Chapter 12 - A Marriage Made for Protection
Betsy stopped.
An elderly woman stood inside.
“Mrs. King?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Margaret Myers.”
Darwin’s mother.
Betsy looked at him.
“You have a mother?”
Darwin blinked.
“Most people do.”
“You never mentioned her.”
Margaret laughed.
“I already like her.”
The house belonged to Margaret.
Arthur had helped Daniel hide there years earlier.
Before Arthur died, he asked Margaret to preserve something for Betsy.
Not money.
Not evidence.
A box of letters.
Arthur had written them during his illness.
One for Betsy’s birthday each year.
He knew she might never receive them.
Margaret handed over the first.
Betsy opened it.
Arthur wrote about grief.
About guilt.
About wanting her to live.
He specifically wrote:
If another man makes you laugh after I’m gone, don’t punish him for arriving late.
Betsy cried.
Darwin left the room.
That mattered.
He understood some grief required privacy.
Later Betsy found him outside.
“You knew what the letters said?”
“No.”
“Good.”
She took his hand.
“Arthur would have liked you.”
Darwin looked doubtful.
“Eventually.”
“That sounds more realistic.”
They returned to Oak Haven.
Federal investigations expanded.
Silas was charged.
Pike cooperated.
Marcus entered protective custody.
Daniel reclaimed his identity after twenty-seven years.
Darwin began transferring his legitimate businesses into transparent management and cooperating through attorneys regarding the rest.
It was messy.
Real change usually was.
Their temporary engagement no longer had a reason to exist.
That created a new problem.
One evening, Betsy asked, “So what happens now?”
Darwin looked confused.
“To what?”
“This.”
She held up her ring.
“The threat is gone.”
“Yes.”
“The strategic reason is gone.”
“Yes.”
“So?”
Darwin swallowed.
“I suppose I should ask again.”
“Better this time.”
He stood.
Betsy laughed.
“You don’t need to kneel.”
“I practiced.”
That made her laugh harder.
Darwin took both her hands.
“Betsy King, I cannot promise you a peaceful life because statistically that would be dishonest.”
“Strong opening.”
“I can promise I will never lie to you again.”
“Better.”
“I can promise to respect Arthur’s place in your heart.”
Her eyes softened.
“And I can promise that whatever years I have left, I want to spend them annoying you.”
“That I believe.”
“Will you marry me for real?”
Betsy smiled.
“Yes.”
This time the kiss lasted longer.
Then the diner door opened.
Daniel entered carrying newspapers.
“You’re going to want to see this.”
The headline concerned Silas.
But that was not what frightened Darwin.
A smaller story reported that Samuel Vale’s old files had been recovered.
Among them was a document identifying an unknown beneficiary.
Elizabeth King.
Betsy stared.
“What now?”
Daniel unfolded another page.
Arthur had apparently inherited something from Samuel Vale.
May you like
Something worth millions.
And according to the document, someone had just filed a legal claim against Betsy...
