Chapter 4 - The Daughter Nobody Knew Existed
Arthur Lawson was waiting on the porch when Kira arrived.
At eighty-one, he moved slowly, leaning on a polished wooden cane.
But the moment he saw his granddaughter step out of the sedan in her wedding dress, his expression collapsed.
“Oh, sweetheart.”
Kira tried to smile.
She couldn't.
Arthur opened his arms.
She walked into them.
For the first time all day, she cried.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
She simply buried her face against his shoulder and allowed herself to be held.
Arthur kissed her hair.
“You came home.”
Kira nodded.
“I did.”
“Good.”
He stepped back.
“Now let's get you out of that dress.”
An hour later, Kira sat in the library wearing jeans and one of her grandfather's old sweaters.
A fire burned in the stone fireplace.
Rain tapped against the windows.
On the coffee table lay the identification document Sarah had sent.
Arthur studied it.
His face became unreadable.
“Where did you get this?”
“Sarah found it attached to a property filing.”
He lowered himself into an armchair.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he whispered, “I was afraid this would happen.”
Kira's heart accelerated.
“Grandpa, who is Rebecca Lawson?”
Arthur closed his eyes.
“A woman who should never have been given that name.”
Kira waited.
Arthur looked toward the fire.
“Thirty-four years ago, I had a business partner named Martin Parker.”
Kira frowned.
“Parker?”
“Yes.”
“Riley's father?”
Arthur nodded.
Kira felt the room shift.
Martin Parker had been an engineer.
That much she knew.
He and his wife had died when Riley was sixteen.
Blake had told the story countless times.
But he had never mentioned any connection to Arthur.
“Martin and I built a company together,” Arthur continued. “Lawson Structural Group. We designed commercial buildings, bridges, hospitals. For a while, we were successful.”
“What happened?”
“Martin began diverting money.”
Kira stared.
“He stole from you?”
“From the company. From employees. From pension accounts.”
Arthur's hands trembled slightly.
“I discovered it during an audit. I confronted him privately. He promised to repay everything.”
“Did he?”
“No.”
Arthur looked at her.
“He threatened to destroy my family.”
Kira felt cold.
“What does that mean?”
“He knew things about me. Personal things. Mistakes I'd made long before you were born.”
“What mistakes?”
Arthur hesitated.
Then he said, “I had a daughter before I married your grandmother.”
Kira stopped breathing.
“A daughter?”
“Her name was Margaret.”
Kira leaned forward.
“Where is she?”
Arthur's expression darkened.
“She died when she was twenty-seven.”
Silence filled the room.
“Martin knew about her,” Arthur continued. “He knew I had supported her privately. He knew I'd tried to establish a relationship after she became an adult.”
“Why was it a secret?”
“Because I was ashamed of how I'd handled her childhood.”
Kira swallowed.
“What does this have to do with Riley?”
Arthur reached for the document.
“Martin believed he could exploit that history. Years after Margaret died, he began claiming his daughter was actually Margaret's child.”
Kira stared.
“That would make Riley your granddaughter.”
“Yes.”
“Was it true?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Margaret never had a child. I have her medical records and the records of her estate.”
Arthur's voice broke.
“Martin fabricated documents. Birth certificates. Adoption records. He wanted access to a trust I established for Margaret's descendants.”
Kira looked at the identification card again.
Rebecca Lawson.
“Why would Riley have this now?”
Arthur's eyes filled with something Kira had never seen before.
Fear.
“Because Martin's death didn't end the dispute.”
He explained that after the accident, Riley's legal guardian had attempted to claim an inheritance on her behalf.
Arthur's attorneys had challenged the documents.
The claim disappeared.
For years, Arthur believed the matter was settled.
Then, six months earlier, someone submitted a new claim.
Not for the original trust.
For a controlling interest in a property development company Arthur still partially owned.
Kira stared.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't want your marriage poisoned by something that happened before you were born.”
“My marriage was already poisoned.”
Arthur lowered his head.
“I know.”
Kira looked toward the window.
Riley had spent years portraying herself as helpless.
The orphan who needed Blake.
The fragile woman who couldn't survive disappointment.
But she had been pursuing a legal claim against Kira's family while attending engagement parties and bridal showers.
“Does Blake know?”
“I don't believe so.”
“Then how did Riley get access to our apartment agreement?”
Arthur didn't answer.
Kira's phone rang.
Sarah.
She answered immediately.
“Tell me you found something.”
“I found a lot.”
Sarah sounded exhausted.
“First, the forged signature was inserted into a draft prepared by Blake's financial adviser. The document was never validly executed, but somebody attempted to submit it to the lender.”
“Who?”
“Riley used an email account registered to Blake's office.”
“Did Blake give her access?”
“We don't know yet.”
Kira rubbed her forehead.
“And the identification document?”
Sarah hesitated.
“It's fraudulent.”
“I know.”
“No, Kira. You don't understand.”
Sarah's voice lowered.
“The document was used to open a bank account.”
Kira sat upright.
“What bank account?”
“One receiving transfers from a development company connected to your grandfather.”
Arthur's face changed when he heard that.
Kira put the call on speaker.
Sarah continued.
“Over the last eighteen months, someone has transferred almost two million dollars into that account.”
Kira stared at Arthur.
His cane slipped from his hand.
“Grandpa?”
Arthur whispered something.
Kira leaned closer.
“What?”
He looked at her.
“That's impossible.”
Sarah's voice sharpened.
“Why?”
Arthur's face had gone pale.
“Because the only person authorized to release that money was my former business partner.”
Kira felt her pulse hammer.
“Martin Parker?”
Arthur nodded.
“But Martin died fourteen years ago.”
Sarah was silent.
Then she said, “Kira, there's something else.”
“What?”
“The transfers were approved using a biometric security credential.”
Kira frowned.
“Whose?”
Sarah took a breath.
“Arthur Lawson's.”
Kira turned toward her grandfather.
May you like
His expression told her he knew exactly what that meant.
And then he whispered, “Someone has been inside my house.”
