Chapter 4: The Secret Behind His Father's Death
“Tell me what happened to my father.””
Alexander's voice was barely recognizable.
He stood beside the hospital bed, staring at Eleanor as though the answer might somehow change the entire world he had known.
Vanessa was still struggling against Daniel's grip.
“Let go of me!”” she shouted.
“You have no right to touch me!””
Daniel released her wrist but kept himself between her and the envelope.
“Then stop trying to steal evidence.””
Vanessa straightened her wedding dress.
“Evidence? You're treating me like a criminal!””
Eleanor looked at her.
“Perhaps you should start behaving like an innocent person.””
Vanessa turned sharply.
“You've been gone for thirty years. You don't know anything about what happened in this family.””
“I know more than you think.””
Alexander raised his voice.
“Enough! Both of you!””
Everyone fell silent.
He turned toward his mother.
“Please. Just tell me.””
Eleanor nodded.
She reached for the cup of water beside her bed, took a small sip, and began.
“Your father, Michael Reed, wasn't the man people eventually described in the newspapers. He was a good husband. A devoted father. And a man who believed that business should be conducted honestly.””
Alexander looked down.
He remembered very little about his father. A deep voice. A warm hand on his shoulder.
The smell of aftershave. Then a funeral, relatives crying, and a childhood filled with unanswered questions.
Eleanor continued.
“Richard Sterling was your father's closest business associate. They had known each other for years. Your father trusted him with company finances, legal matters, and several private investments.””
Daniel folded his arms.
“Richard was also responsible for the accounting department during the company's expansion.””
Eleanor nodded.
“But I discovered that millions of dollars were disappearing through companies that didn't actually exist.””
Alexander frowned.
“How?””
“I found invoices for properties we had never purchased. Payments to consulting firms with no employees. Money being transferred through accounts in different countries.””
“Did you tell Dad?””
“Yes. He confronted Richard.””
Daniel looked toward the floor.
“And that was when everything changed.””
Eleanor's fingers tightened around the blanket.
“Richard told your father he would return every dollar. He promised to correct the accounts and resign quietly. Michael agreed to give him one week.””
Alexander stared at his uncle.
“What happened next?””
Daniel answered.
“Your father died four days later.””
The words seemed to drain the color from Alexander's face.
“I know he died in a car accident.””
“That was the official story,” Daniel replied.
Eleanor shook her head.
“Your father called me that evening. He sounded frightened. He told me he'd found something that could destroy Richard.””
“What?””
“I never found out exactly what he had discovered. But he asked me to meet him at our old house.””
Alexander moved closer.
“And you went?””
“Yes.””
Eleanor's voice trembled.
“I was supposed to meet him at nine. But before I could leave, two men arrived at the house. They said Michael had been involved in an accident and needed me at the hospital.””
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“They were Richard's men.””
“How do you know?”” Alexander asked.
“Because one of them confessed years later.””
Eleanor continued.
“They took me to a private medical facility outside the city. I was told that your father had died and that the family had decided I was mentally unstable.””
Alexander shook his head.
“Why would anyone believe that?””
“Because Richard had arranged the paperwork. He had doctors sign false reports. He had forged documents claiming I had voluntarily entered a psychiatric institution.””
Daniel placed another document on the bed.
“This is one of the original admission forms. The signature is forged.””
Alexander examined it.
His mother's name appeared at the bottom.
But the handwriting was different.
Eleanor spoke again.
“I was kept there for almost a year. When I finally escaped, I discovered that Michael was buried, the company had changed hands, and everyone believed I had died.””
Alexander swallowed.
“Why didn't you come back?””
“I tried.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I went to the family house. A security guard told me your uncle had taken you overseas. Then I learned that Richard had obtained a court order preventing me from contacting you.””
Daniel looked ashamed.
“I was twenty-eight. I had just lost my brother. Richard told me you had died after suffering a breakdown.
He showed me documents. He showed me a death certificate.””
“You believed him?”” Alexander asked.
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“Yes.””
Eleanor reached for his hand.
“You were grieving too, sweetheart.””
“But I should have questioned it.””
“You were doing what you thought was right.””
Alexander walked to the window.
Outside, the city lights shimmered against the glass.
For thirty years, he had believed he was an orphan.
He had spent birthdays wondering what his mother would have looked like if she had lived.
He had never known she was alive.
And now she was sitting in front of him, bruised because his own bride had tried to kill her.
He turned toward Vanessa.
“Did you know?””
Vanessa shook her head immediately.
“No.””
“Look me in the eyes.””
She did.
“Did you know my mother was alive?””
“I swear I didn't.””
Daniel opened the leather briefcase his companion had brought.
“Then perhaps you can explain these.””
He removed a series of printed emails and bank statements.
Vanessa stared at them.
“Where did you get those?””
“From the accounts your father maintained before his death.””
Daniel placed the papers on the bed.
“Three weeks ago, someone transferred $2.4 million from a dormant offshore account into an account registered in your name.””
Alexander looked at Vanessa.
“Two point four million dollars?””
She shook her head.
“It's not what you think.””
“Then explain it.””
“My father left me money.””
Daniel gave a cold laugh.
“Your father left you several properties and a substantial investment portfolio. This money came from a company connected to the fraudulent accounts that destroyed our family.””
Vanessa's eyes darted toward the door.
Lily noticed.
She had been standing quietly near the wall, listening.
She moved slightly to block the exit.
Vanessa noticed.
“Move.””
Lily didn't.
“I'm sorry, ma'am. But I think the police might want you to stay.””
Vanessa's face twisted.
“You again?””
“Yes,” Lily replied.
“You have ruined my life!””
Lily looked at Eleanor.
“No, ma'am. I think you did that yourself.””
A knock interrupted them.
Two police officers entered.
One was a tall detective with short gray hair and a small notebook.
“I'm Detective Harris. We need to speak with everyone involved in the rooftop incident.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Detective, this is Eleanor Whitmore. She was assaulted.””
The detective nodded.
“Mrs. Whitmore, can you tell me what happened?””
Eleanor described the confrontation, the argument, and the moment Vanessa pushed her.
Detective Harris took notes.
“Did anyone else witness the incident?””
Lily raised her hand.
“I did.””
“So did I,” Daniel added.
The detective turned toward Vanessa.
“Miss Sterling, we'd like you to accompany us for questioning.””
Vanessa laughed nervously.
“I'm getting married. I have guests waiting upstairs.””
Detective Harris looked at her wedding dress.
“Then it's fortunate we came before the cake was cut.””
Alexander stepped forward.
“Detective, I need to know something.””
“Go ahead.””
“Can you investigate my father's death?””
The detective glanced at Daniel.
“If you have evidence suggesting the original investigation was compromised, we can reopen the matter. But we'll need the documents and any supporting witnesses.””
Daniel nodded.
“You'll have everything.””
Vanessa suddenly spoke.
“You can't reopen a case based on a woman's imagination!””
Eleanor looked at her.
“Then why are you afraid?””
Vanessa said nothing.
The detective gestured toward the door.
“Let's go.””
As the officers escorted Vanessa out, she turned toward Alexander.
“Baby, please. Don't let them do this.””
Alexander stared at her.
“Don't call me that.””
“Alexander, I love you!””
He looked at the woman he had planned to marry.
Then he glanced at the bruises on his mother's wrist.
“You tried to kill the woman who gave birth to me.””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“I was protecting our future!””
Alexander took one step backward.
“From what?””
She opened her mouth.
Then she whispered something only he could hear.
“From the truth about your father.””
Alexander froze.
“What truth?””
Vanessa looked toward the detective.
Then she smiled weakly.
“You really don't know, do you?””
Before Alexander could question her, she was taken through the door.
And Eleanor, watching her disappear, whispered:
“There's one more person we need to find.””
Daniel turned.
“Who?””
Eleanor looked at the old photograph.
“Your father's former driver.””
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Then she added:
“Because he was in the car that night.””
