Chapter 11 - Benjamin's Last Lie
Ben didn't run.
That was almost worse.
He sat in the Seeds of Hope office while Evelyn, Adrian, and two federal agents questioned him.
“Were you there?” Evelyn asked.
“Yes.”
The answer hit like another betrayal.
“How old were you?”
“Twenty-two.”
“What were you doing there?”
“Working for Richard.”
Adrian's chair moved sharply.
“What?”
Ben looked at him.
“I wasn't an accountant then.”
“What were you?”
“A courier.”
“For stolen money?”
“At first I didn't know.”
“And later?”
“Yes.”
Evelyn stared.
“You worked for the man who killed my father.”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Eight months.”
“Did you know Thomas?”
“Barely.”
“Did you lure him there?”
“No.”
“Did you help Richard?”
“No.”
“Did you watch him die?”
Ben's eyes filled.
“Yes.”
Evelyn stood and walked away.
She pressed both hands against the wall.
Nine years of her life had been filled with people saying they were protecting her.
Margaret.
Helena.
Ben.
Protection had begun sounding suspiciously similar to lying.
Ben continued.
“Thomas saw me.”
Evelyn turned.
“When?”
“After Richard pushed him.”
“After?”
“He was still alive.”
The room froze.
“What?”
Ben swallowed.
“Thomas survived the fall initially.”
Evelyn stared.
“For how long?”
“Minutes.”
Adrian whispered, “Jesus.”
“I went down to him.”
“What did you do?”
“I tried to help.”
“Did you call an ambulance?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Richard had my phone. He told me if I moved, he'd kill me too.”
Evelyn's voice rose.
“So you watched my father die?”
“Yes.”
The word broke him.
“I've lived with it every day.”
“You should.”
Adrian glanced at her but didn't interfere.
Ben nodded.
“I know.”
“Why did my father trust you later?”
“He didn't. Arthur did.”
“So your entire investigation was guilt?”
“Partly.”
“What was the other part?”
“Thomas gave me something.”
Evelyn stopped.
“What?”
Ben reached inside his jacket.
Federal agents tensed.
He slowly removed an old folded card.
Thomas's handwriting.
EVELYN MARLOW with her childhood address.
“He told me if he didn't survive, make sure you were protected.”
Evelyn couldn't speak.
“I failed him that night,” Ben said. “I spent nine years trying not to fail again.”
“Then why hide this?”
“Because I knew you'd never trust me.”
“You're right.”
“I know.”
Adrian spoke.
“Did Richard know you survived as a witness?”
“He thought I fled before Thomas fell.”
“That's why you were able to work with Arthur.”
“Yes.”
“What else haven't you told us?”
Ben looked toward the agents.
“One thing.”
Of course.
“There was someone else downstairs with Thomas.”
“Who?”
“I never saw her face.”
“Her?”
“Yes.”
“A woman?”
“Yes.”
“She arrived after the fall. Arthur spoke to her.”
“What did he call her?”
Ben closed his eyes, searching memory.
“Lena.”
Adrian frowned.
“Helena?”
“No. He said Lena.”
Evelyn thought of her mother.
Her name had been Eleanor.
Not Lena.
Vanessa's mother's name was Diana.
Margaret.
No.
Federal investigators searched Arthur's records.
One name surfaced.
Magdalena Ruiz.
Arthur's longtime executive assistant.
Everyone called her Lena.
She had resigned two days after Thomas died.
Moved to Arizona.
Never returned to Wexler Holdings.
Agents located her.
She was alive.
And terrified.
Lena agreed to speak only with Adrian and Evelyn present.
They flew to Arizona.
She lived in a small desert town under her married name.
When Adrian showed her Thomas's photograph, she began crying.
“I waited for this.”
“For what?” Evelyn asked.
“For somebody to finally come.”
Lena explained.
Arthur had sent her downstairs after Thomas fell.
He wanted her to call emergency services from a landline outside Richard's control.
“But the phone was dead.”
“Cut?” Adrian asked.
“Yes.”
“What happened to Thomas?”
“I stayed with him.”
Evelyn's hands clenched.
“Was he conscious?”
“Yes.”
“Did he say anything?”
Lena nodded.
“He said your name.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“He asked me to tell you he was sorry he wouldn't make it home.”
Tears came.
Adrian reached for her hand.
She held on.
“What else?” she asked.
“He gave me a small brass key.”
“The box?”
“No.”
Lena walked to a cabinet.
She removed a safety deposit envelope.
“I've kept it nine years.”
Inside was the key.
“What does it open?” Adrian asked.
“Arthur's private archive.”
“Where?”
Lena looked at him.
“Not the estate.”
“Then where?”
“Wexler Tower.”
Adrian frowned.
“What archive?”
“Your father built a hidden room during renovations.”
“What is inside?”
“I don't know. He told me never to open it unless Thomas died and Richard was arrested.”
Both conditions had happened.
They returned to New York.
Wexler Tower's executive floor had been sealed for investigation.
Lena's key opened a panel behind Arthur's old office library.
A narrow room appeared.
Inside were shelves of documents.
Hard drives.
Photographs.
And one sealed folder.
ADRIAN.
He opened it.
Inside was a legal document.
A trust.
Twenty percent ownership of Wexler Holdings had been assigned years ago to a private beneficiary.
Adrian read the beneficiary name twice.
Then he looked at Evelyn.
She frowned.
“What?”
He handed it to her.
Her face went blank.
May you like
The beneficiary was:
EVELYN MARLOW.
