Chapter 6 - THE PRICE OF A DAUGHTER
Madeline listened to her father’s voice five times.
Each replay made the betrayal worse.
What about my daughter?
You promised she’d never know.
The man who had claimed the marriage arrangement appeared only three weeks earlier had known Bradley before Christopher’s accident.
Maybe long before.
Christopher watched Madeline from the bed.
She had not cried.
That worried him more than tears would have.
“Madeline.”
“I need to leave.”
“Don’t go alone.”
“I’m going to see my father.”
“No.”
She turned.
“No?”
“You just discovered he may be connected to the people who tried to kill me.”
“He is still my father.”
“Exactly why you won’t think clearly.”
Her eyes flashed.
“You’ve known me for a week.”
“I heard you for nine months.”
The room went still.
Madeline stared.
Christopher seemed to realize what he had said.
She whispered, “Nine months?”
He looked away.
“You said you were conscious sometimes.”
“I was.”
“How long?”
“More than anyone knows.”
Madeline moved closer.
“Were you conscious before the wedding?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Days at a time toward the end.”
“Why didn’t you open your eyes?”
“I couldn’t.”
“But you heard people?”
“Yes.”
“Bradley?”
“Yes.”
“Abigail?”
“Yes.”
“My father?”
Christopher’s expression answered before his voice did.
“Yes.”
Madeline’s stomach twisted.
“You heard him?”
“Two weeks before the wedding.”
“What did he say?”
Christopher hesitated.
“Tell me.”
“He came into my room with Bradley.”
Madeline’s knees weakened.
“What did they talk about?”
“Your mother.”
She froze.
“My mother?”
Christopher swallowed.
“Bradley asked your father whether you knew how she died.”
Madeline stepped backward.
“My mother had cancer.”
Christopher said nothing.
“She had ovarian cancer.”
“I know what you were told.”
The air seemed to disappear.
“What are you saying?”
“I don’t know.”
Madeline’s voice rose.
“What did Bradley say?”
Christopher forced himself to remember.
“He said, ‘If Madeline discovers what happened to her mother, she’ll never cooperate.’ Your father told him you believed the hospital story.”
Madeline stared.
“What hospital story?”
“I don’t know.”
She grabbed her coat.
Christopher tried to move.
His legs failed him.
“Madeline.”
“I have to know.”
“At least take security.”
“Whose security? The family where half the people may be murderers?”
“Take Evelyn.”
“No.”
She left before he could stop her.
Daniel Carter lived in the same rented house where Madeline had grown up after the family lost everything.
When she arrived, the porch light was on.
Her father opened the door wearing an old flannel shirt.
His relief disappeared when he saw her face.
“You heard the recording,” he said.
Madeline went cold.
“You knew there was a recording?”
“No. Bradley called me.”
Of course he had.
“What happened to Mom?”
Her father’s face collapsed.
“Come inside.”
“What happened to Mom?”
“Please.”
She walked in.
The living room looked smaller than she remembered.
A photograph of her mother stood above the fireplace.
Claire Carter.
Forty-nine years old when she died.
Warm brown eyes.
The person Madeline trusted most in the world.
Daniel sat.
Madeline remained standing.
“Your mother discovered something while working for Harrington Global.”
Madeline stared.
“My mother never worked for Harrington.”
“She did consulting bookkeeping from home.”
“What?”
“She didn’t tell you because she knew you hated the corporate jobs she took after my company started failing.”
Madeline felt dizzy.
“What did she discover?”
“Offshore transfers.”
The same transfers.
“She thought someone inside Harrington Global was stealing.”
“Richard?”
“Richard and Bradley.”
Madeline’s hands began shaking.
“Bradley was involved six years ago?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He handled subsidiary accounts.”
“And Mom knew?”
“She copied records.”
“Then what?”
“She contacted Edward Harrington.”
Christopher’s father.
Everything connected.
Daniel wiped his face.
“Before they could meet, Edward died.”
Madeline stopped breathing.
“Mom thought his death wasn’t natural.”
“She became frightened.”
“What did Bradley do?”
“He found out who she was.”
Madeline stared at her father.
“Did he kill her?”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
“Dad.”
“She was sick already.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Daniel’s voice cracked.
“Bradley threatened to expose my gambling debts. He threatened you.”
“So Mom stopped investigating?”
“For a while.”
“For a while?”
“She kept copies.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
Madeline laughed bitterly.
“Convenient.”
“Then she got worse. By the time the cancer spread, she was in pain constantly.”
“And Bradley?”
“He paid me.”
Madeline’s entire body went still.
“What?”
“I needed money.”
“For Mom?”
“For everything.”
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand.”
Madeline stared at the man who had raised her.
“What did you give him?”
Daniel began crying.
“Your mother’s laptop.”
Madeline slapped him.
The sound cracked through the room.
Daniel did not move.
Madeline stared at her own hand.
Then at him.
“You sold her evidence.”
“I thought she had backups.”
“You sold her.”
“No.”
“You sold her because you were gambling.”
“I was trying to save us.”
“That word again.”
Her voice broke.
“Us.”
Daniel buried his face.
“After she died, Bradley kept me close. Small favors. Information. He knew I was weak.”
“And Christopher’s accident?”
Daniel looked up quickly.
“I had nothing to do with it.”
“You were on the recording.”
“I got there afterward.”
“Why?”
“Bradley called me.”
“Why would he call you?”
“Because he needed someone to identify the road.”
Madeline frowned.
“What?”
“My old company had worked on drainage near that highway. He wanted to know whether there were cameras.”
Her stomach turned.
“You helped him avoid cameras?”
“I didn’t know what he had done.”
“You knew enough.”
“Yes.”
The word destroyed whatever excuses remained.
Daniel stood.
“There’s something else.”
Madeline laughed.
“Of course there is.”
“Your mother left you something.”
He walked to the kitchen and removed a loose panel beneath a cabinet.
Inside was a metal box.
Madeline stared.
“I found it six months after she died. I was too afraid to open it.”
“Too afraid?”
“Of what it would prove about me.”
Madeline opened the box.
Inside were two USB drives.
A ledger.
And an envelope with her name.
MADELINE.
Her mother’s handwriting.
Madeline’s fingers shook so badly she could barely open it.
Sweetheart,
If you are reading this, something has happened that prevented me from finishing what I started.
Never believe that money makes people powerful.
Secrets make people powerful.
Truth makes them dangerous.
Everything you need is on the red drive.
Do not trust Richard Harrington.
Do not trust Marcus Lowell.
And if Richard’s son Bradley is still involved with Harrington Global, do not underestimate him.
Madeline sat down.
Her mother had known.
Years before Christopher’s accident.
Daniel whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Madeline looked at him.
“Sorry doesn’t repair what you sold.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
She took the box.
“You’re coming with me.”
“Where?”
“To the police.”
Daniel went pale.
“If Bradley knows—”
“He already knows.”
Headlights swept across the front windows.
Daniel froze.
Madeline turned.
A black SUV had stopped outside.
Then another.
Her father whispered, “That’s him.”
The front door exploded inward.
Madeline screamed.
Two men entered.
Daniel shoved her toward the back hallway.
“Run!”
A gunshot shattered the lamp beside them.
Madeline stumbled.
Her father slammed into one attacker.
“GO!”
She ran through the kitchen.
The back door was locked.
Her fingers fought with the bolt.
Behind her came another gunshot.
Then silence.
Madeline opened the door and ran into the yard.
A hand grabbed her.
She screamed and swung the metal box.
The man released her.
“Mrs. Harrington!”
She recognized the voice.
Harrington security.
Christopher had sent them.
Three estate vehicles flooded the alley with headlights.
Madeline spun toward the house.
More shouting.
Then two guards emerged carrying Daniel between them.
Blood covered his shirt.
“Dad!”
He was conscious.
Barely.
Madeline dropped beside him.
Daniel grabbed her wrist.
“The red drive.”
“I have it.”
“No.”
His eyes widened.
“That’s not what Bradley wants.”
“What does he want?”
Daniel coughed.
“Your mother kept one original document.”
“What document?”
Daniel’s grip tightened.
“The trust amendment.”
Madeline stared.
“What trust amendment?”
But before he could answer, Daniel’s eyes rolled back.
And as the guards called for an ambulance, Madeline realized Bradley’s entire plan might be about something much larger than stolen money.
May you like
Something hidden inside the Harrington family trust itself.
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