Chapter 5 - Her Mother’s Secret
The key was inside Abigail’s childhood Bible.
She had hidden it there because Walter never opened religious books after his wife died.
By midnight, Simon, Abigail, and Marcus stood inside Walter’s house.
Abigail removed the Bible from beneath a loose floorboard.
The brass key remained taped inside the back cover.
Simon examined the tiny engraved number.
“317.”
Marcus searched records.
“There’s a private storage facility near Rittenhouse Square with numbered vaults.”
They arrived before two.
Vault 317 contained one object.
A metal document case.
Inside were ledgers, photographs, shipping manifests, and an old digital recorder.
Abigail recognized her mother’s handwriting.
She sat down.
“What was Mom involved in?”
Simon opened the first ledger.
Then he understood.
“She wasn’t involved.”
Abigail looked at him.
“She was documenting it.”
Margaret Preston had worked as an accountant before becoming ill.
One of her clients had been a logistics subcontractor used by Wexler Maritime.
The records showed years of fraudulent invoices and diverted cargo.
Millions of dollars.
All authorized through shell companies connected to Edward Wexler and Charles Armitage.
Simon’s father had apparently discovered part of the scheme shortly before his death.
A death everyone had believed was a heart attack.
Simon went still.
Marcus saw the same entry.
“Simon.”
Abigail looked between them.
“What?”
Simon showed her.
Three days before his father died, Margaret Preston had written:
R.W. knows. Meeting Friday. Edward frightened.
Robert Wexler.
Simon’s father.
“He knew,” Simon whispered.
Abigail touched the recorder.
“Then maybe Mom knew what happened.”
They played it.
Margaret’s weakened voice filled the vault.
“If Abigail ever hears this, sweetheart, I’m sorry.”
Abigail covered her mouth.
Simon watched her eyes fill.
Margaret explained everything.
She had discovered Edward’s financial crimes accidentally.
Robert Wexler had agreed to expose his brother.
But before they could meet federal investigators, Robert died.
Margaret became frightened.
Then she became sick.
She hid the evidence because she believed Edward was watching her family.
Her final words changed Simon forever.
“Robert Wexler did not die naturally. I cannot prove who administered the drug, but his medical file was altered afterward. Edward knew I had discovered the discrepancy.”
Simon stopped breathing.
His father had been murdered.
Abigail reached toward him, hesitated, then touched his hand.
Simon looked down.
Her fingers were trembling.
Still, she was comforting him.
He closed his hand around hers.
Neither spoke.
Then Marcus found another photograph.
Walter Preston.
Charles Armitage.
Edward Wexler.
Together.
Dated two months after Margaret’s death.
Abigail withdrew her hand.
“My father knew?”
The betrayal devastated her more quietly this time.
Simon wanted to tell her no.
The evidence would not allow it.
When they returned to the estate before dawn, Walter was waiting.
Abigail placed the photograph on the table.
Walter looked at it.
Then sat down.
“Tell me everything.”
He began crying.
Margaret had confessed part of the truth to him before she died.
She had begged him to protect Abigail and the children.
Instead, Walter’s gambling had given Edward leverage.
“They knew I knew something,” Walter whispered. “I never told them about the key.”
“You told them about me,” Abigail said.
“I thought if you married Simon, you’d be protected.”
She stared at him.
Walter continued desperately.
“Edward suggested it. He said Simon needed a bride. He said once you were inside the Wexler estate, nobody could touch you.”
Simon understood.
Edward had wanted Abigail close because he believed Margaret had passed the evidence to her.
Marriage placed Abigail exactly where Edward could monitor both her and Simon.
“You didn’t sell Abigail to save the house,” Simon said.
Walter looked down.
“You did it because Edward told you to.”
Walter whispered, “Yes.”
Abigail stood.
Her chair scraped backward.
“Abby—”
“Don’t.”
Walter reached for her.
She stepped away.
“You let me believe Tommy and Rose would lose everything if I refused.”
“I was afraid.”
“So was I.”
Her voice broke.
“But you made me walk into a stranger’s house believing my body was the price for keeping my family alive.”
Simon’s expression hardened.
Walter began sobbing.
Abigail walked out.
Simon found her on the balcony ten minutes later.
She stood barefoot beneath the cold night sky.
He removed his jacket and placed it around her shoulders.
This time she did not recoil.
“My entire marriage is a lie,” she whispered.
Simon stood beside her.
“The reason for it was.”
She looked at him.
“What’s the difference?”
“You.”
Abigail’s eyes searched his.
Simon continued.
“You didn’t lie.”
“Neither did you.”
“No.”
“So what are we?”
He had negotiated billion-dollar acquisitions more easily than answering that question.
“I don’t know yet.”
A tiny, sad smile touched her lips.
“That might be the first normal thing about us.”
Simon almost smiled.
Then Marcus appeared behind them.
“We have a problem.”
Simon turned.
“What?”
“Edward knows we opened the vault.”
“How?”
Marcus handed him his phone.
Security footage showed Walter leaving the estate twenty minutes earlier.
Abigail stared.
“My father left?”
May you like
Marcus nodded.
“And he took the original recorder with him.”
