Chapter 6 - A Marriage Built on a Secret
Charles stood in my doorway as snow melted onto the porch.
I studied him for a long moment.
Then I stepped outside and closed the door behind me.
Rachel didn't need to hear this conversation without her attorney present.
"Explain yourself," I said.
Charles looked miserable.
"Grant knew you had a connection to Meridian."
I stared at him.
"How?"
"I don't know exactly when he learned it."
"Charles."
He lowered his eyes.
"About three years ago, he asked me to investigate an old business relationship."
"What relationship?"
"Daniel Carter and Meridian."
My hands went cold.
"Why?"
"Grant said he was considering investing in industrial manufacturing."
"At the time, he was dating my daughter."
"Yes."
I stepped closer.
"Did you tell him who owned the company?"
"I told him I didn't know the beneficial owner. I knew Carter Legacy Holdings had controlling interest, but I didn't know who controlled the holding company."
That much was believable.
Most employees, even senior ones, knew the corporate entity rather than the individual behind it.
Only a small circle had access to the private ownership records.
But something still bothered me.
"What made him investigate Daniel?"
Charles rubbed his face.
"He found your husband's obituary."
I froze.
Daniel's obituary had mentioned his role as Meridian's co-founder.
It was public information.
Anyone willing to search our family history could have found it.
"And?"
"He believed your family retained a financial interest."
I stared across the snow-covered lawn.
Rachel had been so happy when she met Grant.
She was twenty-eight.
He was charming, attentive, and generous.
He brought flowers to my house.
He asked about Daniel.
He listened when I spoke about our early years.
I had liked him.
God help me, I had liked him.
"Charles, are you saying your son targeted my daughter because of Meridian?"
"I'm saying he asked questions that make me wonder."
"Wondering isn't evidence."
"I understand."
"Then give everything to Rebecca."
Charles nodded.
"I will."
I turned toward the door.
He stopped me.
"There's something else."
I waited.
"My wife knew."
I slowly faced him.
"Diane knew what?"
"That Grant was looking into your family's connection to Meridian."
"And you didn't think to tell me?"
"I didn't know you were Evelyn Carter."
"You knew Daniel's name."
Charles flinched.
"Yes."
"Did you ever wonder why your son suddenly wanted to marry Daniel Carter's daughter?"
He didn't answer.
I looked at him for a long time.
"Charles, your silence helped create this."
His eyes filled.
"I know."
I went back inside.
Rachel was waiting in the hallway.
"Was that Charles?"
"Yes."
"What did he want?"
"He has documents for the investigation."
She looked at me carefully.
"Did he say something about Grant?"
I didn't want to lie.
But I also didn't want to make an accusation we couldn't prove.
"He raised concerns about when Grant became interested in Meridian."
Rachel's expression changed.
She leaned against the wall.
"Oh my God."
"What?"
She pressed a hand against her mouth.
"Before we got engaged, Grant asked me whether Dad ever left us company shares."
I closed my eyes.
"What did you tell him?"
"That I didn't think so."
"And?"
"He got angry."
"About what?"
"He said you were probably hiding assets because you didn't trust me."
I remembered that period.
Rachel had begun asking strange questions about Daniel's will.
She wanted to know whether I'd transferred the company.
Whether there were old stock certificates.
Whether I had trusts she didn't know about.
I'd assumed she was simply becoming interested in family finances.
Now I understood those questions might not have come from her.
Rachel sank onto the sofa.
"Mom, what if everything was planned?"
I sat beside her.
"Then we'll learn the truth."
She began crying.
"I thought he loved me."
I put my arm around her.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then she whispered something that hurt more than I expected.
"I stopped visiting because he told me you were ashamed of me."
I pulled back.
"What?"
"He said you didn't want me around because I wasn't successful enough."
I stared at her.
"Rachel, I have never been ashamed of you."
"He said you always wanted more."
I looked toward the fireplace.
Above it hung a photograph of Rachel at ten years old, missing one front tooth and holding a blue ribbon from a school science fair.
I had never cared whether she became wealthy.
I had wanted her to be kind.
Independent.
Happy.
"Why didn't you ask me?"
She looked at me.
"Because sometimes you made me feel like I didn't know you either."
That sentence stopped me.
She wasn't entirely wrong.
After Daniel died, I had shut part of myself away.
I stopped discussing work.
I avoided answering questions about money.
When Rachel asked how I was doing, I said fine.
When she asked whether I needed help, I said no.
I had mistaken silence for strength.
"I should have told you more," I admitted.
Rachel wiped her face.
"I should have trusted you more."
We sat together until the room grew dark.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from Rebecca.
Urgent. We have identified an attempted login to the confidential shareholder records system using Charles Whitmore's credentials.
I called her immediately.
"Did he access the records?"
"No. His access doesn't extend that far."
"Where did the attempt originate?"
"An external IP address tied to a private network."
"Can you identify the user?"
"Not yet."
Then she said, "Evelyn, there's another problem."
"What?"
"The person tried to download the complete ownership file."
I looked at Rachel.
My daughter was staring at the floor, unaware that the danger around her had just become much more serious.
May you like
Rebecca's next words made my skin crawl.
"And the request specifically searched for your home address."
