Chapter 7: The Confession His Father Tried to Bury
Victoria lunged for Daniel's phone.
He pulled it away before her fingers reached the screen.
"Give me that!"" she snapped.
"No.""
"Daniel, you don't understand what you're looking at.""
"Then explain it.""
She glanced toward the hallway, then back at him. The softness she'd worn like a second skin had vanished. Her shoulders were rigid, her jaw clenched, and her eyes kept darting toward the phone in his hand.
"Sarah has been trying to ruin my life for ten years," Victoria said.
"She is obsessed with you. She couldn't stand that you chose me.""
"Then why did you say she was never supposed to come back?""
Victoria's mouth tightened.
"Because she has been threatening me.""
"With what?""
"Daniel, please. Just delete that file.""
He looked down at the screen.
The video was less than four minutes long.
"Why?""
"Because it's private.""
"Was the attempted transfer private, too?""
She slapped the document on the dining table.
"Stop making everything about money!""
Daniel stared at her.
"You're the one who tried to take it.""
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then Victoria did something he had never seen her do before.
She stopped trying to convince him.
"Fine," she said coldly.
"Watch it. See what your precious Sarah has been hiding. But when you're finished, don't expect me to forgive you for believing her over your own wife.""
She walked upstairs.
Daniel waited until he heard the bedroom door slam before opening the video.
The footage was grainy, recorded on an old phone in what appeared to be a private sitting room. His father sat in an armchair near the window, wearing the blue sweater Daniel had given him for Christmas in 2015.
Victoria stood beside a table.
Sarah was behind the camera.
Daniel recognized his father's voice immediately.
"Victoria, I want you to understand something. I don't care how much money my family has. I care about what happens to my son.""
Victoria folded her arms.
"And I've told you, I love him.""
"Then why did you ask my attorney about the trust?""
"Because you refuse to tell me anything about it.""
"You're not entitled to know every detail of my finances before you marry him.""
"He's going to be my husband.""
"And that doesn't make his property yours.""
Victoria laughed bitterly.
"Is that what you think I'm after?""
His father leaned forward.
"I think you are frightened of being ordinary. I think you have convinced yourself that marrying Daniel is your way out. And I think you are beginning to mistake his kindness for weakness.""
Victoria's face hardened.
"You have no right to speak to me like that.""
"I have every right to protect my son.""
"Your son isn't a child.""
"No. He's a man who believes the best in people. That is his strength. It's also the easiest way to hurt him.""
Victoria turned away.
Then she said something that made Daniel pause the video.
"If he knew everything about me, he would never marry me.""
Daniel stared at the frozen image.
His father's expression had changed.
"What does that mean?"" his father asked.
Victoria looked back at him.
"It means everybody has a past.""
"Does your past include trying to access my son's assets before you've even married him?""
"No.""
"Then give me permission to show this conversation to Daniel.""
Victoria went pale.
"You wouldn't.""
"If you have nothing to hide, why would that concern you?""
"Because he'll believe you. He always believes you.""
His father shook his head.
"No, Victoria. He believes people he loves. That's not the same thing.""
The recording continued.
Victoria moved closer to the table.
"If you tell him about this, I'll tell him what you've been doing, too.""
His father frowned.
"What have I been doing?""
"Keeping secrets. Moving money. Making arrangements behind his back. You think you're protecting him, but you're just controlling him.""
"Those are very serious accusations.""
"Then perhaps you should consider how they'll look when someone asks questions.""
Daniel's stomach tightened.
There was a long silence.
Then his father spoke quietly.
"Are you threatening me?""
Victoria lifted her chin.
"I'm telling you that if you interfere with my marriage, I won't be the only person whose reputation suffers.""
His father stood.
"Leave my house.""
Victoria grabbed her handbag.
"Gladly.""
She reached the door, then turned back.
"You have until tomorrow to decide whether you want to be part of our wedding. If you embarrass me, I'll make sure Daniel knows exactly what kind of man his father really was.""
The video ended.
Daniel sat motionless.
His father had died believing his son might one day need proof of what happened in that room.
And Daniel had spent six years defending the woman who had threatened him.
His phone rang.
Sarah.
"Did you watch it?"" she asked.
"Yes.""
"I'm sorry you had to hear it that way.""
Daniel rubbed his face.
"Why didn't you give it to me years ago?""
"I tried. But after your father died, I received a letter from his attorney saying the original evidence had been placed in a sealed trust. He told me not to interfere unless you asked for help.""
"Did my father know you still had a copy?""
"Yes. He asked me to keep it somewhere safe.""
Daniel looked toward the staircase.
"Why did he let me marry her?""
"He didn't want to make the decision for you. He told me that if he forced you to choose between your future wife and your father, you might resent him forever.""
Daniel closed his eyes.
That sounded exactly like his father.
"What did Victoria mean when she said my father had been moving money?""
Sarah hesitated.
"That's the part I haven't told you.""
He straightened.
"Tell me.""
"Your father discovered that someone had been approaching investors connected to his old software company. They were asking questions about the trust and trying to find out whether the shares could be transferred before the estate was settled.""
"Who?""
"We never proved it. But Grant Mercer was involved, and Victoria was communicating with him.""
"Was my father planning to report them?""
"Yes. He met with his attorney a few days after that recording. Then he became ill.""
Daniel remembered those final weeks.
His father had been tired, distracted, and unusually protective of his privacy. When Daniel asked whether something was wrong, the older man had smiled and told him not to worry.
Three weeks later, he was dead.
"Sarah," Daniel said slowly, "do you think they had anything to do with his death?""
"I don't know. I won't accuse anyone without proof. His medical records said his heart condition worsened suddenly. But I always wondered why Victoria seemed so determined to get married before he could speak to you.""
Daniel's blood ran cold.
He wouldn't turn suspicion into a fact. His father had been ill, and there was no evidence that anyone had caused his death.
But the timing demanded answers.
"I need to know what happened to the original trust documents," he said.
"They're with Bennett.""
"I'll call him.""
Before he could end the call, footsteps sounded overhead.
Victoria appeared at the top of the stairs carrying a small suitcase.
Daniel watched her descend.
"Where are you going?""
"To Melissa's.""
"You don't need to leave tonight.""
She stopped at the bottom step.
"Don't pretend you care where I go.""
"I care about the truth.""
She laughed without humor.
"You want the truth? You married me because you thought I was beautiful and charming. You never asked who I was before you met me. You never cared about my debts, my family, or what I had to do to survive.""
Daniel stared at her.
"What did you have to do?""
She gripped the suitcase handle.
"Nothing you would understand.""
"Try me.""
"No.""
She opened the front door.
Then she turned around one last time.
"Ask your father's lawyer why the trust was never transferred to you. Ask him why your father kept the original documents locked away. And ask him what happened three days before your wedding.""
She stepped outside.
Daniel stood in the doorway, watching her walk toward her car.
For a moment, he thought about stopping her.
Then his phone vibrated.
An email from Mr. Bennett, his father's longtime attorney, had arrived.
The subject line read:
*URGENT: ORIGINAL TRUST FILES AND THE UNDISCLOSED BENEFICIARY.*
Daniel opened it.
The first sentence made him forget Victoria entirely.
Daniel, there is a matter concerning your father's estate that I should have disclosed years ago.
The trust was not established solely for your benefit.
It was created to protect two children.
May you like
And beneath that sentence was a name Daniel had never expected to see.
*Sarah Mitchell.*
