Chapter 4 - What Thomas Knew
Clara entered carrying a sealed bank envelope.
Genevieve was still outside.
I almost admired her persistence.
Almost.
Clara looked at Benjamin, then Serena.
"Should we speak privately?"
"No."
Benjamin looked at me.
"Mom—"
"No more private versions of the truth."
Clara nodded.
She opened the envelope.
"We reviewed the disputed authorization."
She placed copies on the table.
"The signature isn't the only issue."
"What else?"
"The authorization references an account number that didn't exist on the date shown."
Serena leaned closer.
"So it was backdated."
"That's our concern."
Benjamin sat heavily.
Clara continued.
"The document was entered into the system later."
"By whom?"
"We're still reviewing that."
Genevieve knocked again.
Nobody reacted.
Clara looked uncomfortable.
"There's something else."
Of course there was.
At seventy-seven, I'd apparently entered the stage of life where every sentence beginning with there's something else cost money.
"What?"
"The business account received a large transfer six years ago."
"From me?"
"No."
Clara looked toward Thomas's photograph.
"From your husband."
I stared at her.
"Thomas?"
"$75,000."
Serena closed her eyes.
Genevieve's message returned to me.
Ask Serena what Thomas paid her to keep secret.
I turned.
"Was that the payment?"
"No."
"Then explain."
Serena sat.
"Thomas discovered the company before his diagnosis."
I waited.
"He confronted Benjamin."
My son looked confused.
"He never confronted me."
"Not you."
Serena glanced toward the front door.
"Genevieve."
Benjamin went still.
Thomas had known.
Before illness.
Before death.
Before I became the person everyone quietly managed.
"He met her here," Serena continued. "At this table."
I looked down.
The table suddenly felt like evidence.
"What happened?"
"Genevieve told him the company was struggling. She said if it collapsed, Benjamin could lose everything."
Benjamin whispered, "That's not true."
"Thomas suspected that."
"So why seventy-five thousand?"
"Because she told him she was pregnant."
Silence.
Benjamin looked up sharply.
"What?"
Serena's expression softened.
"She said stress could harm the pregnancy. Thomas gave the company money under an agreement that it would close and the family funds would be repaid."
"Lily?"
"Yes."
Benjamin stood.
"She never told me."
I could see the calculations moving behind his eyes.
Dates.
Conversations.
Memories.
Thomas had been manipulated using the same thing that had manipulated me.
Love for family.
I almost laughed at the elegance of it.
Not because it was funny.
Because Genevieve understood us perfectly.
Serena continued.
"Thomas asked me to monitor the account. He wanted to protect you, Evelyn."
"By keeping me ignorant?"
"He was dying."
That stopped me.
"He thought he had time to fix it."
I looked toward his photograph.
Of course he did.
Thomas had always believed broken things could be repaired if you found the correct tool.
But families weren't buildings.
There was no blueprint.
Benjamin sat again.
"Why didn't Dad tell me?"
"Because he believed you would defend Genevieve."
Benjamin looked down.
Would he have?
We both knew the answer.
Yes.
Clara packed the bank documents.
"I'll continue the review."
I walked her to the door.
Before leaving, she squeezed my hand.
"Whatever you discover, stopping those authorizations was the right financial boundary."
"Thank you."
When I returned, Benjamin was staring at Thomas's letter.
"Mom."
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry."
I wasn't prepared for it.
Not because apologies were rare.
Because excuses usually came attached.
This one didn't.
He swallowed.
"I let you pay for things I should've paid for myself."
I sat opposite him.
"Yes."
"I told myself you wanted to."
"I did."
"That doesn't make it right."
"No."
His eyes filled.
"I let Genevieve treat you like—"
"Stop."
He looked at me.
"Don't apologize for her. Apologize for you."
He nodded slowly.
"Then I'm sorry for me."
That was better.
Outside, Genevieve had stopped knocking.
I looked through the window.
She was sitting in the car.
Watching us.
Serena stood.
"I should go."
"No."
She stopped.
"You haven't told me what Thomas paid you to keep secret."
Her expression changed.
"That message was designed to make you distrust me."
"That doesn't mean it's false."
"No."
"So?"
"Thomas paid me professionally."
"For what?"
"To investigate the company."
"And?"
Serena looked at Benjamin.
"And another account."
Benjamin frowned.
"What account?"
"One Genevieve didn't know Thomas had found."
She removed a small flash drive.
"This contains the records."
"What's on it?"
"Transfers."
"To where?"
"That's the question Thomas couldn't answer before he became too ill."
Benjamin approached.
"Can we open it?"
Serena handed it to me.
"It's yours."
I took Thomas's old laptop from the study.
It took several minutes to start.
Benjamin almost smiled.
"Dad never threw anything away."
"No."
The desktop appeared.
I inserted the drive.
Folders filled the screen.
Invoices.
Transfers.
Property records.
Then one folder:
FOR EVIE.
My heart stopped.
I clicked.
A video file appeared.
Thomas.
Alive.
Sitting in his office.
For several seconds, I couldn't breathe.
Then he spoke.
"Evie, if you're watching this, Serena finally decided I was right."
I covered my mouth.
Benjamin began crying silently.
Thomas continued.
"There's something about Benjamin's company I haven't told you."
He looked tired.
So tired.
"But before you blame our son, you need to know something."
The video froze.
Then the screen went black.
Benjamin leaned toward the laptop.
"What happened?"
I clicked repeatedly.
Nothing.
Then the computer restarted.
When the desktop returned, the folder was gone.
May you like
And from behind us came Genevieve's voice.
"You were never supposed to see that."
