I pressed my fingers against my forehead.
“Did you ever consider warning me?”
“Every day.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No.”
I shut my eyes.
There was no anger left strong enough to describe what I felt.
Only grief.
A grief so deep that I could barely recognize my own voice.
“Then I need you to understand something, Daddy.”
He began crying harder.
“Rebecca…”
“I love you. I have loved you every single day since I was eleven. But loving you doesn’t mean I can pretend this never happened.”
“I know.”
“And being my father doesn’t give you the right to destroy the lives of innocent people.”
His voice cracked.
“I know.”
I took a trembling breath.
“If you really want to make things right, tell the investigators everything. Every transfer. Every document. Every person who threatened you. And every decision you made yourself.”
For several seconds, there was silence.
Then he answered.
“I will.”
I looked toward Margaret.
“Starting with the statement she signed.”
My father swallowed.
“Yes.”
Veronica stepped closer to the phone.
“Mr. Whitmore, you should provide this information through independent legal counsel and the investigators handling the case. Rebecca cannot protect you from the consequences of your actions.”
“I understand,” he replied.
Then my mother spoke.
“Rebecca, there’s something I need to tell you.”
I closed my eyes.
“Mom, please. I don’t know how much more I can take.”
Her voice trembled.
“I know, sweetheart. But you need to hear this.”
I lowered myself into a chair.
“Okay.”
“Your father did something terrible. He made choices that hurt you. But three months ago, he finally refused to continue.”
I looked up.
“What happened three months ago?”
“He discovered Adrian wasn’t planning to release me at all.”
My chest tightened.
“What?”
“Adrian intended to move me out of the country and use my disappearance to pressure your father into helping him complete the takeover.”
I stared at the phone.
“And?”
“Your father began secretly copying the financial records. He contacted people he believed could help expose the scheme.”
Veronica leaned forward.
“Who did he contact?”
My mother hesitated.
“An investigator named Samuel Price.”
Margaret made a small choking sound.
I turned toward her.
“Margaret?”
She was staring at the floor.
“Samuel Price?” Veronica repeated.
My father spoke.
“He used to investigate complex financial crimes. Your grandfather trusted him years ago.”
I remembered Margaret mentioning a retired federal agent.
“The third custodian?”
My father answered.
“One of them.”
I leaned forward.
“Where is he?”
My father’s voice changed.
“That’s the problem, Rebecca.”
My stomach tightened.
“What problem?”
“Samuel disappeared four days ago.”
The room went silent.
I stared at the phone.
“Disappeared?”
“Yes.”
“Who was the last person to see him?”
My father hesitated.
Then said, “Margaret.”
I slowly turned.
Margaret began shaking her head.
“No, Robert. Don’t.”
I stood.
“What happened?”
She looked at me desperately.
“Rebecca, I didn’t hurt him.”
“Then where is he?”
“I don’t know!”
Veronica stepped forward.
“Margaret, when did you last see Samuel Price?”
Margaret swallowed.
“Last Thursday.”
My heartbeat quickened.
“Where?”
“At his office in Milwaukee.”
“Why?”
She looked toward the phone.
Then whispered, “Because he had discovered something in the original financial ledger.”
I leaned closer.
“What did he discover?”
Margaret began crying.
“That the forty-eight million dollars wasn’t the first major theft.”
My stomach tightened.
“What do you mean?”
She looked directly at me.
“Your grandfather’s old investment accounts had also been targeted.”
I froze.
“How much?”
Margaret hesitated.
Then whispered, “Almost one hundred and twenty million dollars.”
The room went completely still.
One hundred and twenty million.
On top of the forty-eight million missing from my company.
I stared at her.
“Are you telling me Adrian and Charles stole nearly one hundred and seventy million dollars?”
Margaret shook her head.
“Not exactly.”
I felt cold.
“What does that mean?”
She wiped her tears.
“Samuel believed some of the old transfers had been concealed through a network of companies that were still operating. The same entities were connected to the recent transactions.”
Veronica’s expression sharpened.
“That could establish a pattern spanning many years.”
Margaret nodded.
“But Samuel found something else.”
I swallowed.
“What?”
“One of the accounts receiving money was controlled by someone using Patricia’s old identity.”
Helena Ward.
My mother-in-law.
The woman who had arranged my marriage.
The woman who had mocked me for years while secretly preparing to destroy everything I owned.
I stared at Margaret.
“How much went into that account?”
She whispered, “Samuel was still calculating it.”
I closed my eyes.
Then a terrible thought occurred to me.
“Patricia wasn’t just helping Adrian.”
Margaret looked up.
I continued.
“She was using him.”
Veronica frowned.
“What do you mean?”
I slowly turned toward her.
“For years, everyone has been blaming Adrian Kessler. Charles wanted the archive. Gabriel wanted the records. Mauro wanted money. Daniel wanted his payment.”
I swallowed.
“But Patricia has been connected to every stage.”
Margaret’s face drained of color.
I continued.
“She worked with Adrian before my grandfather exposed the original fraud. She changed her identity. She arranged my marriage. She authenticated my forged signature. She negotiated her own payment. And she knew both my parents were alive.”
Veronica nodded slowly.
“That’s a significant pattern of involvement.”
I looked toward Margaret.
“Was Patricia the person Samuel was investigating?”
Margaret began crying.
“Yes.”
My heart pounded.
“And did Samuel tell you what he found?”
She looked away.
“Margaret.”
Finally, she whispered, “He believed Patricia was preparing to betray Adrian.”
I froze.
“What?”
“She had begun moving money into accounts he couldn’t access. Samuel suspected she wanted to take the remaining funds and disappear.”
I let out a bitter laugh.
Of course.
Patricia Bennett.
The woman who spent years demanding respect while treating everyone else like servants.
She hadn’t been loyal to Adrian.
She hadn’t been loyal to Charles.
And she certainly hadn’t been loyal to her own family.
She was loyal to money.
Only money.
I turned toward Veronica.
“Where is Patricia now?”
She checked her phone.
“Richard was trying to contact her earlier. I haven’t received an update.”
I shook my head.
“Find him.”
Veronica made the call.
It rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then Richard answered.
“Veronica?”
His voice sounded strange.
Breathless.
“Mr. Bennett, this is Veronica Saldana. Rebecca needs to know whether you’ve spoken with Patricia.”
A long pause.
Then Richard whispered, “She’s gone.”
My heart jumped.
“What?”
Veronica put the call on speaker.
Richard continued.
“She emptied our joint checking account. Took her passport. Packed several suitcases.”
I stared at the phone.
“When?”
“Within the last few hours.”
My stomach tightened.
“Did she say where she was going?”
“No.”
Then he began crying.
“Rebecca, I found something.”
I leaned forward.
“What?”
“A locked compartment in her dressing room.”
My heart hammered.
“What was inside?”
Richard took a shaky breath.
“Passports. Different names. Several bank cards. And documents showing she’d been transferring money into accounts outside the country.”
I looked at Veronica.
Her expression hardened.
“Mr. Bennett, preserve everything exactly as you found it and notify the investigators. Don’t attempt to follow her.”
Richard nodded, his voice breaking.
“I already called.”
I swallowed.
“Richard, did Patricia leave a note?”
A long silence.
Then he answered.
“Yes.”
My heart tightened.
“What did it say?”
Richard’s voice shook.
“She wrote that she was tired of sacrificing herself for people who didn’t appreciate her.”
I let out a bitter laugh.
Sacrificing herself.
The woman who had helped steal millions, forged documents, and separated a child from her parents believed she was the victim.
Then Richard whispered, “There’s something else.”
I closed my eyes.
“What now?”
“She took Jamie.”
I froze.
“What?”
“Jamie left with her. I don’t know whether she went willingly.”
My heartbeat quickened.
“Have you heard from Mauro?”
Richard hesitated.
“Yes.”
“And?”
“He called me twenty minutes ago. He was looking for Patricia too.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
Richard swallowed.
“Because Adrian contacted him.”
The room became still.
I leaned closer.
“What did Adrian say?”
Richard’s voice dropped.
“He told Mauro that Patricia stole something from him.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“A private storage device containing account access information and copies of the original records.”
I stared at Veronica.
Another device.
Another secret.
Another betrayal.
Richard continued.
“Adrian said Patricia had forty-eight hours to return it.”
I swallowed.
“And if she doesn’t?”
Richard’s voice broke.
“He threatened to expose her true identity and the financial transactions connected to it.”
I shook my head.
“That woman has been hiding behind different names for decades. She’s not going to surrender easily.”
Veronica nodded.
“And if the missing account records are genuine, they could be vital evidence.”
I looked toward Margaret.
“Did Samuel know about this device?”
Her face changed.
“Yes.”
I stepped closer.
“What did he say?”
She swallowed.
“That it was the only complete copy of the offshore account ledger he had located.”
My heart pounded.
“And Patricia has it?”
Margaret nodded slowly.
“That’s what I believe.”
I took a deep breath.
For hours, I had felt like a victim.
A wife robbed by her husband.
A granddaughter betrayed by people who hated her family.
A daughter separated from parents who might have been alive all along.
But now I understood something.
They were turning against each other.
Their greed had become greater than their loyalty.
And that might finally be what brought them down.
I looked at Veronica.
“I want the investigators to know everything we’ve learned about Patricia’s aliases and the missing device.”
She nodded.
“I’ll relay it.”
I turned toward the phone.
“Mom? Dad?”
My mother’s voice answered immediately.
“We’re here, sweetheart.”
I closed my eyes.
“Are you both safe?”
“For now,” my father replied. “We’re still with the officers.”
I swallowed.
“Then stay with them. Cooperate with everything they ask. And please, don’t hide anything else from me.”
My mother began crying.
“We won’t.”
My father whispered, “I promise.”
I stared at the floor.
Promises.
I had heard enough promises to last several lifetimes.
But this time, I hoped he meant it.
Then Veronica’s phone vibrated.
She glanced at the screen.
Her expression changed.
“Rebecca.”
I turned.
“What?”
“It’s Samuel Price.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
She stared at the message.
“He just contacted the investigator handling the case.”
I rushed toward her.
“He’s alive?”
“Apparently.”
My pulse quickened.
“What did he say?”
Veronica read the message.
“Samuel says he’s been in hiding because someone discovered he was tracing the offshore accounts.”
I swallowed.
“Does he have the records?”
She looked at me.
“Part of them.”
I stared.
“And?”
“He says he’s identified the person who originally created the offshore network.”
My heart pounded.
“Adrian?”
Veronica shook her head.
“Not Adrian.”
“Charles?”
“No.”
I felt cold.
“Patricia?”
Veronica hesitated.
Then looked directly into my eyes.
“Yes.”
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then she continued.
“But he says there’s one crucial detail we still don’t understand.”
I frowned.
“What detail?”
“The offshore accounts weren’t originally created to hold money stolen from your grandfather.”
I stared at her.
“Then whose money was it?”
She swallowed.
“Money from several other companies that had been targeted before the Whitmore partnership existed.”
My heart tightened.
“So Patricia had been doing this for years?”
“That’s what Samuel’s evidence suggests.”
I looked toward the old portrait of my grandfather.
For decades, Patricia had blamed him for ruining her life.
But perhaps he had simply been the first person brave enough to stop her.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered on speaker.
“Hello?”
A woman’s voice spoke.
Smooth.
Familiar.
And filled with contempt.
“Rebecca.”
My body went cold.
“Patricia.”
She laughed softly.
“I see you’ve been keeping yourself busy.”
I clenched my jaw.
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere considerably more pleasant than that miserable old house.”
I felt my anger rising.
“Where’s Jamie?”
“With me.”
“Does she know what you’ve done?”
Patricia laughed.
“My daughter knows how to appreciate her mother.”
I stared at the phone.
“What do you want?”
There was a pause.
Then her voice turned sharp.
“I want you to stop investigating me.”
I almost laughed.
“After everything you’ve done?”
“Yes.”
“You stole my money. You helped destroy my marriage. You knew my parents were alive. You helped forge my signature. And now you expect me to walk away?”
Patricia’s voice became cold.
“You have no idea how powerful the people behind this operation are.”
I took a deep breath.
“Then perhaps you should have considered that before stealing from them.”
A long silence followed.
Then she said something unexpected.
“Rebecca, Adrian Kessler is not the person you should fear.”
I frowned.
“Who is?”
She hesitated.
Then whispered, “The person who controls the original offshore network.”
I stared at Veronica.
“You?”
Patricia laughed.
“I controlled it once. Not anymore.”
My stomach tightened.
“Then who does?”
She didn’t answer.
“Patricia?”
Her voice lowered.
“I made one mistake, Rebecca. I trusted someone who knew exactly how to turn my own greed against me.”
I felt a chill.
“Who?”
Patricia took a shaky breath.
“Someone who’s been pretending to help you.”
I stared at Veronica.
My heart began pounding.
“Who?”
A long silence followed.
Then Patricia whispered:
“Samuel Price.”
Veronica froze.
I gripped the phone.
“What?”
Patricia continued.
“That man isn’t trying to recover your money, Rebecca. He’s trying to find the only documents that can prove he was the original architect of the entire scheme.”
I felt the room go cold.
“You’re lying.”
Patricia gave a bitter laugh.
“Maybe. But ask yourself why he disappeared just before the evidence was discovered.”
My throat tightened.
Then she said:
“And ask him what happened to the first five companies he investigated before he ever met your grandfather.”
The call ended.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Veronica slowly looked at me.
“Rebecca…”
I raised my hand.
“Not another word.”
My heart was pounding.
Another accusation.
Another secret.
Another person who might not be who they claimed.
Then my phone vibrated.
A new message.
From Samuel Price.
REBECCA, I HAVE THE ORIGINAL ACCOUNT LEDGER.
A second message appeared.
I CAN PROVE WHO STOLE THE MONEY.
Then the third message made my blood run cold.
BUT IF YOU WANT THE TRUTH, YOU MUST COME ALONE.
I stared at the screen.
And for the first time since this nightmare began, I realized that the greatest danger might not be the people openly threatening me.
It might be the people offering to save me.
END OF PART 14 — TO BE CONTINUED…
