Chapter 6: What Happened to My Father
“What happened to my father?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
He stood beneath the crystal chandelier with his phone still in his hand, staring at the message as though the words might rearrange themselves if he waited long enough.
They didn’t.
I stepped toward him.
“You heard me.””
His throat moved.
“Claire, this is complicated.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You don't get that word anymore.””
The ballroom had gone so quiet I could hear the air-conditioning humming above us.
Daniel looked between us.
“Claire's father?””
Marcus finally looked at him.
“This has nothing to do with the wedding.””
“It obviously does,” Daniel said.
Brielle moved closer to Marcus.
“Dad, please.””
I turned toward her.
“Stop protecting him.””
“I’m not.””
“You've been doing it all night.””
She opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
The phone in Marcus’s hand vibrated again.
He looked down.
Another message.
His expression changed.
I held out my hand.
“Give me the phone.””
“No.””
“Then read it aloud.””
“Claire…”
“Read it.””
He stared at me.
I waited.
Finally, he turned the screen toward himself and read.
“‘If she asks tonight, tell her everything.’”
He stopped.
My heart pounded.
“Who sent that?””
He didn’t answer.
“Who?””
“Vanessa.””
I laughed once.
“Of course.””
I stepped back.
“The woman you were engaged to.””
Marcus nodded.
“The woman who took money from my trust.””
“She didn't take it.””
“The woman you paid with my father's money.””
“I borrowed it.””
“With my permission?””
“No.””
“Then you stole it.””
He flinched.
“I intended to repay every dollar.””
“But you didn't.””
“I tried.””
“Where is the money now?””
He looked toward the closed ballroom doors.
“Gone.””
A cold feeling spread through me.
“Gone where?””
Marcus lowered his voice.
“Into the company.””
I stared at him.
“So my father's money saved your business.””
“Part of it.””
“And when your company recovered?””
“I put some back.””
“Some?””
“Yes.””
“How much?””
“Thirty-one thousand.””
I almost couldn't believe him.
“There was eighty-six thousand.””
“Yes.””
“Where is the other fifty-five?””
He said nothing.
I felt my hands begin to shake.
“Marcus.””
He closed his eyes.
“Some went to Vanessa.””
My breath caught.
“You paid her with my money.””
“I paid a debt.””
“You paid your former fiancée.””
“She was threatening to expose me.””
“What were you hiding?””
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“I wasn't hiding anything criminal.””
“That isn't what I asked.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“What was she threatening to expose?””
Marcus looked at his son-in-law.
“I made bad decisions.””
“That's not an answer,” Daniel said.
Marcus looked exhausted.
“My business partner was falsifying reports.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“He was moving money between accounts.””
“Were you involved?””
“No.””
“Did you know?””
Marcus hesitated.
“Eventually.””
The word landed heavily.
I stared at him.
“So you knew your partner was stealing.””
“I suspected.””
“And you did nothing.””
“I confronted him.””
“When?””
“After the company had already lost most of its reserve.””
“And that's when you used the trust?””
“Yes.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I knew you'd leave.””
The honesty in his voice hurt more than another lie would have.
I stared at him.
“You thought I'd leave.””
“Yes.””
“So you chose to lie instead.””
“I chose to fix it.””
“With my family's money.””
“With money I believed I could replace.””
“You believed.””
He looked away.
I shook my head.
“That is the word people use when they know they have no proof.””
Brielle suddenly spoke.
“Dad did repay some of it.””
I turned toward her.
“That doesn't make it right.””
“I know.””
“Then why defend him?””
She looked down.
“Because I needed him.””
“Needed him for what?””
She hesitated.
“To help me keep Vanessa away.””
My stomach tightened.
“What did Vanessa have against you?””
Brielle said nothing.
Daniel looked at her.
“Brielle.””
She swallowed.
“She knew about the trust.””
“She knew?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
“She found the old documents.””
I looked at Marcus.
He nodded.
“Vanessa had access to the records when she was involved with the company.””
“And she discovered my father's trust?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn't she come to me?””
Marcus stared at me.
“She tried.””
“When?””
“Several times.””
I felt numb.
“You stopped her.””
He didn't deny it.
“You intercepted her letters.””
“Yes.””
“You blocked her calls.””
“Yes.””
“You knew she was trying to tell me.””
“Yes.””
I closed my eyes.
A thousand tiny moments suddenly made sense.
The calls from unknown numbers.
The envelopes that disappeared from the kitchen table.
The strange voicemail Marcus said was “probably a scam.””
The time my stepmother's old attorney called, only for Marcus to tell me the office had made a mistake.
He had been standing between me and the truth for years.
I opened my eyes.
“How long?””
Marcus didn't answer.
“How long have you been keeping Vanessa away from me?””
“Three years.””
The ballroom seemed to tilt.
“Three years?””
“Yes.””
“Since my stepmother died?””
“Yes.””
I stared at him.
“So when you offered to handle her estate…”
“I was trying to keep things stable.””
“You were controlling what I saw.””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“Stop saying that.””
My voice cracked.
“You weren't protecting me. You were protecting yourself.””
Marcus looked devastated.
But I no longer cared.
I turned toward the manager.
“Is there a private office?””
“Yes, ma'am.””
“Can we use it?””
“Of course.””
I looked at the guests.
“We're going to finish this conversation privately.””
Brielle stepped forward.
“I'm coming.””
“No.””
“But—”
“You’ve hidden enough.””
She stopped.
Daniel looked at me.
“I'll stay with her.””
I nodded.
Marcus followed me toward the side corridor.
The venue manager opened a small office overlooking the parking lot.
I walked inside.
Marcus followed.
The door closed behind us.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then I placed the letter on the desk.
“Start at the beginning.””
He sat down.
“Your father didn't trust your stepmother.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“He suspected she was moving money.””
“She wouldn't.””
“She did.””
“Prove it.””
Marcus pulled out his phone.
He opened a photograph.
It showed an old bank statement.
My father's name was at the top.
Below it was a series of transfers.
Some were dated months before his death.
Some after.
I scanned them.
“What am I looking at?””
“Payments to a holding company.””
“Whose company?””
“Your stepmother's.””
My chest tightened.
“She had a company?””
“Yes.””
“Why didn't I know?””
“Because your father kept it separate.””
“Why?””
“Because he suspected she was siphoning money.””
I stared at the statement.
“How much?””
“Almost two hundred thousand.””
I looked up.
“You're telling me she stole two hundred thousand dollars from my father?””
“Not exactly.””
“Then explain.””
“She was moving it into an account controlled by someone else.””
“Who?””
Marcus looked at me.
“Vanessa.””
I couldn't speak.
“Your stepmother and Vanessa knew each other.””
“What?””
“They worked together.””
“No.””
“Yes.””
“That’s impossible.””
“She met Vanessa through your father's financial adviser.””
I shook my head.
“My stepmother hated Vanessa.””
“That's what she wanted people to think.””
I stared at the bank statement.
“So Vanessa wasn't Marcus's former investor.””
“She was.””
“But she was also working with my stepmother.””
“Yes.””
“And they were moving my father's money.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Marcus looked toward the door.
“I don't know.””
“Don't lie.””
“I swear.””
“Then what did Vanessa mean when she said I would find out what happened to my father?””
His expression changed.
He looked frightened again.
“She believes your father didn't die naturally.””
I froze.
“What?””
Marcus stood up.
“Claire…”
“What did you just say?””
“I don't know if it's true.””
“You said she believes it.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because she found a report.””
“What report?””
“An old toxicology report.””
My stomach dropped.
“My father died of a heart attack.””
“That was the official conclusion.””
“Wasn't it?””
Marcus said nothing.
I stepped closer.
“What did the report say?””
He looked at me.
“There were traces of a drug in his system.””
I stared at him.
“What drug?””
“I don't know.””
“Did my stepmother know?””
“Yes.””
“Did you?””
“Yes.””
“Three years ago?””
“Yes.””
“And you never told me?””
“No.””
I felt something inside me go very still.
All the anger I'd felt that night seemed to burn away, leaving something colder behind.
“Where is that report?””
Marcus didn't answer.
“Where?””
“Vanessa has it.””
I turned toward the door.
“Then we're finding Vanessa.””
Marcus caught my arm.
“Claire, you don't understand.””
I pulled free.
“You're right.””
I looked directly at him.
“I don't understand how my husband could know something like this and look me in the eyes every morning.””
He flinched.
“I was afraid.””
“Of Vanessa?””
“No.””
His eyes met mine.
“Of what you'd discover about your stepmother.””
“What did she do?””
He swallowed.
“I don't know.””
“Then what are you afraid I'll discover?””
Marcus's phone vibrated again.
He looked at it.
I saw his face change.
“What?””
He didn't answer.
I took the phone from his hand before he could stop me.
The new message was only six words.
*Ask him where your father was buried.*
I stared at the screen.
“My father was buried at St. Matthew's.””
Marcus slowly shook his head.
“No.””
The blood drained from my face.
“What do you mean, no?””
He whispered,
“That isn't where your father was buried.””
My fingers went cold.
“Then where is he?””
Marcus looked toward the window.
And before he could answer, someone knocked three times on the office door.
A woman's voice came from the hallway.
“Claire?””
I froze.
I knew that voice.
May you like
Vanessa whispered through the door,
“Your father left you something.””
