Chapter 10 - The Lawyer Who Refused to Lie
His name was Samuel Pierce.
He was seventy-one years old.
A former federal prosecutor.
And according to the official record, he had spent the last four years in prison for financial fraud and obstruction of justice.
According to Catherine, he was the most honest attorney my father had ever known.
"Those two things don't belong in the same sentence," I said.
Catherine looked at me.
"They do when the justice system has been manipulated."
Noah nodded.
"Samuel was representing your father when the investigation began."
I frowned.
"But you said he was already in prison when Dad died."
"He was," Catherine answered.
"That's why James couldn't use him."
I studied the case summary.
Samuel Pierce had been convicted after evidence allegedly linked his law firm to illegal transfers involving Hawthorne Capital.
I recognized several company names.
They appeared in my father's files.
"Did he actually move money?"
Noah shook his head.
"The prosecution claimed he did."
"Who prosecuted him?"
Catherine pointed to a name.
Arthur Wallace.
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
Every road led back to the same man.
Two days later, Claire Brooks reappeared.
She arrived at Catherine's house just after sunrise.
There was a bruise near her jaw.
Her hair was pulled into a tight ponytail.
And she looked furious.
Noah met her at the door.
"Where have you been?"
"Suspended."
"What?"
"Wallace accused me of mishandling classified investigative materials."
Noah stared at her.
"Can he do that?"
"He can start the process. Internal investigators took my badge and equipment."
She stepped inside.
"But he made one mistake."
I looked up from the kitchen table.
"What?"
"He assumed suspension would make me stop."
Claire sat opposite me.
She placed a folder on the table.
"I've contacted an independent federal prosecutor in Denver."
Noah's expression changed.
"Who?"
"Rebecca Sloan."
Catherine leaned forward.
"I know that name."
Claire nodded.
"She worked with the inspector general's office before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office."
I studied her.
"Can we trust her?"
Claire looked directly at me.
"Not blindly. But she has a documented history of investigating corrupt officials, and she isn't in Wallace's chain of command."
It was the first answer I'd heard in days that didn't promise certainty.
I appreciated it.
"What does she need?"
"Evidence she can authenticate independently."
I glanced at the necklace.
"We have the chip."
"Yes. We need forensic verification, chain-of-custody records, and witnesses who can support what those files show."
Noah nodded.
"Samuel Pierce."
Claire looked surprised.
"How do you know about him?"
Catherine answered.
"He represented James Bennett."
Claire went still.
Then slowly opened her folder.
"That's interesting."
I leaned forward.
"Why?"
"Because Samuel Pierce submitted an appeal three months ago."
I stared.
"And?"
"His attorney attached a sealed declaration."
Claire looked at Catherine.
"It mentions Emily by name."
My pulse quickened.
"What does it say?"
Claire shook her head.
"I haven't seen the sealed declaration. But Sloan may be able to seek access through proper proceedings."
I stared at the folder.
For three years, people had been discussing my life in courtrooms and offices while I knew nothing.
Now I wanted every page.
Every signature.
Every name.
Sloan obtained authorization for a monitored attorney meeting with Pierce.
I wasn't allowed inside the prison's secure meeting area.
But she agreed to ask my questions.
I wrote them on a piece of yellow paper.
Did my father know he was going to die?
Did Daniel help kill him?
What happened to my inheritance?
Then, after a long pause, I added a fourth.
Why did my father keep so many secrets from me?
When Sloan returned from the meeting, she looked shaken.
We sat in a small conference room.
Claire stood by the window.
Noah remained beside the door.
Sloan opened her notebook.
"Mr. Pierce remembers your father very well."
I swallowed.
"Is he willing to help?"
"Yes."
She paused.
"He said your father spent his final weeks trying to protect two people."
I leaned forward.
"Me and my mother?"
Sloan shook her head.
"Your mother had already passed away."
"Then who?"
"You."
She glanced at her notes.
"And a young woman named Vanessa Cole."
I stared.
"Vanessa?"
Sloan nodded.
My hands went cold.
"Why would my father protect Vanessa?"
"Pierce says Vanessa approached him with evidence of financial crimes involving Hawthorne."
I shook my head.
"She told Claire she was working for Dad."
"That may be true."
"But she was also Daniel's mistress."
Sloan nodded.
"Both can be true."
I stared at her.
The idea was unbearable.
The woman who had helped destroy my marriage might once have tried to help my father.
"Did Pierce explain?"
"He said Vanessa was recruited to investigate Adrian Vale."
Noah leaned forward.
"By whom?"
Sloan read from her notes.
"James Bennett."
I stared at her.
"Why?"
"Because Adrian had been secretly financing the company that employed Vanessa."
I felt my pulse quicken.
"That still doesn't explain Daniel."
Sloan looked at me.
"Pierce says Daniel was never supposed to marry you."
The room went silent.
I laughed once.
"What?"
"He says the original plan was to obtain access to your father's corporate records through a business partnership."
I looked toward Noah.
He looked equally surprised.
Sloan continued.
"According to Pierce, your father discovered the operation shortly before Daniel proposed."
I stared.
"Then why didn't he stop me?"
"Because he was trying to collect evidence without alerting Richard."
My voice broke.
"He could've told me."
Sloan looked at me gently.
"Pierce says he wanted to. But he believed Richard had threatened your safety."
I pressed my hands together.
"Then why did Dad come to the wedding?"
Sloan hesitated.
"Your father didn't want to lose contact with you."
I looked away.
I remembered him standing beside me before the ceremony.
He'd straightened my veil.
Smiled.
Then held my hands for a moment longer than usual.
"Are you happy, Em?"
I'd laughed.
"Of course, Dad."
He'd looked at Daniel across the room.
Then back at me.
"If you ever need anything, you call me."
I had thought he was being sentimental.
Now I wondered whether he had been saying goodbye.
Sloan continued.
"Pierce also gave us a lead on the missing inheritance."
I wiped my cheeks.
"Where is it?"
"Most of it was transferred through several investment vehicles."
"Can we get it back?"
"Potentially. But we need to establish the fraud and trace the assets."
I nodded slowly.
"What's the lead?"
Sloan opened a folder.
Inside was a copy of a private trust agreement.
The heading read:
THE ELEANOR BENNETT PROTECTIVE TRUST.
I stopped breathing.
"Eleanor was my mother."
Sloan nodded.
"The trust was created in her name."
I stared at the document.
"Who controls it?"
Sloan looked at me.
"According to Pierce, your father made you the ultimate beneficiary."
My heart hammered.
"And who manages it?"
Sloan turned the page.
A signature appeared.
Adrian Vale.
I felt sick.
"My uncle?"
"Yes."
Noah leaned over the document.
"That's the same trust Adrian used for Hawthorne transactions."
Sloan nodded.
"But there's something unusual."
"What?"
"The trust requires your personal authorization before certain assets can be permanently transferred."
I frowned.
"Then how did Richard take them?"
Sloan looked at me carefully.
"That's the question."
I thought of the documents Daniel had brought me after my father's funeral.
My signature.
My grief.
My willingness to trust him.
"They forged my consent."
"Possibly," Sloan said. "Or obtained it through deception."
I looked at the trust agreement again.
Near the bottom was a paragraph highlighted in yellow.
The beneficiary's interest shall vest fully upon the occurrence of the qualifying event described in Schedule C.
I frowned.
"What's Schedule C?"
Sloan hesitated.
"We haven't obtained it yet."
Noah leaned forward.
"Pierce didn't have it?"
"He says James kept that schedule separately."
I looked at the document.
"Why?"
Sloan closed the folder.
"Because Schedule C determines when the trust can no longer be controlled by its current administrators."
I felt my daughter kick.
My hand moved automatically to my stomach.
Sloan watched.
Then slowly looked at Claire.
"What?" I asked.
Neither woman answered immediately.
My pulse quickened.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Sloan opened her notebook.
"Pierce remembers James mentioning a provision that protected future generations."
I stared.
"Future generations?"
She nodded.
"Emily, we believe the qualifying event may involve the birth of your first child."
The room went silent.
Then I understood something so horrifying that I stopped breathing.
Richard hadn't threatened my daughter merely because he was angry.
My pregnancy wasn't just an embarrassment to his family.
It could change who controlled everything.
I gripped the edge of the table.
"Does Richard know?"
Sloan looked at me.
"We have reason to believe he does."
My voice came out as a whisper.
"And if my daughter is born?"
She took a breath.
"The trust's control provisions may shift in your favor."
I looked toward Noah.
His face had turned gray.
"That's why they wanted Emily to apologize at dinner," he said.
Claire frowned.
"What?"
Noah looked at me.
"They weren't trying to humiliate you."
I remembered Richard standing in front of me with the cigarette.
Daniel gripping my wrist.
Margaret watching.
Vanessa sitting silently.
Noah finished:
"They were trying to force you to submit before the trust could be challenged."
My phone began ringing.
Unknown number.
I stared at it.
Claire shook her head.
"Don't answer."
But I already knew who it was.
I put the phone on speaker.
A man's voice filled the room.
Smooth.
Calm.
Almost friendly.
"Emily."
I gripped the table.
"Who is this?"
He laughed softly.
"You used to call me Uncle Adrian."
I stopped breathing.
He continued.
"I hear you're going to have a little girl."
Noah moved closer.
Adrian's voice lowered.
"Congratulations, sweetheart."
Then he said:
May you like
"Now we need to discuss whether she gets to be born into your father's fortune."
And the line went dead.
