Chapter 3 - My Father's Last Decision
I stared at my mother.
"What does that mean?"
She pushed the photograph away.
"Ask your precious father."
"He's dead."
"I know."
The bitterness in her voice shocked me.
Sienna whispered, "Mom."
Mom ignored her.
"Andrew controlled everything. The house. Investments. Retirement. Insurance. Every account."
"That's not true."
"You were a child when most of it happened."
"I was twenty-nine when he died."
"To him, you were always the responsible one."
Her mouth twisted.
"The perfect daughter."
I almost laughed at the absurdity.
Dad and I had fought plenty.
About my career.
About deployments.
About Mason.
About whether I was pushing myself too hard.
Perfect wasn't a word he'd ever used.
"What's your point?"
"When he updated the trust, he cut me out."
The room went quiet.
I frowned.
"What trust?"
Mom looked genuinely surprised.
"You really don't know."
Mercer and Agent Cole exchanged a glance.
That bothered me.
"Know what?"
Cole closed the folder.
"General Bennett established a secondary trust eighteen months before his death."
I looked at Mason.
He shook his head.
He hadn't known either.
"It contained proceeds from private investments, intellectual property rights, and several real estate holdings."
"How much?"
Cole hesitated.
"Current estimated value is approximately eleven million dollars."
Sienna's mouth fell open.
Mom watched my face carefully.
"Now you understand."
"No."
I shook my head.
"I understand even less."
Mercer leaned forward.
"Your father named you sole trustee."
"What?"
"The beneficiaries were you, your mother, and your sister under specific conditions."
My pulse started racing.
"What conditions?"
"Your mother would receive lifetime housing and medical support."
Mom scoffed.
"An allowance."
"Sienna would receive access to educational funding, medical expenses, and matching funds tied to verified employment income."
Sienna stared at the table.
"And me?"
Mercer looked directly at me.
"You controlled the remainder."
I sat back.
"But nobody told me."
"The trust included a delayed disclosure provision."
"Until when?"
"Until either you reached thirty-five..."
He paused.
"...or someone attempted unauthorized access."
I slowly turned toward Mom.
She looked away.
"You triggered it."
Her lips tightened.
"I was trying to recover what your father stole from me."
"Stole?"
"You don't know what marriage was like with him."
"Then tell me."
"You worshiped him."
"No. I loved him."
"Same thing."
My anger flared.
"You spent thirty years in his homes, using his accounts, traveling on military and diplomatic assignments with him. You stood beside him at promotions and ceremonies. Now you're telling me he stole from you?"
Her eyes flashed.
"You think medals make a man a saint?"
"No."
I leaned forward.
"But fake signatures make somebody a criminal."
She flinched.
Good.
Sienna started crying quietly.
Not dramatic tears.
Real ones.
"Mom, did you use my name?"
Mom looked at her.
"What?"
"For the condo."
"No."
"Did you take out anything in my name?"
Silence.
Sienna stood.
"Oh my God."
"Sienna, sit down."
"What did you do?"
"I protected you."
"From what?"
"Your own stupidity!"
The words hit Sienna like a slap.
She stared at our mother.
Mom seemed to realize too late what she had said.
"I didn't mean—"
"Yes, you did."
Sienna grabbed her purse.
Agent Cole stood.
"Ms. Bennett, before you leave, I need you to understand you may also be a victim of identity fraud."
Sienna stopped.
"What?"
Cole slid another document across the table.
A loan agreement.
Seven hundred thousand dollars.
Borrower: Sienna Grace Bennett.
Sienna's hands began shaking.
"I've never seen this."
Mom closed her eyes.
I felt sick.
"Who received the money?"
I asked.
Cole looked at me.
"A company called Northstar Strategic Holdings."
Mason went completely still.
I noticed immediately.
"Mason?"
He didn't answer.
"Mason."
He looked at Mercer.
"How long have you known the company name?"
"Forty-eight hours."
Mason stood.
"Why wasn't I briefed?"
"Because we weren't certain it was connected."
"Connected to what?"
Mercer glanced at my mother.
Then at me.
Mason answered instead.
"Northstar Strategic Holdings appeared in an intelligence investigation last year."
Every hair on my arms lifted.
"What kind of investigation?"
His eyes met mine.
"Foreign money."
My mother laughed nervously.
"That's insane."
Mason didn't look at her.
"Northstar was suspected of laundering funds through defense-adjacent families."
I couldn't speak.
My father's hidden trust.
Forged signatures.
Loans in Sienna's name.
Foreign money.
This wasn't a family argument anymore.
Agent Cole's phone buzzed.
She checked the message.
Her expression changed.
"What?"
Mercer asked.
Cole looked at me.
"The bank just received another transfer request."
I stared at her.
"Right now?"
"Yes."
"From whom?"
She turned the screen toward us.
The authorization had been submitted using my credentials.
My actual classified government credentials.
May you like
And according to the system...
I was the one who had just approved it.
