Chapter 4: The Name Behind My Wife's Lies
“Victoria Pierce?””
I stared at the photograph Margaret had placed on my desk.
The woman standing outside the courthouse was unmistakably my wife. She looked younger, perhaps twenty-five, but there was no mistaking those sharp green eyes.
Beside her stood a man in a dark suit.
Jonathan Pierce.
My father's former financial adviser.
The man who had disappeared with millions of dollars shortly after my father's death.
I turned the photograph over.
There was a handwritten date: March 18, 2004.
That was twenty-two years ago.
I looked at Margaret.
“Tell me exactly what I'm looking at.””
Margaret adjusted her glasses.
“It's a marriage certificate photograph. Victoria and Jonathan were married in New York. They divorced three years later.””
Victoria let out a short laugh.
“Congratulations. You've discovered that I was married before I met you. Would you like a medal?””
I didn't look at her.
“Why did you never tell me?””
“Because it wasn't relevant.””
“You were married to a man who stole money from my father's estate.””
“I was young. I had nothing to do with his business.””
Margaret shook her head.
“That's not what Eleanor discovered.””
Victoria's smile disappeared.
I leaned forward.
“What did Eleanor discover?””
Margaret opened her handbag and removed a second photograph.
This one showed Jonathan Pierce leaving a private office building in Manhattan. Victoria was beside him, holding a document folder.
On the back, Eleanor had written:
They are still working together.
I stared at the handwriting.
“When did Eleanor take this?””
“About two months before she died.””
“Why didn't she tell me?””
“She tried.””
Margaret's voice softened.
“She was afraid you wouldn't believe her. Victoria had already convinced you that Eleanor was becoming paranoid because of her illness.””
I remembered those conversations.
Eleanor had once told me that someone was going through her study.
I had suggested that the medication might be affecting her memory.
She had looked at me for a long time before answering.
“Richard, sometimes the people who smile at you are the ones holding the knife.””
I had kissed her forehead and told her to rest.
Now those words returned with unbearable clarity.
Victoria walked toward the desk.
“Enough. Margaret has spent years collecting photographs and inventing stories. You are allowing a bitter former employee to destroy our marriage.””
I finally looked at her.
“Did you marry Jonathan Pierce?””
She stared at me.
“Yes.””
“Did he know my father?””
“Yes.””
“Did you help him steal money from the estate?””
“No.””
“Did you know he was involved in the trust?””
Her silence lasted too long.
I stood.
“Daniel.””
My security chief entered immediately.
“Sir?””
“Bring me my laptop. And contact Thomas Bennett. Tell him I want a complete freeze on any transfers involving the Whitmore family trusts.””
Victoria laughed.
“You cannot freeze a trust because someone showed you an old photograph.””
“I'm not freezing it because of the photograph.””
“Then why?””
“Because my attorney just told me you filed documents attempting to remove my son as its beneficiary.””
Her face hardened.
“James is not capable of managing that money.””
“He's seventeen.””
“Exactly.””
“He doesn't need to manage it. He only needs to inherit it.””
Victoria stepped closer.
“Richard, you're making a terrible mistake.””
I lowered my voice.
“No. I made one four years ago when I stopped asking questions about my first wife's death.””
James had been standing near the window.
He suddenly spoke.
“Dad, can I show you something?””
I turned.
“What?””
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small USB drive.
Victoria immediately went pale.
“Where did you get that?””
James looked at her.
“From your dressing room.””
“You stole from me?””
“I borrowed something you shouldn't have had.””
He placed the drive on the desk.
“I found it inside the false bottom of your jewelry box.””
Victoria lunged forward.
Daniel stepped between them.
“Mrs. Whitmore, please.””
James looked at me.
“There are recordings on it.””
“What recordings?””
“Phone calls.””
Victoria's voice became sharp.
“Richard, do not let him plug that into your computer.””
I stared at her.
“Why?””
“Because you don't know what's on it.””
“Neither do you, apparently.””
James shook his head.
“I listened to one.””
He swallowed.
“It was her talking to Jonathan.””
I connected the USB drive to my laptop.
There were seven audio files.
The first was dated four months earlier.
I pressed play.
A man's voice came through the speakers.
Jonathan.
“Are you sure the boy knows nothing?””
Victoria answered.
“He knows enough to be dangerous.””
“Then why haven't you dealt with him?””
“Because Richard still believes he's protecting his son. If I move too quickly, he'll become suspicious.””
Jonathan laughed.
“And the trust?””
“Once the guardianship papers are approved, we can petition for early access. Richard will sign whatever I put in front of him.””
“That's what you said about the first transfer.””
Victoria's voice turned cold.
“That was your mistake, Jonathan. You should have made sure the documents were clean.””
“Don't blame me. Your husband signed them.””
“He didn't know what he was signing.””
There was a pause.
Then Jonathan asked something that made my blood run cold.
“And Eleanor?””
Victoria didn't answer immediately.
Finally, she said:
“Eleanor should have stayed out of things that didn't concern her.””
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
I replayed the last sentence.
Again.
And again.
James was staring at the floor.
Margaret had both hands pressed against her mouth.
I looked at Victoria.
“Did you have something to do with Eleanor's death?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
“Then explain the recording.””
“She was talking about a business dispute.””
“What business dispute?””
“I don't remember.””
“You don't remember?””
“Richard, this is an edited recording. Anyone could have made it sound like something else.””
I opened the second file.
This one was shorter.
Jonathan's voice:
“Martin says the original records are gone.””
Victoria:
“Then find the copies.””
Jonathan:
“Margaret?””
Victoria:
“She won't be a problem.””
I stopped the recording.
Margaret went completely still.
“What did she mean?”” I asked.
Margaret looked at Victoria.
“She meant the threats.””
Victoria shrugged.
“She's still here, isn't she?””
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
“You sent someone to my apartment.””
“I didn't send anyone anywhere.””
“You knew I had Eleanor's notebook.””
“And you stole company property.””
“I was protecting Eleanor's son!””
Victoria suddenly slammed her hand against the desk.
“STOP SAYING HER NAME!””
The shout echoed through the library.
For the first time, her carefully constructed composure had completely collapsed.
I stepped between her and Margaret.
“Daniel, take Mrs. Whitmore's phone and make sure no documents or devices leave this property.””
Victoria stared at me.
“You cannot do that.””
“I can ask you to cooperate.””
“And if I refuse?””
“Then my attorney and the authorities can decide what happens next.””
She looked toward James.
Then she smiled.
“You think you're protecting him?””
I didn't answer.
She picked up her handbag.
“You have no idea what your father left behind.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Victoria walked toward the door.
“Ask Margaret what happened to the original trust agreement.””
Margaret's face drained of color.
I turned.
“Margaret?””
She didn't answer.
Victoria paused at the doorway.
Then she delivered the words that changed everything.
“Your father didn't leave that fortune to James because he loved him.””
She looked directly at me.
“He left it to him because he knew who James's real father was.””
The door closed.
For several seconds, I couldn't move.
James stared at Margaret.
“Dad?””
I slowly turned toward my son.
“What did she mean?””
Margaret sank into the nearest chair.
Her hands were trembling.
“I was hoping you would never have to hear this.””
“Margaret. What did she mean?””
She looked at James.
Then at me.
May you like
And whispered:
“Eleanor had a secret before she married you.””
