Chapter 7: The Murder Behind the Inheritance
“Someone in this house killed him.””
Richard Whitmore's words seemed to drain the air from the room.
Marcus stared at the lawyer.
“What did you just say?””
Whitmore slowly removed his hand from the DNA report.
“Your father didn't die peacefully, Marcus. He was murdered.””
Vanessa stumbled backward into the dining table.
Elizabeth pulled the three children closer.
Marcus shook his head.
“My father had a heart attack.””
“That was the official explanation.””
“You signed the estate documents. You handled the investigation.””
“Exactly.””
Whitmore opened his briefcase and removed a thin brown envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Marcus's father lying in a hospital bed.
A medical monitor stood beside him.
His eyes were open.
Marcus recognized the room immediately.
It was the private medical suite at the Reed family estate, where his father had spent the final weeks of his life.
“What am I looking at?”” Marcus asked.
“Your father was conscious when he died.””
Marcus stared at the photograph.
“That's impossible.””
“Not according to the nurse who took this picture.””
Whitmore placed another document on the table.
It was a handwritten statement.
The signature at the bottom belonged to a woman named Sarah Collins.
Marcus recognized the name.
Sarah had been Lily's biological mother.
He looked at Elizabeth.
“You said Sarah died.””
“She did.””
“When?””
“Two years ago.””
Whitmore nodded.
“After she attempted to expose your father's arrangements.””
Marcus felt his stomach tighten.
“Why would Sarah have been involved?””
“Because she was the only person who knew what happened during the hospital switch.””
Whitmore pointed toward the photograph.
“Your father had arranged the entire operation. But Sarah discovered that the child she had given birth to was not the child she had taken home.””
Marcus looked toward Lily.
The little girl was holding Elizabeth's hand.
“Was Lily taken from Sarah?””
“Yes,” Whitmore replied.
“But not through the adoption process your father had arranged.””
Marcus frowned.
“Then how?””
Whitmore looked at Vanessa.
“Ask your wife.””
Marcus turned.
Vanessa was staring at the floor.
“Vanessa?””
She shook her head.
“Don't listen to him.””
Whitmore smiled.
“You see, Marcus, your wife has always been very good at pretending to be the victim.””
“Explain.””
Whitmore removed a second photograph.
It showed Vanessa standing outside a hospital entrance.
She was younger, wearing a beige coat.
A baby carrier rested in her arms.
Marcus recognized the date printed on the back.
The day Sarah's daughter disappeared.
He looked at Vanessa.
“Were you there?””
She began crying.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Your father told me to collect the baby.””
Marcus's voice rose.
“You stole a child?””
“I thought she was mine to take!””
“She's not yours!””
“I know that now!””
Whitmore tapped the table.
“Not quite.””
He pulled out a document.
It was a hospital authorization form.
Vanessa's signature appeared at the bottom.
But above it was another name.
Richard Reed.
Marcus's father.
The document authorized the transfer of a newborn child from Sarah Collins to a private family residence.
Marcus looked at the date.
Then at Vanessa.
“You signed this?””
She nodded.
“Why?””
“Your father told me Sarah had agreed.””
“Did you speak to Sarah?””
“No.””
“Did you see her sign?””
Vanessa shook her head.
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“You took a baby from a hospital because my father told you to?””
“I was desperate to have a child!””
“You already had Ava!””
Vanessa looked up.
“I didn't have Ava then.””
The room fell silent.
Marcus slowly turned toward her.
“What?””
Vanessa covered her mouth.
Whitmore leaned back.
“Now we're getting somewhere.””
Marcus stepped closer to his wife.
“Explain.””
Vanessa's voice broke.
“I was pregnant when I married you.””
Marcus stared.
“You told me we were trying for a baby.””
“I know.””
“You told me you couldn't conceive.””
“I know.””
“Then whose baby was it?””
Vanessa looked toward the staircase.
“Mine.””
Marcus's chest tightened.
“Where is that child?””
She began sobbing.
“I lost the pregnancy.””
“When?””
“Before the wedding.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
He remembered Vanessa spending weeks in the hospital.
He remembered the doctors telling him she needed rest.
He remembered buying a tiny white crib that had never been used.
He had believed she was recovering from surgery.
Now he understood that she had been recovering from something else.
His voice became barely audible.
“You lost our baby?””
Vanessa nodded.
“And my father knew?””
“Yes.””
Marcus turned toward Whitmore.
“What does this have to do with the other children?””
Whitmore answered calmly.
“Your father believed that a child carrying the Reed name was essential to preserving his business empire. When Vanessa lost the pregnancy, he arranged the embryo transfer using Elizabeth's eggs.””
Marcus looked toward Elizabeth.
“Why didn't you refuse?””
Elizabeth's eyes filled.
“Because your father promised Sophie would be protected. He said if I helped him, he would ensure she had a future.””
“You gave him control over your children?””
“I was twenty-six, Marcus. I was terrified.””
Whitmore interrupted.
“And when Sarah discovered the arrangement, she demanded money to keep quiet.””
Marcus turned.
“Sarah tried to blackmail my father?””
“Not exactly. She wanted Lily returned.””
Whitmore removed another photograph.
This one showed Sarah standing outside the Reed estate.
A man stood beside her.
Marcus recognized him immediately.
His father.
But the photograph was dated only two years before his father's death.
Sarah had been alive and meeting him.
“What happened?””
Whitmore folded his hands.
“Your father refused to return the child. Sarah threatened to contact the authorities. A week later, she was involved in a fatal accident.””
Marcus stared.
“You're saying my father arranged her death?””
“I'm saying there was a financial transaction involving the driver, a vehicle, and a witness who disappeared shortly afterward.””
“Who was the witness?””
Whitmore looked at Vanessa.
She shook her head.
“No.””
Marcus turned.
“Who?””
Vanessa whispered, “Me.””
Marcus stepped away.
“You witnessed Sarah's accident?””
“I was there.””
“Why didn't you tell anyone?””
“Your father told me I would lose Ava.””
Marcus looked toward the children.
Ava was crying silently.
Sophie had wrapped one arm around her.
Lily stood beside Elizabeth, holding the blue blanket.
Marcus felt something break inside him.
He had spent years believing his father was a complicated but decent man.
Now he was discovering that the man had treated children like property.
Whitmore closed the briefcase.
“That's enough history for today.””
Marcus glared at him.
“You're not leaving.””
“I'm afraid I am.””
“You just admitted to knowing about a murder.””
Whitmore smiled.
“Careful, Marcus. I haven't admitted anything.””
He reached into his jacket and placed a small black device on the table.
“Your father left instructions. If the inheritance dispute ever became public, this recording was to be delivered to you.””
Marcus stared at it.
“What recording?””
Whitmore pressed the button.
A familiar voice filled the room.
Richard Reed.
Marcus's dead father.
“If you're hearing this, then something has gone wrong.””
Marcus stopped breathing.
His father's voice continued.
“The children must remain separated. Vanessa must keep Ava. Elizabeth must remain hidden. And Marcus must never learn what happened in the hospital.””
A pause.
Then another voice spoke.
A woman's voice.
Vanessa's.
“Richard, what if he finds out?””
His father answered.
“Then we remove the problem.””
The recording ended.
Marcus stared at his wife.
“What problem?””
Vanessa was shaking her head.
“I didn't mean you.””
Whitmore stood.
“Actually, Mrs. Reed, perhaps it's time to tell him about the night his father died.””
Marcus turned slowly.
Vanessa looked at him.
And for the first time, she didn't deny anything.
She simply whispered:
“I didn't kill your father, Marcus.””
Then she pointed toward Elizabeth.
“But she knows who did.””
Elizabeth's face went white.
And from the hallway came the sound of a door slamming.
The police had finally entered the house.
May you like
But before Marcus could call for help, Whitmore smiled and said:
“Unfortunately, the person who murdered Richard Reed is already among the officers.””
