Chapter 7 - THE WOMAN WHO CONTROLLED EVERYTHING
We called Evan back.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Tessa grabbed her keys.
“I’m going there.”
“No.”
“That’s my brother.”
“And your mother is furious.”
“She’s not going to kill him.”
Dad looked at her.
“Do you know that?”
That silenced us.
Ten minutes later, Evan finally called.
I answered immediately.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
His breathing was shaky.
“What happened?”
“She caught me.”
“Did she hurt you?”
“No.”
A pause.
“She cried.”
Of course she did.
Margaret’s favorite weapon.
“What did she say?”
“That Dad left instructions for her to manage the money.”
Tessa shouted toward the phone:
“Bullshit!”
Evan continued.
“She says everything she did was to protect us.”
“From what?”
“Bad decisions.”
I almost laughed.
“That’s convenient.”
“I asked about Claire’s money.”
My stomach tightened.
“And?”
“She said I transferred it.”
Silence.
“Did you?”
“I don’t remember.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“I was exhausted after Maisie was born. Mom handled bills.”
I closed my eyes.
He sounded ashamed.
For once, I didn’t want to rescue him from that feeling.
“Evan, your mother had access to our finances.”
“I know.”
“She had access to our private messages.”
“I know.”
“She hit our child.”
His voice dropped.
“I know.”
“And you still keep saying you don’t remember.”
“I’m trying to understand what she did.”
“No.”
I spoke slowly.
“You’re trying to understand how much of this can be explained away.”
He went quiet.
That landed.
Dad slid a page toward me.
It was a corporate registration.
Hale Family Holdings.
Manager:
Margaret Hale.
Beneficiaries:
Evan Hale.
Tessa Hale.
And a third name.
I stared.
“Who is Nathan Hale?”
Tessa went white.
“What?”
I pointed.
“Nathan Hale.”
She grabbed the paper.
Her hands began trembling.
“No.”
“What?”
“We don’t have a brother.”
Dad looked at her.
“Are you sure?”
Tessa stared at the name.
“Mom had a baby before Evan.”
Evan heard her through the phone.
“What are you talking about?”
“She told me once.”
“When?”
“I was sixteen. She was drunk.”
Tessa swallowed.
“She said the baby died.”
Dad leaned closer.
“Did she say his name?”
Tessa nodded.
“Nathan.”
Nobody spoke.
Then Dad found another document.
A recent transfer.
Seventy-five thousand dollars.
Sent three weeks earlier to:
Nathan Hale.
Evan whispered:
“If Nathan is alive…”
Tessa finished the sentence.
“…then Mom lied about having a dead son for thirty years.”
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
May you like
A message appeared.
Claire Mercer Hale? My name is Nathan. If Margaret knows you found those records, you and your daughter are not safe.
