Chapter 16 - REBECCA'S LAST NIGHT
Rebecca's old diary was stored with the foundation charter.
The final entries changed everything.
Rebecca had discovered Henry's crimes.
But the last confrontation was personal.
She planned to leave him.
Take Daniel and Claire.
Turn the ledger over to federal prosecutors.
Rebecca wrote:
Henry says I am sick. Marcus says I need rest. I think they are preparing to make me look unstable.
The next entry was unfinished.
The same playbook used on Claire.
Discredit.
Isolate.
Medicate.
Erase.
Rebecca was injected with a drug that caused liver failure in high doses.
Marcus ordered it.
Henry approved it.
No cancer death.
A murder hidden inside medicine.
Marcus faced homicide charges and asked for a deal.
In exchange for a reduced sentence, he would give them Henry's final safe location.
Daniel wanted to refuse.
Claire said, "Take it."
"He killed Mom."
"Then use him to get Dad."
An old Carter hunting lodge.
Henry had used it before his fake plane death.
But warm.
Coffee fresh.
A fireplace burning.
On the desk was a recorder.
Henry's voice:
Daniel, by now Marcus has betrayed me. Predictable.
Claire said, "Play it."
Your mother believed exposure would save the company. She was wrong. Companies survive truth. Families don't.
Claire whispered, "He still thinks this is philosophy."
If you're hearing this, I am going to the place where the Carter name began.
Carter River One.
The original bridge project.
Now an abandoned construction yard near Albany.
Henry's first bribe.
His first ledger entry.
His first lie.
Before Daniel left, Mara stopped him.
"There's a board issue."
"Now?"
"Now."
With Claire legally restored as alive, every proxy decision from thirteen months became void.
Together, Daniel and Claire controlled fifty-four percent.
They could remove every compromised director.
"Let's clean the house before we find Dad."
At 4:00 p.m., the Carter Meridian board convened.
At 4:07, Claire walked in.
Three directors looked like they had seen a ghost.
"Sorry I'm late."
May you like
Then she placed her own death certificate on the table.
"I had trouble getting out of a meeting."
