Chapter 6: The Man Who Knew Brianna's Secret
Daniel moved in front of me.
"Don't come any closer.""
Richard Hale stopped beside the doorway.
He looked older than the photograph, but his face carried the same confident expression.
A man accustomed to getting what he wanted.
"I see you finally found your way home," Richard said.
Daniel's hands tightened.
"You have no business being here.""
Richard smiled.
"Actually, I have quite a lot of business here.""
He glanced at the blue ledger.
"That's what I came for.""
I stepped sideways so I could see him.
"Who are you?""
Richard looked at me.
"Someone who knew your mother very well.""
"Did you help Vanessa steal from her?""
His smile faded.
"Your father has been telling you stories.""
"Then tell me yours.""
Richard studied me for a moment.
"You have your mother's stubbornness.""
"And you have a lot of nerve coming into her workshop.""
He laughed.
Daniel didn't.
"Leave, Richard.""
Richard ignored him.
"Do you know what your mother did to me? She promised me a partnership. She promised me a future. Then she decided she was too good to work with anyone who didn't agree with her.""
"You stole from her," I said.
"Business is complicated.""
"Stealing two million dollars isn't complicated.""
His eyes narrowed.
"So you've seen the records.""
I glanced at the ledger.
"Enough.""
Richard took another step.
Daniel raised his hand.
"Don't.""
Richard stopped.
For a moment, the two men stared at each other.
Then Richard sighed.
"You should have stayed away, Daniel. You were given an opportunity to disappear quietly.""
Daniel's voice dropped.
"Who attacked me?""
Richard smiled.
"Does it matter?""
"It matters to me.""
"Then perhaps you should have asked more questions ten years ago.""
I looked between them.
"Did you arrange the attack?""
Richard said nothing.
Daniel moved toward him.
"Answer me.""
Richard raised both hands.
"Careful. You're not as young as you used to be.""
I grabbed Daniel's arm.
"Don't.""
He stopped.
Richard's gaze moved to the ledger again.
"Give me the book, Nia.""
"No.""
"You don't understand what you're holding.""
"I understand that it's evidence.""
"It's a collection of old numbers.""
"Then why are you so desperate to get it?""
For the first time, Richard looked genuinely irritated.
He reached into his coat.
Daniel immediately stepped forward.
"Keep your hands where I can see them.""
Richard stopped.
Then a siren sounded outside.
His expression changed.
Two police vehicles pulled up in front of the house.
Richard looked toward the window.
"You called them?""
Daniel nodded.
"Before we entered.""
Richard laughed.
"Smart.""
He stepped backward.
"I'll be in touch, Nia.""
"Don't bother.""
He looked at me for a long moment.
Then he left through the side entrance.
Daniel started after him, but the officers were already entering the house.
"Mr. Carter?""
"He's in the workshop.""
Two officers moved down the hallway.
Another approached us.
"Is everyone safe?""
I nodded.
Daniel handed him the photograph of Richard, the threatening messages, and the letter from my mother.
The officer studied the documents.
"Do you know this man's current address?""
Daniel shook his head.
"We haven't seen him in years.""
The officer called for additional units.
I held the ledger against my chest.
"Can you protect this?""
He nodded.
"We'll take it into evidence after documenting where it was found.""
I looked at the cutting table.
My mother had hidden this book beneath the very place where she taught me to sew.
She had known that one day I might return.
Or at least, she had hoped I would.
Two hours later, we were sitting in a police station.
The ledger had been photographed and sealed.
Daniel was giving a formal statement.
I sat in a small interview room with a cup of coffee I hadn't touched.
A detective named Morgan entered carrying a folder.
"Miss Carter?""
"Yes.""
"I'm Detective Morgan. I understand you've had a difficult couple of days.""
I almost laughed.
"That's one way to describe it.""
She sat opposite me.
"I've reviewed the initial evidence regarding the assault on your property and the threats you've received. I also need to ask about the documents found in the workshop.""
I nodded.
She opened the folder.
"Your mother's company was called Carter Atelier.""
"Yes.""
"According to the records we have, the company was dissolved shortly after her death.""
"Can it be reopened?""
"That's a legal question. But there may be grounds for reviewing the original dissolution.""
She turned a page.
"There's another matter.""
"What?""
"The blue ledger contains references to several accounts. One appears to have been established in your name.""
I frowned.
"In my name?""
"Yes. The account was opened when you were nine.""
My stomach tightened.
"Who controlled it?""
Detective Morgan looked at the document.
"Your stepmother.""
I stared at her.
"What was in it?""
"Initially, a substantial deposit. The account received regular transfers for several years.""
"How much?""
She hesitated.
"Approximately six hundred thousand dollars.""
I couldn't speak.
Six hundred thousand dollars.
In an account bearing my name.
While I had spent years asking Vanessa for money to buy fabric.
"Where is it now?""
"Most of the funds were transferred to another account shortly before your eighteenth birthday.""
"Whose account?""
Detective Morgan looked up.
"An account belonging to Brianna Carter.""
I felt my stomach turn.
"She took money from an account in my name and gave it to Brianna?""
"That's what the initial records suggest. We'll need the bank's full documentation to establish what happened.""
I closed my eyes.
The beautiful clothes.
The expensive holidays.
The designer handbags.
The private school.
Everything.
"Was that money from my mother?""
Detective Morgan nodded.
"Some of the deposits appear to have originated from her company.""
I pressed my fingers against my forehead.
"She stole my inheritance.""
The detective didn't answer.
Instead, she turned another page.
"There's a document here that I think you should see.""
She placed a photocopy on the table.
It was a trust agreement.
The heading read:
*CARTER FAMILY LEGACY TRUST.*
My name appeared as the primary beneficiary.
Brianna's name appeared underneath.
I read the percentages.
Ninety percent.
Ten percent.
I blinked.
"Why does Brianna have a share?""
Detective Morgan leaned forward.
"That's what we need to determine.""
I looked at the document again.
The agreement had been signed by my mother.
But there was something unusual.
A handwritten note appeared in the margin.
Ten percent only if the child's parent is not involved in the fraud.
I read it twice.
"What does that mean?""
Detective Morgan looked at me.
"Your mother may have included a condition connected to Brianna's parentage.""
I remembered the letter.
Ask Richard Hale who Brianna's biological father really is.
My mouth went dry.
"Does that mean Richard is her father?""
Detective Morgan closed the folder.
"We don't know yet.""
I sat back.
For ten years, I had believed Brianna was simply Vanessa's daughter from a previous relationship.
Nobody had ever mentioned her father.
Vanessa always said he had abandoned them.
But now there was a connection between Richard, Vanessa, and the inheritance.
I looked at the detective.
"Can I ask you something?""
"Of course.""
"If Brianna's father is involved in the fraud, would that affect her inheritance?""
"Potentially. But we would need to establish the facts and have the trust reviewed legally.""
I nodded.
Then the detective's phone rang.
She answered.
"Detective Morgan.""
She listened.
Her expression changed.
"Are you certain?""
A pause.
"All right. Send the information to my desk.""
She ended the call.
"What happened?"" I asked.
She looked at me.
"Your stepmother has requested a private meeting.""
"Why?""
"She says she has information about Richard Hale.""
I felt a chill.
"What kind of information?""
Detective Morgan glanced at the folder.
"She claims Richard isn't Brianna's biological father.""
I stared at her.
"Then who is?""
The detective hesitated.
"She says she can prove that Brianna's father is someone your mother knew very well.""
That afternoon, I returned to the hotel with Daniel.
He looked exhausted.
We had barely entered the suite when his phone rang.
He checked the screen.
"Michael.""
He answered.
"Hello?""
I watched his expression.
At first, he looked confused.
Then his eyes widened.
"What?""
He stood.
"You're certain?""
I moved closer.
He listened for several seconds.
Then he slowly lowered the phone.
"What happened?"" I asked.
He stared at me.
"Michael found the original company incorporation documents.""
"And?""
Daniel swallowed.
"Your mother never transferred ownership of Carter Atelier to Vanessa.""
I frowned.
"What does that mean?""
"It means the company was never legally hers.""
He took my hand.
"The controlling shares were placed in a trust for you.""
I stared.
"But the detective said the trust was worth millions.""
"It was.""
He walked to the table and opened his laptop.
Michael had emailed a scanned document.
Daniel turned the screen toward me.
At the top was my mother's signature.
Below it was a list of beneficiaries.
My name appeared first.
And beneath my name was a line I hadn't seen in the other document.
*Primary Beneficiary and Sole Voting Trustee: Nia Carter.*
I stared at the screen.
"Does that mean I own the company?""
Daniel nodded.
"Not just the company. The estate, the original designs, the intellectual property, and the remaining assets.""
I sat down.
"Then why did Vanessa make me feel like I owned nothing?""
"Because she needed you to believe you had no claim.""
He scrolled down.
There was another paragraph.
It stated that the trust would become fully accessible when I turned twenty-one, provided I could establish my identity and present the original blue ledger.
I looked at him.
"How old am I?""
"Twenty-one.""
I stared at the document.
The date was three days ago.
My birthday.
My mother had arranged everything so that I could claim it now.
Then Daniel pointed to the final paragraph.
There was a handwritten condition.
If Nia Carter is prevented from accessing her inheritance, the trustee must be notified immediately.
Below it was a name.
Not Vanessa.
Not Daniel.
A woman.
*Eleanor Whitmore.*
I frowned.
"Who is she?""
Daniel looked genuinely shocked.
"Your mother's attorney.""
"Where is she?""
"She died five years ago.""
I felt my hopes collapse.
But Daniel kept reading.
Then he noticed a second line.
In the event of my death, all responsibilities transfer to my daughter, Eleanor Whitmore Carter.
I looked at him.
"She had a daughter?""
He nodded slowly.
"Apparently.""
I leaned closer.
The next line contained an address.
And beneath it, a handwritten message from my mother.
Eleanor knows what really happened the night I died.
My heart began pounding.
Daniel looked at me.
"Nia, I think we need to find her.""
Before I could answer, someone knocked on the hotel suite door.
Three firm knocks.
Daniel moved toward it.
"Who is it?""
A woman's voice answered.
"Mr. Carter? My name is Eleanor Whitmore.""
I froze.
The door opened.
A woman in her late forties stood in the hallway holding a leather briefcase.
She looked at me first.
Then she smiled sadly.
"You must be Nia.""
I nodded.
She stepped inside.
"I've been waiting ten years to meet you.""
She placed the briefcase on the table.
Then she opened it and removed a photograph.
It showed my mother standing outside a hospital.
Beside her was Vanessa.
And beside Vanessa was a newborn baby.
Eleanor looked directly at me.
"There's something you need to know about the night your mother died.""
She paused.
"Your mother didn't leave the hospital alone.""
Then she turned the photograph over.
May you like
On the back, my mother had written a sentence that made my entire world shift.
*One of the two girls in this photograph is not who Vanessa claims she is.*
