Chapter 5 - Felicity’s First Lie
They did not go directly to the storage unit.
Damon called the facility first.
The manager confirmed Unit 314 still existed.
But someone had attempted to access it the previous afternoon.
The person had failed to produce identification matching either authorized name.
“Did you get a name?” Damon asked.
“He said he was family.”
“What did he look like?”
“Older gentleman. Gray hair. Expensive coat.”
Damon glanced at Felicity.
Vincent.
The manager refused to release surveillance footage without law-enforcement involvement but agreed to flag the account against unauthorized access.
Damon contacted Richard’s estate attorney, Helen Cross, who advised him not to enter the unit until she reviewed the ownership status.
Richard’s death could mean the contents belonged to the estate.
Damon agreed.
For once, caution felt more powerful than rage.
On the drive home, Felicity was silent.
Damon finally said, “Why did you let Vincent keep coming to our house?”
She looked out the window.
“Because if I suddenly banned him, you would ask why.”
“So instead you served him dinner.”
“Yes.”
“And smiled.”
“Sometimes.”
“And let Ivy hug him.”
Her eyes filled.
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Use her to make what I did uglier than it already is.”
Damon stared through the windshield.
“You covered our daughter’s mouth last night because she knew something you were afraid I would hear.”
“I know.”
“That image is going to stay with me.”
“It’s going to stay with me too.”
They drove several miles.
Then Felicity said, “There’s something else.”
Damon almost laughed.
“Of course there is.”
“I met Vincent at the house when you were traveling.”
“How often?”
“Six times.”
The answer landed heavily.
Damon’s jaw tightened.
“Were you sleeping with him?”
Felicity turned sharply.
“No.”
“Think before you answer.”
“I don’t need to think.”
“Then why did he come?”
“Documents.”
“What documents?”
“Old family-holding records.”
“Why at our house?”
“Richard stored copies in the study.”
“And you gave them to Vincent?”
“Some.”
Damon pulled onto the shoulder.
He turned off the engine.
“Look at me.”
She did.
“Did you destroy evidence?”
“No.”
“Did you remove records?”
“Yes.”
“Where are they?”
“I gave some to Vincent.”
His voice became flat.
“You told me you signed transfers because you were scared. You did not tell me you helped him take records from my father’s files.”
“I thought he already had copies.”
“That is not the point.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
Felicity gripped her seat belt.
“He showed me an email that looked like it came from Richard. It said I was to give Vincent the project binders.”
“Looked like?”
“I later discovered the metadata didn’t match.”
“Meaning?”
“I think Vincent fabricated it.”
“And when you discovered that?”
“I stopped giving him files.”
“When?”
“Eight months ago.”
Damon closed his eyes.
Eight months.
Richard had still been alive then.
“Did you tell Dad?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought Richard already suspected me.”
“He did.”
“I know that now.”
Damon restarted the car.
Felicity touched his arm.
He pulled away.
“Don’t.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I can’t absorb apologies fast enough to keep up with revelations.”
Back at the house, Ivy was with Felicity’s sister, Claire.
Damon went straight to Richard’s study.
One bookshelf had a gap.
“Which binders?”
Felicity pointed.
“Hawthorne. Rivergate. Silver Oaks.”
Three developments.
Three of the company’s largest projects during Vincent’s years as chief operating officer.
Damon felt sick.
His phone buzzed.
Helen Cross.
“Damon, I reviewed the storage paperwork.”
“And?”
“Unit 314 was rented personally by your father, then assigned to the Richard Hale Revocable Trust.”
“So I can access it?”
“As successor trustee, yes.”
Damon exhaled.
“There’s more,” Helen said.
He heard paper moving.
“Your father came to see me eleven days before he died.”
Felicity watched Damon’s face.
“What did he want?”
“He asked me a hypothetical question.”
“What question?”
“He wanted to know whether learning that a named beneficiary was not biologically related could invalidate his estate plan.”
Damon’s stomach tightened.
“What did you tell him?”
“That his will and trust name you specifically. Your biological parentage would not remove you.”
“And Vincent?”
“Vincent receives a fixed bequest and retains shares he already owns. Nothing about being your biological father gives him control of Richard’s estate.”
Damon felt something loosen in his chest.
Richard had protected him.
Helen continued.
“But your father asked another question.”
“What?”
“He asked whether fraud committed by a company officer could justify clawing back distributions or removing that officer from positions of trust.”
Damon looked toward the old Hawthorne binders’ empty space.
“What did you say?”
“That it could, depending on evidence.”
“Did he tell you whose fraud?”
“No.”
Helen paused.
“But Damon, he left something with me.”
Damon gripped the phone.
“What?”
“A sealed memorandum.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because the instructions said I was not to open or release it unless one of two things happened.”
“What things?”
“The first was if Vincent challenged the estate.”
Damon waited.
“And the second?”
Helen’s voice became quiet.
“If Felicity admitted she had helped Vincent remove records.”
Across the room, Felicity’s face drained of color.
May you like
Damon stared at her.
“How soon can I see you?”
