Chapter 5 - The Woman Behind the Camera
The police searched my house that afternoon.
They found three hidden cameras.
One in the bedroom.
One in the nursery.
One in the hallway outside the study.
I felt sick.
My entire marriage suddenly looked like a stage.
Every private conversation.
Every argument.
Every time I cried.
Someone may have been watching.
My father sat beside me while the investigators worked.
Neither of us spoke.
Finally, I asked:
“What happened the night Mom died?”
He closed his eyes.
“I was there.”
My heart stopped.
“You were there?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you tell me it was an accident?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of Nathan?”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“Of Margaret.”
I stared at him.
My father explained.
The night my mother died, he had received a phone call.
She told him she had found proof that Nathan had stolen money from Crosswell Holdings.
She wanted to meet him.
He drove to her house.
But when he arrived, Margaret was already there.
“She was arguing with your mother,” he said.
“What were they saying?”
“I couldn’t hear everything.”
“What happened?”
“Your mother saw me through the window.”
“She knew you were there?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you go inside?”
My father looked devastated.
“Because Margaret threatened me.”
“With what?”
“She told me if I entered the house, you would disappear.”
I felt cold.
“What?”
“She knew you were my daughter in every way that mattered. She knew I would do anything to protect you.”
“So you left?”
“I thought I could protect you by staying silent.”
My hands curled into fists.
“What happened to Mom?”
“I heard a crash.”
My father’s voice broke.
“Then I saw Margaret leave.”
“Did you call the police?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell them?”
“Because when I returned to the house, your mother was already dead.”
“And the evidence?”
“Gone.”
I stared at him.
“You let me believe she died in an accident.”
“I was twenty-eight years old. I had no money. No power. Nathan controlled the police, the lawyers, the newspapers.”
“And you never told me?”
“I thought silence would keep you alive.”
I turned away.
For years, I had believed my father had simply accepted my mother’s death.
Now I realized he had spent thirty years carrying a secret.
But another question remained.
“Why did Daniel marry me?”
My father looked at me.
“That is what we need to find out.”
That night, Detective Reed called.
They had recovered files from one of the hidden cameras.
One video had been recorded three nights before my delivery.
I watched it in the hospital.
Daniel stood in our study.
Margaret was there.
They were arguing.
“You promised she wouldn’t find out,” Daniel said.
“She won’t.”
“She’s asking questions.”
“Then make sure she stops.”
Daniel looked terrified.
“I can’t kill her.”
Margaret stepped closer.
“You don’t have to.”
“What does that mean?”
“Once the baby is born, everything changes.”
Daniel stared at her.
“What are you talking about?”
Margaret smiled.
“The child is the key.”
My blood froze.
Daniel whispered:
“What child?”
Margaret leaned close.
“Your wife’s baby.”
I looked at my father.
The video continued.
Margaret said:
“Once the child is born, the trust activates.”
Daniel’s face changed.
“What trust?”
Margaret smiled.
“The one your father hid from you.”
I stopped the video.
My father stared at the screen.
“What trust?”
I shook my head.
“I don’t know.”
Then Detective Reed spoke.
“We found the name of the trustee.”
I looked at him.
“Who?”
He handed me a document.
The name at the top made my blood run cold.
Nathan Cross.
But Nathan had been dead for twelve years.
May you like
And beneath his name was a second signature.
Margaret Cross.
