Chapter 3 - THE CLAUSE
Mara Chen arrived at the hospital at six the next morning.
She was Grandmother Evelyn’s former forensic accountant.
Five feet two inches tall.
Gray streak through black hair.
No patience for nonsense.
Grandmother trusted her more than almost anyone.
Which was probably why my parents hated her.
Mara entered carrying two coffees and a steel document case.
“I heard your family finally stopped pretending to be normal.”
Despite everything, I smiled.
“Good morning to you too.”
Daniel stood.
“What do you know about the trust?”
“Enough to understand why somebody is panicking.”
She opened the steel case.
Inside was a copy of Grandmother’s estate plan.
Not the polished version Victor had shown me.
An older working version.
Pages covered with Grandmother’s handwritten notes.
Mara turned to a yellow tab.
“This is the provision causing the problem.”
I read it.
Upon the birth of the first living descendant of Claire Elizabeth Mercer, formerly Claire Elizabeth Bennett, all controlling interests held under Article VII shall vest permanently in the Claire Bennett bloodline and shall thereafter be administered by an independent institutional trustee.
Daniel read it twice.
“So the baby doesn’t directly inherit everything.”
“No.”
Mara tapped the page.
“She changes control.”
“What happens before she’s born?”
“Currently, Elaine and Robert Bennett remain temporary co-beneficiaries of certain income-producing assets.”
My parents.
“What happens after?”
“They lose management access.”
Daniel understood before I did.
“The audit.”
Mara nodded.
“Exactly.”
The moment my daughter was safely born, an independent trustee would take control.
Every transaction would be reviewed.
Every withdrawal.
Every loan.
Every shell company.
Every payment made since Grandmother’s death.
“How much is the trust worth?” I asked.
Mara looked at me.
“Depending on valuation?”
“Yes.”
“Between eighty-two and ninety-one million dollars.”
I stared at her.
I had known Grandmother was wealthy.
I didn’t know the number.
Daniel whistled quietly.
“And how much is missing?”
Mara looked at the monitor beside my bed.
Then back at me.
“We don’t know.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
“It wasn’t intended to be.”
She removed another sheet.
“I found eleven suspicious transfers.”
“Eleven?”
“Totaling approximately nine-point-four million dollars.”
My mouth went dry.
“Where?”
“Some went into entities connected to your father.”
“And the rest?”
“We’re tracing them.”
“What does Victor have to do with it?”
Mara’s face hardened.
“Victor administered the trust.”
The answer was suddenly obvious.
“He approved the transfers.”
“Yes.”
Daniel leaned back.
“So my in-laws weren’t stealing alone.”
Mara met his eyes.
“Probably not.”
I thought about the photograph sent to my phone.
“My grandmother’s pen.”
Mara frowned.
“What?”
I showed her.
She stared at the photograph.
Then enlarged it.
“That is Evelyn’s.”
“It was buried with her.”
“No.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“Evelyn was buried with a replica.”
I felt a chill.
“Why?”
“Because the original contained a data capsule.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“A what?”
Mara almost smiled.
“Your grandmother was dramatic.”
“That’s one word for it.”
“She had a custom fountain pen made with a concealed flash storage compartment.”
I stared.
“What was on it?”
“I don’t know.”
“You knew about the pen but never saw the files?”
“She refused to tell me.”
“Who had it?”
“Victor.”
The room became silent.
“He told us it was buried with her.”
Mara’s expression told me everything.
Another lie.
Daniel stood.
“I’m calling Alvarez.”
Before he could, the door opened.
A nurse entered pushing a medication cart.
I didn’t recognize her.
That meant nothing.
Hospitals had dozens of nurses.
She checked the screen.
“Claire Mercer?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve got something to help you rest.”
Dr. Patel had mentioned medication if the contractions increased.
Still, something bothered me.
Maybe paranoia.
Maybe instinct.
I looked at her badge.
The photograph was slightly crooked.
Daniel noticed too.
“What medication?”
The nurse paused.
“Something your doctor ordered.”
“What?”
She glanced at him.
“Sir, I need to administer it.”
“Then tell us the name.”
Her expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Mara saw it.
“Call the charge nurse.”
The woman reached for the syringe on her cart.
Daniel stepped between us.
“Don't touch her.”
“Sir—”
“Call security.”
The woman turned.
She moved quickly.
Too quickly.
She abandoned the cart and ran.
Daniel chased her into the hallway.
I heard shouting.
A crash.
Then security alarms.
Mara grabbed the call button.
“Security, room 614!”
Thirty seconds later, Daniel returned.
Two security officers had the woman against the wall.
Dr. Patel arrived furious.
“That person does not work on this floor.”
Detective Alvarez arrived twelve minutes later.
The syringe went to the lab.
The woman refused to identify who sent her.
But police found something in her pocket.
A printed photograph of me.
My room number.
And two words written beneath it.
BEFORE MONDAY.
May you like
Rebecca’s kick had failed.
Someone had already moved to Plan B.
