Chapter 5: The Woman From The Past
David stared at the photograph until his eyes hurt.
Jessica and Jasmine’s mother.
Together.
Smiling.
The image looked impossible.
For years, David believed Jessica entered his life long after his first wife passed away.
But the date on the photograph changed everything.
Jessica had known his first wife.
Before the funeral.
Before the marriage.
Before she became Jasmine’s stepmother.
At breakfast, David placed the photograph on the table.
Jasmine looked at it.
Then she looked at him.
“Who is she with?””
David didn’t answer immediately.
“You know her.””
Jasmine picked up the picture.
Her face slowly changed.
“That’s Jessica.””
“Yes.””
“But how?””
That was the question nobody could answer.
Jessica entered the kitchen moments later and stopped when she saw the photograph.
The color disappeared from her face.
“You found it.””
David stood.
“You knew this existed.””
Jessica didn’t deny it.
“I hoped you never would.””
Jasmine looked between them.
“Someone please explain.””
David’s voice was quiet.
“When I met Jessica, she told me she had never met your mother.””
Jasmine looked at Jessica.
“Is that true?””
Jessica stayed silent.
The silence was enough.
“You lied to my father.””
Jessica sat down.
“I didn’t want the past to destroy the future.””
Jasmine’s eyes filled with anger.
“You were already part of my past.””
Jessica looked at her.
“I knew your mother before she died.””
“How?””
Jessica looked at the photograph.
“We worked together.””
David froze.
“What?””
Jessica sighed.
“She knew me because I helped manage some of the family accounts.””
David immediately understood.
“The property records.””
Jessica looked away.
“Yes.””
Jasmine felt a cold wave move through her.
“So you knew everything.””
Jessica shook her head.
“Not everything.””
“Then why did you try to take my property?””
Jessica’s expression changed.
“Because your mother was hiding something.””
David stepped closer.
“What?””
Jessica looked at him.
“She knew someone was trying to manipulate the family assets.””
The room became silent.
Jasmine whispered:
“Who?””
Jessica looked at the photograph.
“I never found out.””
David didn’t believe her.
“You expect me to believe you were trying to protect Jasmine?””
“I know how it looks.””
“It looks like you used information about my dead wife to steal from my daughter.””
Jessica looked hurt.
“I made a terrible decision. But I wasn’t the only person involved.””
Before David could respond, his phone rang.
It was Mr. Anderson.
David answered.
“Yes?””
The lawyer sounded serious.
“Mr. Carter, I checked the old financial records.””
“And?””
“There was money withdrawn from the property trust before Jessica ever submitted the transfer documents.””
David looked at Jasmine.
“How much?””
The lawyer paused.
“A large amount.””
“Who authorized it?””
Another pause.
Then:
“Your brother.””
David froze.
“My brother?””
Jasmine had never heard her father talk about his brother before.
David’s face changed.
His younger brother Michael had disappeared from the family years ago after an argument nobody explained.
“He wasn’t supposed to have access,” David said.
Mr. Anderson replied:
“That’s why I’m calling.””
David gripped the phone.
“What else did you find?””
“The withdrawal happened three days before your first wife died.””
Nobody spoke.
Jasmine looked at her father.
“My mother’s death?””
David closed his eyes.
Suddenly, the past he thought he understood began falling apart.
Jessica whispered:
“David…”
But he stepped away.
“No.””
He looked at the photograph again.
A picture of two women who knew something he never discovered.
Then Mr. Anderson spoke one final sentence.
“Mr. Carter, there’s something else.””
David waited.
“We found a second signature on the withdrawal papers.””
“Whose?””
The lawyer answered.
“Your wife’s.””
David slowly looked at Jasmine.
Because if the signature was real…
May you like
Then someone had forced Jasmine’s mother to approve the money.
And whoever did it had been hiding for years.
