Chapter 4: The First Mrs. Reed
Richard Reed was halfway to the exit when Arthur Collins called his name.
"Richard, I wouldn't leave just yet.""
Richard stopped.
For several seconds, he stood with his back to us. Then he slowly turned around, straightened his jacket, and forced a smile.
"I don't know what game you're playing, Arthur, but I won't participate.""
Arthur placed the photograph on the table.
"Do you recognize this?""
Richard glanced at it.
"No.""
I looked at him in disbelief.
"You were standing beside my husband.""
"I've met hundreds of businessmen.""
"Not with Robert. He hated having his photograph taken.""
Richard's expression hardened.
"Then perhaps you should ask your dead husband why he kept it.""
Vanessa stepped between us.
"Dad, what is going on?""
Richard ignored her.
"Vanessa, get your things. We're leaving.""
She didn't move.
"Who is the woman Dad mentioned?""
Arthur looked at me.
"Margaret, your husband instructed me to explain this only if Richard Reed became involved in an attempt to interfere with the estate.""
I swallowed.
"Tell me.""
Arthur opened the folder again.
"Richard was previously married to a woman named Eleanor Hayes. She disappeared from public records approximately twenty years ago.""
Richard laughed.
"She didn't disappear. We divorced.""
Arthur nodded.
"That's what the official documents say.""
"Then we're finished here.""
"Not quite.""
Arthur removed a photocopy of a marriage certificate.
Richard's expression changed.
"This is private.""
Vanessa looked down at the document.
"Mom?""
Richard turned sharply.
"Don't.""
It was the first time I had heard Vanessa call him anything resembling a command.
Arthur continued.
"Eleanor Hayes was a business partner of Robert's. She and her husband were involved in a property development project in Georgia. Robert invested a considerable amount of money.""
I stared at the certificate.
"Why didn't Robert ever mention her?""
"Because the partnership ended badly.""
Richard laughed again.
"Business disagreements. Nothing more.""
Arthur placed another document on the table.
"According to the records, Eleanor transferred her interest in the project to Richard shortly before she disappeared from the business world.""
Vanessa frowned.
"Why does that matter?""
"Because she later filed a civil complaint alleging that Richard had obtained her signature through deception.""
Richard's voice sharpened.
"The complaint was dismissed.""
"After Eleanor withdrew it.""
"Exactly.""
Arthur reached into his folder.
"However, she left a sworn statement with another attorney.""
Richard's face went pale.
I looked at him.
"What did she say?""
Arthur hesitated.
"She alleged that Richard had used a similar arrangement to take control of her inheritance.""
Vanessa stepped backward.
"That's impossible.""
Richard grabbed her arm.
"Don't listen to him.""
She pulled away.
"Let go of me.""
For the first time, I saw the same fear in her eyes that I had seen in the garden.
But this time, it wasn't directed at me.
It was directed at her father.
Arthur turned to Daniel.
"Your father believed the same pattern was being repeated. He began investigating Richard after discovering that Vanessa had contacted his financial adviser.""
Daniel looked at his father-in-law.
"You knew who my family was before I met Vanessa?""
Richard didn't answer.
Daniel's voice grew louder.
"Did you know about my inheritance?""
Richard finally looked at him.
"Of course I did. Anyone with common sense would have researched the family before a marriage.""
"Then why didn't you tell me?""
"Because you were in love with my daughter.""
Vanessa shook her head.
"Dad, stop.""
Richard ignored her.
"You think I wanted this? Your mother has been controlling your money for years. I simply wanted to make sure my daughter wasn't entering a marriage where she would have to beg for every dollar.""
I stared at him.
"By stealing from us?""
Richard turned toward me.
"Don't pretend you're innocent, Margaret. You have enough money to fund an entire generation. Yet you let your son live like an ordinary man.""
Daniel looked at him.
"I have a job. I bought my own apartment. I never asked you for anything.""
Richard laughed.
"Exactly. You never understood the opportunity in front of you.""
Arthur closed the folder.
"That is enough.""
But Vanessa wasn't finished.
She walked toward her father, tears running down her cheeks.
"Did you know about the trust before I met Daniel?""
Richard stared at her.
"Vanessa, we're leaving.""
"Answer me!""
He lowered his voice.
"I did what was necessary.""
She covered her mouth.
The silence was devastating.
Daniel looked at her.
"So you knew.""
Vanessa shook her head.
"I didn't know everything.""
"How much did you know?""
She began crying harder.
"I knew Dad wanted me to marry someone financially secure. I didn't know about the forged documents until—"
"Until when?"" Daniel demanded.
She looked down.
I watched her carefully.
"Until when, Vanessa?""
She whispered, "Until after the engagement.""
Daniel stepped away from her.
The wedding ring on his finger suddenly seemed too heavy.
Arthur gathered the papers.
"There's something else you should know. Eleanor Hayes is alive.""
Richard's head snapped toward him.
"What?""
Arthur nodded.
"She has agreed to speak with us.""
Vanessa stared at her father.
"You told me Mom was dead.""
Richard didn't answer.
The entire reception seemed to fall silent.
I looked at the photograph again.
Robert had known something terrible about this man.
And he had left me a warning.
Arthur took out his phone.
"She's downstairs.""
A minute later, a woman entered the reception tent.
She was in her late sixties, with short gray hair, a navy coat, and a leather handbag. Her face was thin, but her eyes were alert.
She stopped when she saw Richard.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then she said, "Hello, Richard.""
He looked as if he had seen a ghost.
"Eleanor.""
Vanessa took one step forward.
"You're my mother?""
The woman turned toward her.
"Yes, sweetheart.""
Vanessa began shaking.
"But Dad said—"
"Your father told you I abandoned you. He told you I chose money over my family.""
Richard stepped forward.
"Don't.""
Eleanor looked directly at him.
"Twenty years ago, he told me the same thing he told you. That I was unstable. That no one would believe me. That if I ever tried to expose him, I would lose my daughter.""
Vanessa's face crumpled.
"Why didn't you come back?""
Eleanor reached into her handbag and removed a small envelope.
"Because I was trying to protect you.""
She handed it to Arthur.
"This is what Robert asked me to keep.""
Arthur opened the envelope.
Inside was a letter dated two months before Robert died.
I recognized my husband's handwriting immediately.
Arthur read the first paragraph.
Then he stopped.
He looked at me.
"Margaret, Robert discovered that Richard had not simply targeted Eleanor's inheritance.""
I gripped the edge of the table.
"What else?""
Arthur turned the letter around.
At the bottom was a name.
My name.
And beneath it, a handwritten note:
*"The person Richard wants to remove from the trust is not Margaret. It is the person who knows what happened to our son.""*
I looked at Daniel.
Our son.
May you like
What had Richard done?
And why had Robert believed Daniel was in danger?
