Chapter 9 - The Letter
Susan Bell still had the original.
Charles had left it with her under attorney-client instructions that became releasable if Lauren ever made a credible threat against Margaret or Daniel.
By noon, Susan had scanned it.
The letter was handwritten.
Short.
No signature.
But Charles had traced it to an apartment Lauren rented before moving in with Daniel.
Mr. Hale,
You probably don’t remember Samuel Vale. I remember him every day.
You took my father from me and bought silence from my mother.
Money saved your company. It did not save us.
You built a life on what happened in that trench.
I’m going to make sure you understand what it feels like to watch your family disappear.
You took my father. I’m going to take your son.
Daniel read it alone.
Then again.
Margaret watched him from her hospital bed.
“She targeted me.”
“Yes.”
“From the beginning.”
“It appears so.”
“How could you let me marry her?”
Margaret’s face crumpled.
“We tried to tell you.”
“When?”
“Your father was going to.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“The night before he went into the hospital for the last time.”
Daniel remembered that night.
Charles had called.
Daniel had been at dinner with Lauren.
He had silenced the phone.
His father left a voicemail.
Call me tomorrow. There’s something I need to talk to you about.
Tomorrow never came.
Charles had suffered a massive complication before dawn.
Daniel sat heavily.
Margaret whispered, “After he died, I found the letter.”
“And?”
“I confronted Lauren.”
Daniel looked up sharply.
“When?”
“Three months before the wedding.”
His disbelief turned to anger.
“You confronted her and still said nothing?”
“She admitted everything.”
“What?”
“She said she had sought you out because of your family.”
Daniel could barely speak.
“And you let me marry her?”
“She said she had fallen in love with you.”
Daniel laughed.
The sound frightened even him.
“She told you that?”
“Yes.”
“And you believed her?”
“I wanted to.”
“Why?”
“Because you loved her.”
“That was my decision to make.”
Margaret looked away.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I was afraid if I told you, you would think I was trying to destroy your relationship because of what happened to her father.”
“You were.”
“No. I was trying to keep you from carrying your father’s guilt.”
“So instead you let me marry a woman who threatened him?”
“She promised me the revenge was over.”
Daniel stood.
“She stole millions.”
“I know.”
“She built a case that you were mentally incompetent.”
“I know.”
“She pushed you down a mountain.”
Margaret closed her eyes.
“I know.”
Daniel walked toward the window.
For the first time, he understood that Lauren’s betrayal was not the only betrayal in the room.
His mother had hidden the truth.
His father had hidden the truth.
Mark had hidden the truth.
Every person claiming to protect him had decided what he was allowed to know.
“What else?” he asked.
Margaret stared at him.
“What?”
“What else are you hiding?”
“Nothing.”
“That answer doesn’t work anymore.”
Margaret hesitated.
Daniel saw it.
“Mom.”
“There is one thing.”
He waited.
“When I confronted Lauren before the wedding, she gave me something.”
“What?”
“A recording.”
“Of whom?”
“Your father.”
Daniel froze.
“What recording?”
“An old cassette transfer from 1999.”
“What was on it?”
Margaret looked ashamed.
“Charles talking to the Mesa Vista superintendent after the wall shifted.”
“And?”
“He told him to keep the crew working.”
Daniel’s face went numb.
Margaret continued.
“It sounded terrible.”
“Did Dad know it existed?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t anyone turn it over?”
“The civil attorneys had it.”
“To the Vale family?”
“I thought so.”
“You thought?”
“Lauren said her mother had kept a copy.”
Daniel stared.
“Where is it now?”
Margaret swallowed.
“I gave it back to Lauren.”
Daniel could not believe what he was hearing.
“You gave her evidence that Dad may have knowingly endangered workers?”
“She said she wanted nothing except to move on.”
Daniel looked toward the door.
Then back at his mother.
“She didn’t move on.”
“No.”
“She built her entire life around getting close enough to us to finish what she started.”
Margaret whispered, “Maybe.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
He lifted the letter.
“This wasn’t a maybe.”
His phone rang.
Rachel Moss.
Daniel answered.
“Tell me you found something good.”
Rachel’s voice was tense.
“I found where part of the stolen money went.”
“To Lauren’s blackmailer?”
“That’s what Mark told you?”
“Yes.”
Rachel paused.
“Daniel, I don’t think Lauren was being blackmailed.”
“What do you mean?”
“The recipient account belongs to a trust.”
“For whom?”
May you like
Rachel took a breath.
“Lauren Vale.”
