Chapter 5: The Woman in the Reflection
For several seconds, I could only stare at the photograph.
Samantha had told me she went to Lucas's office because he asked for her help. She had admitted that someone redirected her to a warehouse the night he died. She had confessed that she kept a flash drive containing evidence of financial fraud.
But the photograph suggested something more troubling.
She had been standing beside Lucas and my father before the accident.
Together.
Laura enlarged the image until the reflection filled most of the screen.
“It's not enough to prove wrongdoing,” she cautioned.
“The photograph doesn't establish when it was taken, what they were discussing, or why they were in the same room.””
“I know that bracelet.””
“Could someone else have worn it?””
“No. I gave it to Samantha. It has a small engraved S on the clasp.””
Laura nodded.
“Then we have a lead.””
I stared at my father's reflection.
His expression was impossible to read, but I recognized the way he stood: shoulders squared, chin raised, one hand resting on his belt.
He had stood that way at my wedding when Lucas's best man made a joke about fathers giving their daughters away.
He had stood that way at my mother's funeral, refusing to cry in front of anyone.
He had stood that way on my porch the night before, telling me I had no right to the home my husband and I had paid for.
I felt sick.
“Could my father have arranged Lucas's accident?””
Laura didn't answer immediately.
“Do you have any evidence that the collision was deliberate?””
“No.””
“Then we cannot conclude that. What we can do is investigate the fraudulent documents, the beneficiary change, and the circumstances surrounding the meeting.””
I nodded, although my thoughts were already racing.
“If Samantha was helping him, why would she come to my apartment and tell me the truth?””
“Perhaps she feels guilty. Perhaps she wants to protect herself. Perhaps she's telling the truth about part of what happened but withholding something else.””
The last possibility hurt the most.
Laura closed the photograph.
“Emily, you need to understand that people involved in fraud don't always begin with the intention of causing serious harm. Sometimes they make one compromise, then another. Eventually, they're protecting the first lie by committing a dozen more.””
I thought about Samantha's face that morning.
The hesitation.
The tears.
The flash drive.
“Can we examine it?””
“I've already arranged for a forensic specialist to inspect it in a secure environment.””
“When will we know what's on it?””
“Possibly this afternoon.””
I leaned back, exhausted.
Then Laura placed another document on the table.
“This is a copy of the original deed to your house.””
I looked down.
My name and Lucas's appeared beneath the heading.
The ownership history was straightforward. We had purchased the house together, paid off the mortgage, and registered the property jointly.
Nothing about a debt.
Nothing about my father's business.
Nothing about the loan Charles had described.
“There's no outstanding mortgage,” I whispered.
“Not on the legitimate records.””
Laura turned the page.
“Someone filed an application for a private loan using the house as collateral. The application includes what appears to be your signature and a document purporting to show Lucas's authorization.””
“Who approved it?””
“The lender hasn't released the complete file yet. But the initial application lists Charles Bennett as the intermediary.””
I felt my jaw tighten.
“So he invented a debt.””
“That's one possibility. Another is that he arranged a fraudulent loan and intends to use the proceeds to claim the house if the debt goes unpaid.””
“Why would he do that?””
Laura folded her hands.
“Because property is an asset. If he can make the debt appear legitimate, he may be able to pressure you into transferring ownership or force a sale through legal proceedings.””
I thought of Courtney's wineglass, the way she had toasted me through the window.
“They planned this.””
“We need to prove it.””
Laura explained that she would file the necessary objections and notify the relevant authorities. She also advised me to avoid direct contact with my father or stepmother until we had secured the original records.
Before I left, she gave me a card for a security consultant who could help protect my personal information and review the suspicious documents.
Then she said something that followed me all the way to Samantha's apartment.
“Lucas wasn't only trying to protect the house, Emily. He was trying to protect you from the people who knew how much you trusted them.””
When I arrived, Samantha was sitting at the kitchen table.
Two mugs of coffee stood in front of her, both untouched.
She rose immediately.
“Did you speak to Laura?””
“Yes.””
“Did she look at the flash drive?””
“It's being examined.””
Samantha nodded, her eyes fixed on the table.
“Did she show you the photograph?””
I stopped walking.
“What photograph?””
She closed her eyes.
“Oh, God.””
My heart began to pound.
“You know about the photograph?””
“I knew Lucas had taken pictures of some of the documents. I didn't know which ones he kept.””
“How did you know about the picture of you and my father?””
Samantha pressed her palms against the tabletop.
“Because I was there.””
I stepped backward.
“You told me you didn't know what was happening.””
“I didn't know everything.””
“But you knew enough to lie.””
“Yes.””
The word was barely audible.
I gripped the back of a chair.
“Tell me why you were standing beside my father in Lucas's office.””
Samantha looked up, tears running down her cheeks.
“Charles approached me about a month before Lucas died. He said Lucas had discovered financial irregularities in one of the companies connected to your family. He told me he wanted to resolve the situation privately.””
“And you believed him?””
“At first, yes. He said Lucas was under a lot of stress and might make accusations that could damage innocent people. He asked me to speak with Lucas and persuade him to stop investigating until everyone understood the facts.””
“You were supposed to make him stop?””
“I thought I was helping prevent a family dispute.””
I laughed once, a short, bitter sound.
“You work in compliance. You know what happens when people ask you to bury financial irregularities.””
“I know.””
“Then why did you agree?””
She looked at the wedding photograph on the shelf.
“Because Charles told me something about Lucas.””
“What?””
“He said Lucas had been secretly meeting with a woman who was threatening to expose him. He claimed Lucas was trying to protect you from a scandal.””
I felt a chill.
“Was it true?””
“No. I realized that later. But at the time, Charles showed me messages that appeared to support his story.””
“What messages?””
“Emails. Text screenshots. Things that looked as if Lucas had been hiding something from you.””
I stared at her.
“And you didn't come to me?””
“I thought I could verify them first. I didn't want to hurt you if they were fake.””
“So you went to my father instead.””
Samantha nodded miserably.
“He said he could explain everything if I helped him retrieve certain financial records from Lucas's office.””
“What records?””
“The insurance documents. The property papers. He claimed Lucas had accidentally mixed personal documents with files from the family business.””
“And you believed that?””
“I wanted to believe there was a harmless explanation.””
I pulled out a chair and sat down.
The room seemed to have grown smaller.
“Did you give him anything?””
Samantha's silence answered before she did.
“Yes.””
My stomach twisted.
“What?””
“A copy of a document Lucas had asked me to review. It contained his policy number and some personal information.””
“Did it contain a beneficiary form?””
“I didn't think so.””
“Did you check?””
She shook her head.
I closed my eyes.
“Did you know Courtney would be named as the beneficiary?””
“No.””
“Did you know my father planned to throw me out?””
“No. I swear.””
“Did you know about the loan against the house?””
“No.””
I wanted to believe her, but every answer opened another wound.
“Why didn't you tell me after Lucas died?””
“Because Charles called me the morning after the funeral. He said if I told you about the meeting, he'd produce the messages and tell you that Lucas had been cheating on you. He said you'd never recover from learning that your husband had betrayed you, and he'd make sure everyone knew I had helped him.””
“Were the messages real?””
“I don't know. I never saw the original files.””
“Then why did you let him frighten you?””
Samantha covered her face.
“Because I was a coward.””
For a moment, I had nothing to say.
That was the first answer she had given me that sounded completely honest.
Then she reached into a drawer and removed a small notebook.
“There's something else. I wrote down everything I remembered about the night Lucas died. Every call, every time, every detail. I was going to give it to the police, but I was afraid they would think I was involved.””
She opened the notebook.
At the top of the first page, she had written the date of the accident.
Below it were several entries.
8:14 p.m. — Lucas calls.
8:27 p.m. — Unknown woman calls, redirects meeting.
8:51 p.m. — Arrive at Mercer warehouse.
9:06 p.m. — See black SUV leaving rear entrance.
9:19 p.m. — Hear report of accident.
I stared at the last two entries.
“What time did the police say the accident happened?””
“Just after nine.””
“Where?””
“On the road between downtown and the warehouse.””
I looked up.
“Did you tell the police about the unknown woman?””
“No.””
“Did you tell them about the SUV?””
“No.””
“Did you tell them Charles had threatened you?””
She shook her head.
I pushed the notebook away.
“You need to tell them now.””
“I will.””
“Today.””
She nodded.
Then her phone rang.
The name on the screen was *Charles Bennett*.
Neither of us moved.
It rang again.
Samantha looked at me.
“I won't answer.””
“Put it on speaker.””
Her face went pale.
“Emily—”
“Do it.””
She answered.
“Hello?””
My father's voice filled the kitchen.
“Samantha, have you spoken to Emily this morning?””
Samantha swallowed.
“Yes.””
“Good. Then you can save me a trip. I need you both at my office at two o'clock.””
“Why?”” Samantha asked.
“Because your friend is about to make a very expensive mistake.””
I stepped closer to the phone.
“What mistake, Dad?””
There was a pause.
Then Charles chuckled softly.
“Emily. I was wondering when you'd stop hiding behind other people.””
“I'm not hiding.””
“Then come to my office. Bring the letter Lucas left you.””
My blood turned cold.
“How do you know about the letter?””
“Because your husband wasn't nearly as clever as he thought.””
He lowered his voice.
“And if you want to know what really happened the night he died, you should ask Samantha what she took from his desk before she left.””
The call ended.
I turned toward her.
Samantha's lips had parted, but no sound came out.
“What did you take?”” I demanded.
She shook her head.
“Emily, I didn't—”
“Tell me!””
She reached into her purse with trembling fingers and removed a small, folded piece of paper.
“I took this because Lucas told me to hide it if anything happened to him.””
She unfolded it.
It was a photocopy of an insurance beneficiary form.
Courtney's name had been crossed out in red ink.
Beneath it, Lucas had handwritten a warning.
*IF COURTNEY'S NAME APPEARS AGAIN, CHECK WHO AUTHORIZED THE CHANGE.*
And in the lower corner was a second signature.
May you like
One that wasn't Lucas's.
It belonged to my father.
