Chapter 4 - What Mom Knew
I took the note home in my purse and said nothing to David.
He was in the kitchen when I walked in, making coffee like a man who had not just forged his wife’s name onto a multimillion-dollar land deal.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Fine.”
He watched me too closely.
“You seem quiet.”
“Long day.”
He nodded, relieved.
That relief frightened me more than anger would have.
After he went upstairs, I searched the locked file cabinet in our home office.
David kept tax returns there. Insurance papers. Company statements.
The bottom drawer stuck halfway.
I pulled harder.
Something scraped behind it.
I removed the drawer and found a thin black folder taped to the back.
Inside were copies of my mother’s death certificate, the Hale trust summary, and an old email chain between David and Martin Cole.
The first message was dated five years earlier.
Five years.
David had known about Mesa Ridge long before Arizona.
One line made my vision blur.
SUBJECT: Rebecca’s control date.
Cole had written: Once she reaches forty-five, the asset becomes difficult to isolate unless she signs before then.
David answered: I can handle Rebecca. Angela can help with the personal side.
Angela.
Five years ago.
I sat on the floor because my knees would not hold me.
The affair was not new.
Neither was the plan.
Then a floorboard creaked behind me.
I shoved the papers under my sweater and turned.
David stood in the doorway.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking for the mortgage statement.”
His eyes moved to the open drawer.
“That’s not where I keep it.”
“I know that now.”
He smiled without warmth.
“Rebecca.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
Daniel.
I did not look at it until David left the room.
The message contained one sentence.
I FOUND OUT WHO NORA BELL IS.
May you like
Then a second line appeared.
SHE IS ANGELA’S COUSIN.
