Chapter 5: The Grandmother Who Was Never Dead
Tiana stared at the photograph.
Her grandmother, Eleanor Bennett, was sitting beside a large window.
Her silver hair was neatly arranged.
A blanket covered her legs.
And around her neck was the small gold necklace Tiana had given her on her seventieth birthday.
It was impossible.
Eleanor had supposedly died two years earlier.
Tiana had attended the funeral.
She remembered the flowers.
The closed coffin.
The pastor's trembling voice.
She remembered standing beside Darius while he held her hand.
She remembered crying until she could barely see.
And now someone was telling her that Eleanor was alive.
“Where is she?”” Tiana whispered.
Lydia took the phone.
“The message includes a location.””
Tiana read the address.
It was a private medical residence less than forty minutes from the mansion.
“Why would someone fake her death?””
Lydia looked toward the basement stairs.
“Because she knew what Darius was planning.””
Before Tiana could respond, footsteps sounded above them.
Someone was coming down.
Lydia raised her gun.
“Behind me.””
The basement door opened.
A man stepped into the light.
Not Marcus.
Not one of his guards.
It was Henry, the mansion's longtime head of security.
Tiana knew him well.
He had worked for the Bennett family since before her wedding.
He had helped carry her grandmother's furniture into the mansion.
He had once driven Tiana to the hospital when she had suffered a severe allergic reaction.
“Henry?””
He raised both hands.
“Mrs. Bennett, thank God you're alive.””
Lydia pointed her gun at him.
“Stay where you are.””
Henry nodded.
“I won't hurt either of you.””
Tiana looked at him.
“Do you know about my grandmother?””
Henry's expression changed.
“Yes.””
“Where is she?””
“Safe. For now.””
Tiana stepped closer.
“You knew she was alive?””
Henry lowered his eyes.
“I was the one who arranged the transfer.””
Tiana felt betrayed all over again.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because your grandmother made me promise.””
“Promise what?””
“To keep you away from Darius until the evidence was complete.””
Lydia crossed her arms.
“And did you?””
Henry looked at her.
“Not well enough.””
A distant crash echoed through the mansion.
Henry glanced toward the ceiling.
“We need to leave. Marcus has locked down the front entrance. There is a service garage behind the wine cellar.””
Tiana hesitated.
“I'm not leaving without the ledger.””
Henry shook his head.
“The ledger isn't important anymore.””
“What do you mean?””
He pulled a small black device from his jacket.
“A backup copy was transmitted to your grandmother's attorney three hours ago.””
Lydia looked surprised.
“You knew about the flash drive?””
Henry nodded.
“I helped install the backup system.””
Tiana stared at him.
“Who are you working for?””
Henry reached into his jacket again.
This time, he pulled out an identification card.
It belonged to a federal financial crimes investigation unit.
Tiana looked at him.
“You're a federal agent?””
“Not exactly. I was hired as a security consultant after your grandmother became concerned about the company.””
Lydia frowned.
“Then why were you working for Darius?””
“To watch him.””
Henry glanced toward the basement entrance.
“And to protect you.””
Another crash sounded.
“There's no more time.””
He led them through the wine cellar.
Behind a rack of expensive bottles was a concealed door.
Beyond it was a narrow garage.
A black SUV waited with its engine running.
Henry opened the rear door.
“Get in.””
Tiana climbed inside.
Lydia followed.
As Henry drove out through the rear gate, Tiana watched the mansion disappear behind the trees.
She had lived there for five years.
She had believed it was her home.
Now she wasn't sure she had ever truly been safe inside it.
The medical residence was surrounded by tall trees and a high stone wall.
Henry parked near the entrance.
A nurse met them in the lobby.
“Mrs. Bennett is expecting you.””
Tiana's heart pounded.
They walked down a quiet corridor.
At the end was a private suite.
The door was open.
Eleanor sat beside the window, reading a book.
She looked older.
Thinner.
But alive.
Tiana stopped in the doorway.
“Grandma?””
Eleanor slowly raised her head.
For a moment, she simply stared.
Then the book slipped from her hands.
“Tiana?””
Tiana crossed the room and fell into her arms.
“Oh, Grandma.””
Eleanor held her tightly.
“My baby.””
Tiana cried against her shoulder.
“You were dead. They told me you were dead.””
Eleanor closed her eyes.
“I know.””
“Why?””
The older woman gently touched her granddaughter's face.
“Because I was afraid they would kill you.””
Tiana pulled back.
“Who?””
Eleanor looked toward Lydia.
“Both of you.””
Lydia stood near the door, her arms wrapped around herself.
“Grandmother.””
Eleanor reached for her.
Lydia hesitated.
Then she walked over and knelt beside the wheelchair.
Eleanor took her hand.
“I should never have allowed them to separate you.””
Lydia's eyes filled.
“You knew?””
“I knew about Darius. I knew about Vanessa. And I knew that someone inside the family was helping them.””
Tiana frowned.
“Who?””
Eleanor reached into a drawer and removed an old envelope.
“Your mother.””
Tiana stared.
“My mother died when I was fourteen.””
Eleanor nodded.
“She did. But before she died, she made a terrible mistake.””
“What mistake?””
“She trusted a man named Richard Cole.””
Lydia's expression changed.
“Vanessa's father?””
“Yes.””
Eleanor opened the envelope.
Inside was a birth certificate.
Two birth certificates, actually.
Both girls had been born on the same day.
Both had been registered under the Bennett family name.
But one document contained a handwritten note.
Second daughter transferred to the Cole family under private guardianship.
Tiana looked up.
“What?””
Eleanor sighed.
“Your mother was very ill after giving birth. Richard Cole was her closest friend. He offered to care for Lydia while she recovered. But when your mother died, he refused to return her.””
Lydia's voice trembled.
“So I was raised by Vanessa's family?””
“Yes.””
“And Vanessa knew?””
Eleanor nodded.
“Her father told her everything.””
Tiana slowly sat down.
It was becoming harder to distinguish the truth from the lies.
“Why didn't you fight for Lydia?””
“I did. But Richard had powerful friends. He threatened to expose your mother's financial problems and accuse me of kidnapping. I was advised to wait until I had enough evidence.””
Lydia shook her head.
“Thirty years?””
Eleanor's eyes filled.
“I know. I failed you.””
For several moments, nobody spoke.
Then Tiana looked at the second document.
“What is this?””
Eleanor placed a finger on the paper.
“Your grandmother's original will.””
Tiana began reading.
The document stated that the entire Bennett family estate, including the controlling shares in Bennett Holdings, would pass to both granddaughters equally.
But there was a condition.
Neither granddaughter could receive full control until both were alive, identified, and legally recognized as beneficiaries.
Tiana looked up.
“That's why Darius needed both of us.””
Eleanor nodded.
“He discovered the will three years ago. He found Lydia first. He thought he could manipulate her into helping him gain control of the estate.””
Lydia looked down.
“He told me he wanted to recover what my father had stolen.””
“He was lying,” Eleanor said.
“He knew about the trust. He knew about your shares. And he knew that if you both disappeared, he could challenge the estate through forged documents.””
Tiana felt her stomach tighten.
“So the money was never the real problem.””
“No,” Eleanor replied.
“Control was.””
Henry entered the room.
He had been speaking with someone in the hallway.
“Mrs. Bennett, we have a problem.””
Tiana stood.
“What now?””
Henry showed them his phone.
A live news broadcast was playing.
The headline read:
*MISSING BILLIONAIRE'S WIFE SUSPECTED OF FINANCIAL FRAUD AFTER MANSION SHOOTING.*
The screen showed a photograph of Tiana.
Below it was another photograph of Lydia.
The news anchor continued.
“Authorities are searching for Tiana Bennett and her alleged accomplice, Lydia Cole, following an armed incident at the Bennett estate. Sources close to the investigation say the two women may have stolen millions from businessman Darius Bennett.””
Tiana stared at the screen.
“He reported us?””
Henry nodded.
“Darius contacted the police before we left the mansion. He claims you attacked him and stole company property.””
Lydia laughed without humor.
“He's framing us again.””
Henry changed the screen.
A photograph appeared.
It showed the original financial ledger.
Then a photograph of a gun.
Then a photograph of a bloodstained shirt.
“Someone planted evidence in your car,” Henry said.
Tiana looked at him.
“Can you prove it's fake?””
“Not without the original files.””
Eleanor suddenly spoke.
“Then give them the original.””
Everyone turned toward her.
She pointed to the old envelope.
“The will is not the only thing I kept.””
She opened a second drawer.
Inside was a small silver key.
Tiana recognized it.
It belonged to her mother's old safety deposit box.
Eleanor placed it in her hand.
“Everything began with that box.””
Tiana looked at the key.
“What's inside?””
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
“The recording your mother made before she died.””
Lydia leaned forward.
“What recording?””
Eleanor looked at both women.
“The truth about Richard Cole. The truth about your separation. And the identity of the person who ordered your mother's death.””
Tiana felt the room go cold.
“My mother died in a car accident.””
Eleanor shook her head.
“No, sweetheart.””
She gripped Tiana's hand.
“Your mother was murdered.””
Before Tiana could speak, Henry's phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
Then slowly lowered it.
“What happened?”” Lydia asked.
Henry looked toward the window.
“Marcus has been arrested.””
Tiana exhaled.
“Good.””
Henry shook his head.
“Darius isn't with him.””
“Where is he?””
Henry looked at Eleanor.
“He's coming here.””
At that exact moment, the lights in the medical residence went out.
A loud alarm sounded.
The nurse screamed in the hallway.
Henry pulled his weapon.
“Everybody down!””
Then a voice came through the building's public-address system.
“Mrs. Bennett?””
May you like
Darius.
“I'm here to take my family home.””
