Chapter 5: The Woman Who Knew My Mother
For several seconds, nobody moved.
My father's face had gone pale.
Jonathan slowly closed the folder in front of him.
And Damon stood there, watching us as if he had finally found a weapon powerful enough to silence everyone.
I stepped toward him.
“Who?””
He shook his head.
“I can't tell you here.””
“You've been lying to me for three years. Why should I believe anything you say?””
“Because this time, I'm telling the truth.””
Richard grabbed his arm.
“You will explain exactly what you know.””
Damon pulled free.
“Not in front of everyone.””
My father looked at Jonathan.
“Take Naomi to the car.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Sweetheart—”
“I've spent years letting other people decide what I should know. I'm done with that.””
I faced Damon.
“Start talking.””
He glanced at Savannah.
She was staring at him with an expression I couldn't read.
Then he finally spoke.
“Your mother had a business partner.””
Richard's expression hardened.
“That's not news.””
“No. I'm talking about someone who had access to her private investments.””
“Who?””
Damon looked at me.
“Evelyn Cross.””
My father's reaction was immediate.
He stepped backward.
“That's impossible.””
I looked between them.
“Who is Evelyn Cross?””
Richard rubbed his forehead.
“Your mother's closest friend.””
“Then why haven't I heard that name in years?””
“Because Evelyn disappeared shortly before your mother died.””
Damon nodded.
“She didn't disappear. She changed her identity and moved overseas.””
Jonathan opened another file.
“Do you have evidence?””
Damon shook his head.
“I have records.””
“Where?””
“An office.””
“Which office?””
Damon hesitated.
“Westbridge Tower. Twenty-third floor. There's a private archive room behind the executive conference suite.””
My father stared at him.
“You kept these records in the company headquarters?””
“I needed somewhere secure.””
Jonathan shook his head.
“That's not secure. That's evidence waiting to be discovered.””
Damon ignored him.
“Evelyn contacted me shortly after Naomi and I married. She offered to help me restructure the family investments.””
I felt a chill.
“You met her?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“About eight months into our marriage.””
“Did you tell her you were married to me?””
“She already knew.””
“Did she know who I was?””
Damon looked away.
“She knew everything.””
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
My mother had trusted Evelyn.
I remembered her visiting our house when I was a child, bringing lemon cakes and small gifts.
She used to call me her little star.
She had been present at my sixteenth birthday.
She had held my hand when my mother became sick.
And now Damon was telling me that the woman who once kissed my forehead might have been involved in stealing my inheritance.
“What did she want?”” I asked.
“Access to the estate.””
“Why?””
“She said your mother had made an agreement with her.””
Richard shook his head.
“Your mother would never have given Evelyn control over the inheritance.””
“Maybe you didn't know everything about their arrangement,” Damon replied.
My father took a step toward him.
“Don't presume to know my marriage.””
Jonathan intervened.
“Let's stay focused. Mr. Whitmore, did Evelyn direct any of the transfers?””
Damon nodded.
“Some of them.””
“How many?””
“I don't know.””
“Did you communicate with her in writing?””
“Yes.””
“Do you still have those communications?””
“In the archive.””
Jonathan exchanged a glance with my father.
“We'll need access to that room immediately.””
Damon looked at me.
“There's one more thing.””
I folded my arms.
“Of course there is.””
“Evelyn told me your mother had created a second beneficiary arrangement.””
I frowned.
“What arrangement?””
“She said you weren't the only person entitled to the estate.””
My father became very still.
“Who else?””
Damon hesitated.
“That's what she wanted me to find out.””
I stared at him.
“You spent three years trying to discover who else inherited my mother's estate?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because if the second beneficiary was identified, the ownership structure could be challenged.””
Jonathan's expression changed.
“Did you find the beneficiary?””
Damon looked at Savannah.
She lowered her head.
“Not officially.””
My father turned toward her.
“Why are you looking at her?””
Savannah started crying again.
Damon closed his eyes.
I looked at her.
“Savannah, what do you know?””
She shook her head.
“Nothing.””
“Then why is he looking at you?””
She backed away.
“Please. I don't want any trouble.””
I approached her carefully.
“Neither did I. But here we are.””
She looked at me for a long moment.
Then she whispered, “Evelyn was my aunt.””
The room seemed to tilt.
“What?””
Savannah wiped her face.
“Evelyn Cross is my mother's older sister.””
Damon stared at her.
“Savannah, shut up.””
“No!”” she cried.
“I'm done protecting you!””
I felt my pulse pounding.
“You knew her?””
“Yes.””
“How long?””
“Since I was a child.””
“And you deliberately became involved with my husband?””
Savannah looked down.
“I met Damon at a private investment dinner. He told me he was unhappy in his marriage.””
“That doesn't answer my question.””
She closed her eyes.
“My aunt introduced us.””
I stared at her.
The affair.
The bracelet.
The secret transfers.
The offshore company.
Suddenly, everything felt connected.
“You were sent into my marriage.””
Savannah didn't answer.
“Were you?””
She nodded faintly.
My father swore under his breath.
Jonathan immediately began taking notes.
Damon stepped toward Savannah.
“You're destroying everything.””
She turned on him.
“You promised me we would get the inheritance!””
My blood ran cold.
“Which inheritance?””
Savannah covered her mouth.
Damon looked furious.
“Don't.””
But she had already said too much.
“You told me Naomi would never get control of the estate because the second beneficiary would challenge her claim!””
I turned toward my father.
“Dad?””
He looked stunned.
“I don't understand.””
Savannah's voice trembled.
“My aunt told us that if Naomi was removed from the marriage and her identity became associated with the debt, the inheritance could be tied up in litigation for years.””
Jonathan's face hardened.
“That's potentially a deliberate attempt to create a fraudulent claim against an estate beneficiary.””
Savannah nodded.
“Damon said he would handle everything. He said once the company was stable, he would divorce Naomi and we would leave.””
I looked at Damon.
“You planned all of this?””
He didn't respond.
“You married me knowing about my inheritance?””
His silence was enough.
My father took off his glasses.
For a moment, he looked older than I had ever seen him.
Then he spoke.
“Damon, I gave you my daughter's trust. I gave you opportunities. I treated you like family.””
Damon's face twisted.
“You gave me access to an empire and expected me to be grateful forever.””
Richard stared at him.
“I expected you to honor your wife.””
Damon laughed.
“Honor? You have no idea what it's like to live under the shadow of the Whitmore name. Everything I achieved was treated as something you gave me.””
I shook my head.
“You were never forced to betray me.””
He turned toward me.
“You don't understand.””
“Then explain why you gave Savannah my mother's bracelet.””
He looked at her.
Savannah instinctively covered her wrist.
“I wanted you to know it was over,” he said.
I nodded slowly.
“So you chose the one thing you knew would hurt me most.””
He didn't deny it.
My father walked toward the entrance.
“Jonathan, we're going to Westbridge Tower.””
Jonathan picked up his briefcase.
“I'll arrange access.””
Damon stepped forward.
“You can't enter the archive without me.””
Jonathan stopped.
“Why not?””
“Because the room is under my personal security authorization.””
Richard gave a cold smile.
“Then we'll have to see whether the authorization still works.””
As we headed toward the SUV, Savannah suddenly called my name.
“Naomi!””
I turned.
She stood beneath the chandelier, holding her phone.
“I have something.””
“What?””
“A photograph.””
She unlocked her screen and showed it to me.
The image was old.
My mother was sitting at a restaurant table with Evelyn.
Between them was a thick folder.
On the back of the photograph, someone had written a date.
Three days before my mother died.
I looked closer.
There was another person in the background.
A man standing near the restaurant entrance.
My father leaned over my shoulder.
His expression changed instantly.
“Where did you get this?””
“Evelyn sent it to me,” Savannah whispered.
My father stared at the image.
May you like
Then he said something that made Jonathan stop walking.
“That man was supposed to be dead.””
