Chapter 9: Walter’s Final Secret
The last page was folded.
Neither of us noticed at first.
Marcus carefully opened it.
His expression changed.
“Mom.””
“What?””
He handed it to me.
The handwriting was Walter’s.
I knew it instantly.
My hands began to shake.
Margaret,
There is one thing I never told you.
Not because I didn’t trust you.
Because I was trying to protect you.
I read the sentence again.
Then again.
Trying to understand.
“Dad knew,” Marcus whispered.
I looked at him.
“Knew what?””
He pointed.
I continued reading.
Before my death, I discovered someone close to us had been leaking information about the company.
I never confronted them.
I wanted evidence.
I wanted to know how far they would go.
My heart raced.
Because Walter had known.
He had known someone was coming for us.
And he still left me alone with the burden.
The next line explained why.
I trusted you because you were the only person who loved me before I had anything.
A tear fell onto the paper.
Walter.
Even in his final moments, he understood people better than anyone.
Then I reached the final paragraph.
The person who betrayed us was not the beginning of the problem.
They were only a symptom.
The real danger is someone who has been watching this family for years.
Someone who believes the company belongs to them.
I looked at Marcus.
“Who?””
Neither of us knew.
Then Daniel walked in.
He looked at the letter.
His face changed.
“Walter wrote that?””
“Yes.””
Daniel became quiet.
“Then he knew.””
“Knew what?””
Daniel slowly sat down.
“Your father suspected someone else.””
“Who?””
Daniel hesitated.
Then he said:
“Someone you both know.””
The room went silent.
“Who?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Your brother.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“He wasn’t the mastermind.””
“Then who?””
Daniel looked at Marcus.
“Someone who used Thomas.””
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
No one spoke.
Then a voice.
A woman’s voice.
“Margaret.””
My blood froze.
I knew that voice.
“Renata?””
A soft laugh.
“You really thought you won?””
Marcus stood.
“Where are you?””
She ignored him.
“You found Thomas.””
I tightened my grip on the phone.
“What do you want?””
“I want what was always mine.””
“Nothing was yours.””
Silence.
Then:
“You still don’t understand.””
The call ended.
Daniel immediately looked at me.
“Call trace.””
Seconds later, his face changed.
“What?””
He looked up.
“She wasn’t calling from far away.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“Where?””
Daniel stared at the screen.
“Inside the city.””
I felt a chill.
Because Renata wasn’t hiding.
She wanted us to know she was still there.
Waiting.
Watching.
Three days later, we discovered why.
The police investigation uncovered the final piece.
Renata had never planned to marry Marcus just for money.
She wanted something bigger.
Something Walter had protected for decades.
A private investment account.
One that contained the original ownership rights to a foundation Walter created before he died.
A foundation designed to help families who had lost everything.
Renata believed controlling it would make her untouchable.
But she missed one detail.
Walter had designed it so no greedy person could ever control it.
Only someone who truly understood his values.
Marcus.
The man she underestimated.
The son she thought was weak.
The son who had once rejected his own mother.
And now he was the person standing between Renata and everything she wanted.
The final confrontation happened one month later.
And this time…
May you like
I wasn’t the woman standing outside the chapel doors.
I was the woman watching my son decide who he wanted to become.
