Chapter 3 - The Woman Who Knew Benjamin Cole
Adrian's mother did not deny knowing Ben.
That frightened him more than a denial would have.
Helena Wexler sat in the conservatory of the estate, looking smaller than Adrian remembered from childhood.
At sixty-two, she still carried the elegant composure expected of a woman who had spent most of her life attending board dinners and charity galas.
But when Adrian placed the note in front of her, her hands trembled.
“Who gave you this?”
“Someone threw it through a window.”
Helena closed her eyes.
“Mother.”
“I hoped this was over.”
“What was over?”
She stood.
Adrian blocked her path without touching her.
“Ben Cole. Tell me.”
Helena turned toward the windows.
“Your father hired him.”
“Dad?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Six months before he died.”
Arthur Wexler had supposedly died from a sudden heart attack.
“What did he hire him to do?”
“To audit the foundation.”
“Why secretly?”
“Because Arthur believed Richard was stealing.”
Adrian's pulse quickened.
“How much?”
“We never knew.”
“And Seeds of Hope?”
“That was one transaction Ben discovered later.”
“Why didn't Dad remove Richard?”
“Because he wanted proof.”
“And did he get it?”
Helena looked at her son.
“Your father died first.”
Adrian had spent four years accepting one version of Arthur's death.
Natural causes.
Fast.
Tragic.
Finished.
Now something cracked open.
“Are you suggesting Uncle Richard had something to do with Dad's death?”
“No.”
Too fast.
“Mother.”
“I don't know.”
“That isn't the same thing.”
Helena sank into a chair.
“The night Arthur died, we had argued.”
“About Richard?”
She nodded.
“Arthur wanted to confront him. I begged him not to. Richard had begun moving money through companies none of us recognized.”
“How much?”
“Millions.”
Adrian felt cold.
“And you said nothing for four years?”
“Arthur died twelve hours later.”
“That doesn't answer me.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of Richard?”
“Yes.”
Adrian had never heard his mother admit fear.
“Where is Ben?”
Helena looked toward the door.
“I don't know.”
“The note says he isn't missing.”
“I haven't seen him in fourteen months.”
“Did you send him to Seeds of Hope?”
“No.”
“Who did?”
“Your father.”
Adrian frowned.
“Dad was already dead.”
“Ben received instructions scheduled before Arthur died.”
The room seemed to tighten.
Arthur had anticipated his own death.
That was the only interpretation Adrian could see.
“You have those instructions?”
Helena hesitated.
Then she stood and walked to a bookshelf.
She removed an old photography album.
Inside was a small key taped beneath the cover.
“Your father kept a safe deposit box.”
“Where?”
“First Meridian Bank.”
“What is this key for?”
“He told me to give it to you if Richard ever touched Seeds of Hope.”
Adrian stared at her.
“You've had this for four years?”
“Yes.”
“Why now?”
“Because until yesterday, I didn't know Richard had touched it.”
Adrian took the key.
That afternoon he returned to Seeds of Hope.
Evelyn was sweeping broken glass near the entrance.
“You have volunteers for that.”
“They're helping families.”
“So are you.”
She leaned on the broom.
“Did your mother know Ben?”
“Yes.”
Evelyn waited.
Adrian told her everything.
When he finished, she sat silently.
“So Ben was investigating your family.”
“Yes.”
“And your father started it.”
“Yes.”
“And then your father died.”
“Yes.”
“And Ben disappeared.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“Your family makes my relatives look remarkably normal.”
Adrian almost laughed.
“I'm beginning to envy you.”
He noticed a cut across her palm.
“You're bleeding.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Sit.”
“Adrian—”
“Sit.”
She rolled her eyes but obeyed.
He found the first-aid kit.
“You've done this before.”
“I was a reckless child.”
“You?”
“Hard to believe?”
“Very.”
He cleaned the cut gently.
Evelyn watched him.
The silence changed.
Not romantic exactly.
But softer.
“You didn't have to stand up last night,” she said.
He looked at her.
“For what?”
“When they laughed.”
“Yes, I did.”
“No. You didn't.”
He wrapped the bandage.
“Then maybe I wanted to.”
Evelyn looked away first.
Adrian's phone buzzed.
Marcus.
“The bank confirmed the box. Appointment at four.”
Adrian glanced at Evelyn.
“Come with me.”
“To your father's secret safe deposit box?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because every time someone tries to stop this investigation, your charity is involved.”
“That isn't reassuring.”
“It wasn't intended to be.”
At First Meridian Bank, the manager escorted them into a private room.
The box was narrow and heavy.
Adrian inserted Helena's key.
Inside were four items.
A flash drive.
A sealed letter addressed to Adrian.
A photograph of Arthur Wexler with Benjamin Cole.
And a newspaper clipping.
The clipping showed a much younger Evelyn.
She was seventeen.
Standing beside her father, Thomas Marlow.
Evelyn stopped breathing.
“Why did your father have this?”
Adrian looked at the headline.
LOCAL CONTRACTOR DIES IN WAREHOUSE ACCIDENT.
Thomas Marlow had died nine years earlier.
Evelyn touched the photograph.
“My dad.”
Adrian opened Arthur's letter.
Son,
If you're reading this, Richard has moved against Seeds of Hope. That means he is desperate enough to repeat what happened to Thomas Marlow.
Evelyn gripped the table.
“No.”
Adrian kept reading.
Thomas discovered our foundation was being used to move stolen funds. I tried to protect him.
I failed.
Evelyn stood so quickly her chair fell backward.
“My father's accident?”
Adrian read the next sentence silently.
His face changed.
“What?”
“Evelyn—”
“Read it.”
He did.
Thomas Marlow's death was not an accident.
Evelyn backed away.
“No.”
Adrian reached toward her.
She moved farther.
“My mother told me he slipped from a loading platform.”
“Maybe she didn't know.”
“She was there afterward.”
Adrian turned back to the letter.
One final paragraph remained.
Benjamin has the complete evidence. If Richard learns who Evelyn really is to this investigation, she will be in danger.
Evelyn stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
Adrian looked inside the box.
The flash drive was gone.
He was certain it had been there seconds earlier.
The bank-room door opened behind them.
A man's voice said quietly:
“Don't move.”
May you like
Evelyn recognized the voice before she turned.
“Ben?”
