Chapter 18 - HER MOTHER'S SIGNATURE
Evelyn did not deny it.
"I signed it."
Emily stared.
"You told me you knew nothing."
"I knew your father needed money."
"That's not the same thing."
"I didn't know Victor had created the crisis."
"But you knew there was a hidden loan."
Evelyn looked down.
"Yes."
Emily's anger came from a different place than the anger she felt toward Grant.
This one hurt.
"Why didn't you tell me when Dad died?"
"Because he begged me not to."
"And you chose his secret over me."
"I chose what I thought would protect you."
"That sentence has done a lot of damage in this family."
"You're right."
Emily looked toward the window.
Police lights flashed through the trees.
Grant was in custody.
Victor was under guard at the hospital.
Emily felt no victory.
Only exhaustion.
"Did Dad know the pregnancy clause existed?"
"Yes."
"He built it in?"
"After you married Grant."
Emily turned.
"Why?"
Evelyn hesitated.
"Because he never trusted him."
Emily's eyes narrowed.
"Dad died before I married Grant."
Another lie.
"Mom."
Evelyn whispered, "Your father changed the trust while he was sick. You were already engaged."
"You told me he never met Grant."
"He did. Once."
Emily stood.
"What happened?"
Evelyn looked at her.
"Grant asked him for money."
"Before we were married?"
"Yes."
"How much?"
"Half a million dollars."
"For what?"
"He said it was a business opportunity."
"Your father refused."
"And then?"
"Grant told him he would regret humiliating him."
Her father died four months later from what doctors called a sudden cardiac event.
She had never questioned it.
Until now.
Daniel entered carrying a forensic report from Grant's hidden room.
"We found a file labeled ROBERT HART."
And a handwritten note.
DIGOXIN WINDOW: 6-8 HOURS.
May you like
Emily looked at her mother.
"Dad didn't die naturally, did he?"
