Chapter 8 - THE TRUTH ABOUT DAISY
We hid in a private house owned by one of Sabrina's contacts.
For the first time in days, there were no cameras.
No threats.
No mysterious messages.
Only silence.
I sat alone with Daisy's photograph.
Mason entered quietly.
“I can leave.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because you don't trust me.”
“I don't know how to trust anyone.”
He nodded.
Then he sat across from me.
“I loved Daisy.”
I looked down.
“You never showed it.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“That I'd lose her.”
My eyes filled.
“You lost her anyway.”
He closed his eyes.
“I know.”
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then Mason said:
“There was something I never told you.”
I looked up.
“When Daisy was born, the doctors found another problem.”
I frowned.
“They discovered someone had accessed her medical records before we even left the hospital.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“Someone had already flagged her file.”
“For what?”
“Financial interest.”
I didn't understand.
Mason continued.
“Your father's trust was connected to Daisy's birth.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because your father had created a succession structure.”
“What does that mean?”
“If you died, Daisy would inherit.”
I froze.
“Then if Daisy died…”
“The trust would revert.”
“To whom?”
Mason looked at me.
“To the emergency trustee.”
I whispered:
“Victor.”
“Yes.”
Everything clicked.
Victor hadn't wanted me dead.
He wanted Daisy dead.
Because Daisy's death would make him temporary controller of the trust.
But why wait three years?
Mason answered the question.
“Because he needed the trust to reach maturity.”
“What happened three years ago?”
“You signed something.”
I searched my memory.
Marriage documents.
Prenuptial agreements.
Estate papers.
Then I remembered.
“My father's attorney came to our wedding.”
Mason nodded.
“He added a beneficiary amendment.”
I stood.
“What amendment?”
“If you and I had a child, the child became protected beneficiary.”
“And if the child died?”
“The trust couldn't transfer immediately.”
“Why?”
“Because your father anticipated someone might exploit the clause.”
I stared at him.
“So Victor failed.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he keep trying?”
Mason looked toward the window.
“Because there is another beneficiary.”
“Who?”
He didn't answer.
The door opened.
Clara entered.
“It is me.”
I turned.
“What?”
She looked at me.
“Your father named me as emergency protector.”
I was stunned.
“But you disappeared.”
“I had to.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor found out.”
Clara sat down.
“Your father knew he was dying. He knew Victor had infiltrated the company. So he created layers of protection.”
She looked at Mason.
“He trusted your husband to protect you.”
Mason lowered his head.
“And I failed.”
Clara shook her head.
“You made mistakes. That's different.”
I looked at Mason.
“Did you ever love Sabrina?”
“No.”
“Did you sleep with her?”
“No.”
“Did you ever plan to leave me?”
“No.”
I believed him.
That was the worst part.
Because I realized I had spent years hating him for things that weren't true.
But he had still failed me.
He had still lied.
He had still allowed fear to turn our marriage into a prison.
“I don't know if I can forgive you.”
“I don't expect you to.”
He stood.
“I only want you alive.”
Then Sabrina rushed inside.
“Victor found us.”
Everyone froze.
“How?”
She held up a phone.
“Because someone inside this house is working for him.”
I looked around.
Callahan.
Clara.
Sabrina.
Mason.
Then the door behind us slowly opened.
A man stood there.
I recognized him.
Mason's attorney.
The man who had handled our marriage papers.
The man my father trusted.
He smiled.
“Hello, Elizabeth.”
Callahan whispered:
“Thomas.”
May you like
Thomas raised a gun.
And pointed it directly at me.
