Chapter 4 - Rebecca’s Silence
Daniel did not sleep.
At four in the morning, Lily finally stopped waking every twenty minutes.
Rebecca sat beside her bed.
Daniel remained downstairs.
He stared through the kitchen windows at the empty place where the cage had been taken into evidence.
Detective Ortiz had left after instructing both Daniel and Rebecca not to discuss details with Victor or Eleanor Hale.
Eleanor.
Daniel’s mother.
He had not even called her.
At dawn, Rebecca came downstairs.
Daniel poured coffee but did not offer her any.
She stood across the island.
“I need to explain.”
“You had months.”
“I know.”
“How long did you know?”
“That something was wrong? Almost two years.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Before Dad died?”
“Yes.”
Rebecca had once worked as financial planning director for Hale Land. She left after Lily was born.
Daniel remembered Samuel joking that the company had lost its only person capable of telling Victor no.
Apparently Samuel’s joke had not been entirely a joke.
Rebecca folded her arms around herself.
“Victor came to me three years ago. Hale Land was restructuring debt. He asked me to authorize two transfers because I was still listed as an officer during the transition.”
“And you signed.”
“Yes.”
“Without checking?”
“I checked the paperwork he gave me.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
Rebecca swallowed.
“I trusted him.”
“So did I.”
“The money was supposed to move temporarily through a holding company and return as part of a refinancing package.”
“Marlowe Holdings.”
“Yes.”
“Did it come back?”
“Some did. Most didn’t.”
Daniel turned toward the window.
“When did you realize?”
“Months later.”
“And you told Dad.”
“Yes.”
“Not me.”
Rebecca’s silence was enough.
Daniel faced her.
“Why?”
“Because Samuel asked me not to.”
Daniel laughed without humor.
“So my father and my wife decided I couldn’t handle knowing my own signature was being forged?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“What was it like?”
“Your architecture division was already struggling. You were fighting with Samuel constantly. He thought if he brought you into it too early, you’d confront Victor before we had proof.”
“And apparently everyone in this family thought I was an idiot.”
“That isn’t what I thought.”
“What did you think?”
Rebecca finally raised her voice.
“I thought your family destroys anyone who threatens the Hale name!”
The words hung between them.
Daniel stared at her.
Rebecca’s shoulders dropped.
“Samuel knew it too.”
Daniel wanted to argue.
Instead he remembered childhood dinners where mistakes were treated like disloyalty.
Victor had learned to hide his.
Daniel had learned to defend his.
Their mother had learned to pretend nothing was wrong.
“What happened to the ledger?”
Rebecca asked quietly.
“Police have it.”
“Then Victor will panic.”
“He already did.”
“No.” Rebecca shook her head. “You don’t understand. Victor believed that ledger disappeared after Samuel died.”
“Why?”
“Because it did.”
Daniel turned.
Rebecca continued.
“Samuel kept it in a wall safe in his office. After the funeral, I went back for it.”
“And?”
“It was gone.”
“Who knew about the safe?”
“Samuel. Me.”
She hesitated.
“And your mother.”
Daniel felt cold.
Before he could respond, his phone rang.
Eleanor Hale.
He stared at her name.
Rebecca whispered, “Don’t tell her about the ledger.”
Daniel answered.
“Mom.”
“Daniel, thank God.”
Eleanor’s voice trembled convincingly.
“Victor called me. He says there has been some terrible misunderstanding.”
Daniel said nothing.
“Are Rebecca and Lily all right?”
“Lily was locked in a cage.”
Silence.
Then a sharp inhale.
“Oh, Daniel.”
“You sound surprised.”
“I am surprised.”
“Victor was there.”
“Victor told me.”
“He told you what?”
“That police are accusing him of something absurd.”
Daniel looked at Rebecca.
“What do you know about Marlowe Holdings?”
Another silence.
Longer this time.
When Eleanor finally answered, her voice was different.
Older.
Tired.
“Daniel, this isn’t a conversation we should have by telephone.”
“Why?”
“Because Marlowe belongs to me.”
May you like
Daniel tightened his grip on the phone.
And across the kitchen, Rebecca slowly closed her eyes.
