Chapter 9 - MARGARET’S REVENGE
Richard struck the table with his fist.
“How much?”
Grant said nothing.
Richard turned to Margaret.
“How much did you take?”
Margaret’s face remained calm.
“Everything I did protected this family.”
“You stole from me.”
“I built your reputation while you hid behind lawyers.”
Richard looked at Grant.
“And you?”
Grant stood slowly.
“You were going to remove me from the company.”
“I should have done it years ago.”
The board voted within minutes.
Grant was suspended.
Richard was ordered to surrender financial control pending an independent audit.
Margaret was escorted from the room.
As she passed Hannah, she leaned close.
“You think you won because a few frightened employees talked?”
Hannah did not answer.
Margaret smiled.
“You still have no idea what your mother sacrificed to keep you alive.”
I felt the air leave my lungs.
“Margaret.”
She looked at me.
There was triumph in her eyes.
“You never told her about the car crash, did you?”
Hannah turned.
“What car crash?”
I grabbed Margaret’s arm.
“Don’t.”
She pulled free.
“The crash that killed your father wasn’t an accident.”
Silence swallowed the room.
Margaret continued.
“David Carter was scheduled to testify against Richard the next morning.”
Richard stood.
“Stop talking.”
Margaret laughed bitterly.
“You always were a coward.”
Hannah stared at me.
“Mom?”
I could not lie anymore.
“Your father’s brakes failed.”
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“For twenty:three years?”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“By letting me marry into the family that killed him?”
The pain in her voice cut deeper than anything Grant had done.
Richard moved toward the door.
Federal agents entered before he reached it.
Catherine had called them during the meeting.
But Margaret was no longer smiling.
She looked at one of the agents, then at Grant.
And I understood.
The car crash revelation had not been revenge against Richard.
It had been a distraction.
Grant was gone.
While everyone watched Margaret, he had slipped out through a private elevator.
Then my phone rang.
A photograph appeared on the screen.
May you like
Carter’s Table was burning.
:::
