Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN THOMAS MISJUDGED
Thomas returned to the hotel that afternoon.
Evelyn was waiting in the bridal suite.
She was no longer wearing the wedding dress.
She wore a black coat.
Her face was exhausted.
Thomas entered.
Two security officers stood behind him.
Evelyn looked at them.
“So that's what this is.”
Thomas closed the door.
“I need answers.”
“I know.”
“You knew about the USB.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Genevieve was being threatened.”
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
Thomas stared.
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was trying to protect her.”
“By marrying me?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.”
She sat down.
“By getting close enough to the people who were doing it.”
Thomas said nothing.
Evelyn opened her handbag.
She pulled out a second USB.
“I expected Genevieve to give you hers.”
Thomas stared.
“She was working with you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your daughter discovered the truth before you did.”
Evelyn looked down.
“I didn't hurt Genevieve.”
Thomas's expression hardened.
“I saw the footage.”
“You saw me grabbing her.”
“You shoved her.”
“I stopped her from walking into traffic.”
Thomas froze.
“What?”
Evelyn handed him her phone.
A video played.
Genevieve was crying, walking quickly through a parking garage.
Evelyn followed.
Genevieve suddenly stepped into the path of an approaching car.
Evelyn grabbed her.
The footage Thomas had seen was cropped.
The missing seconds changed everything.
Evelyn hadn't attacked Genevieve.
She had saved her.
Thomas watched the full clip.
His stomach turned.
“Who edited the other footage?”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Richard.”
Thomas closed his eyes.
“Why?”
“Because he needed you to hate me.”
“Why?”
“Because if you trusted me, his plan failed.”
Thomas opened his eyes.
“What plan?”
Evelyn whispered:
“To make you sign over the company.”
Silence.
Then Thomas understood.
The wedding wasn't about romance.
It was about control.
Evelyn had been pretending to be his mistress because that was the only role Richard expected her to play.
But she had been working undercover.
“For how long?”
“Two years.”
Thomas stared.
“You let me believe you were having an affair.”
“I needed everyone to believe it.”
“Everyone?”
“Martin. Richard. The board.”
“And Genevieve?”
“She knew.”
Thomas looked away.
“So my daughter knew the truth before me.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't she tell me?”
“Because Richard had threatened Toby.”
Thomas's jaw clenched.
Evelyn's voice cracked.
“He threatened to have Toby taken if Genevieve spoke.”
Thomas walked to the window.
The city stretched below him.
He suddenly felt ashamed of how easily he had judged her.
Evelyn whispered:
“Your wife wasn't murdered because of money.”
Thomas turned.
“Then why?”
“Because she discovered who was behind it.”
“Who?”
Evelyn hesitated.
Then she said:
“Your sister.”
Thomas stared.
“No.”
“Sarah.”
He shook his head.
“That's impossible.”
“She isn't working for Richard.”
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
“She is working against him.”
Thomas frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“She has been secretly investigating your family for six years.”
Thomas remembered the USB.
The handwriting.
The forged signature.
The mysterious photograph.
Everything suddenly pointed somewhere else.
Evelyn leaned forward.
“Your sister knows who killed your wife.”
Thomas whispered:
“Who?”
Before Evelyn could answer, the lights went out.
A gunshot shattered the window.
Thomas grabbed Evelyn and pulled her to the floor.
The second shot hit the wall.
Security rushed into the room.
Thomas looked toward the broken glass.
On the windowsill sat a small envelope.
He crawled toward it.
Inside was a single photograph.
His late wife.
His sister Sarah.
And a third person.
Thomas recognized him instantly.
Martin.
May you like
On the back was written:
ASK SARAH WHY SHE LIED ABOUT THAT NIGHT.
