Chapter 9 - The Price of Being Mrs. Reed
I don’t remember crossing the room.
One second I was standing beside Graham.
The next I was in front of Daniel Cross.
“You signed my mother’s death certificate?”
He looked at me.
“Yes.”
The word broke something.
I slapped him.
Hard.
Nobody stopped me.
His head turned with the impact.
He didn’t defend himself.
I hated him for that too.
“You let me bury an empty coffin?”
“It wasn’t empty.”
I froze.
“What?”
“Your mother’s personal effects were inside.”
“That’s supposed to make it better?”
“No.”
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“Liar.”
“I swear.”
“You lied for eight years!”
“To keep you alive.”
I laughed.
It came out like a sob.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Graham moved closer but didn’t touch me.
Good.
If he touched me, I might fall apart.
Daniel spoke softly.
“Anna discovered Leonard was part of the network.”
“Then why not go to police?”
“She did.”
“What happened?”
“The detective assigned to the case sold her location within forty-eight hours.”
My anger faltered.
“Who?”
“We never proved who bought it.”
“So you faked her death.”
“Richard arranged it.”
“Richard was already dead eight years ago.”
Daniel nodded.
“Your mother’s disappearance was planned earlier. She didn’t use the plan until eight years ago.”
“Why then?”
“Because someone found you.”
My skin chilled.
“Who?”
“A man approached you outside your office in Denver.”
Memory surfaced.
A stranger.
Middle-aged.
Friendly.
He asked for directions.
Nothing happened.
I had forgotten him immediately.
“Gray coat?”
Daniel nodded.
I sat down.
“That was them?”
“Yes.”
“Mom saw?”
“She learned afterward.”
“And disappeared.”
“She believed staying near you made you a target.”
I covered my mouth.
For eight years, I had grieved someone who chose to vanish.
No.
Not chose.
Was forced.
But grief didn’t care about technical distinctions.
“She never contacted us.”
“No.”
“Not once?”
“Not through me.”
Emma.
I grabbed my phone.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Panic hit.
“Marcus.”
He was already checking.
“Her security team isn’t responding.”
The room went cold.
Graham moved instantly.
“Location.”
Marcus opened tracking software.
“Last signal at the storage unit.”
I was already moving.
Graham blocked the door.
“No.”
“My sister is there.”
“We’ll send security.”
“Her security is already gone.”
“Avery—”
“Move.”
His eyes hardened.
“So you can walk into another trap?”
“If Emma is there, yes.”
“No.”
“You don’t get to stop me.”
“I know.”
He said it softly.
Then he picked up his jacket.
“That’s why I’m coming.”
We reached the storage facility seventeen minutes later.
Police were already on the way.
Marcus entered first.
No gunshots.
No shouting.
One security SUV sat outside with doors open.
Inside the building, the hallway lights flickered.
Unit 418 stood open.
“Emma?”
I ran.
Graham caught my arm.
“Wait.”
I almost fought him.
Then a voice came from inside.
“Avery?”
Emma.
I pushed past him.
She stood beside stacks of old boxes.
Alive.
Angry.
Completely unharmed.
I grabbed her.
“What happened?”
“Your terrifying security men locked themselves outside.”
“What?”
She pointed.
“They got a call about a gas leak. When they went to check it, the facility gates closed.”
Marcus swore.
“You stayed inside?”
“I was looking for Mom’s things.”
I hugged her harder.
Then she noticed Graham.
Her eyes widened.
“Oh.”
Not the reaction I needed.
“What?”
She whispered, “He’s taller in person.”
“Emma.”
“Sorry.”
Graham, to his credit, almost smiled.
Then Emma’s expression became serious.
“I found something.”
She led us to a table.
A metal box sat there.
Old.
Locked.
“Where?”
“Inside Mom’s tax files.”
Of course.
My mother would hide international conspiracy evidence behind deductible medical expenses.
“Can we open it?”
Emma held up a key.
“Mom taped this under your college diploma.”
Inside the box were letters.
Dozens.
All addressed to us.
Never sent.
My hands shook.
The first:
My girls,
If you ever read these, it means the people I tried to protect you from finally found the path back to you.
I stopped.
Emma grabbed my hand.
I continued.
Avery, you always asked why I taught you to follow numbers instead of stories. Stories can be changed. Numbers leave scars.
Tears blurred the page.
If Reed Global ever enters your life, leave.
I laughed bitterly.
Too late.
Then another line.
Unless Graham Reed is the one standing beside you.
I stopped.
Graham stopped.
Emma looked between us.
“What?”
I read it again.
Same words.
Unless Graham Reed is the one standing beside you. Richard believed his son could become the man Harrison never was. I hope he was right.
Graham looked shaken.
“You never met her?”
“No.”
“I never met Anna.”
Daniel, behind us, said quietly, “Richard talked about Graham.”
I opened another letter.
This one was dated eight years ago.
Leonard Shaw cannot access the legacy accounts alone. He needs the family authorizations. Conrad wants power, but Leonard wants the money. Never confuse greed with vanity. Vanity can be redirected. Greed cannot.
Conrad wasn’t the mastermind.
He was a tool.
A dangerous one.
But a tool.
Another page.
Elizabeth left her key to Thomas. Richard’s key passes to Graham. The protector key was designed to pass to a spouse. Leonard will try to force the three together.
My ring suddenly felt heavier.
Then:
There is a fourth safeguard Harrison never knew existed.
I looked at Graham.
“What safeguard?”
The next page answered.
I created it.
My heart pounded.
The legacy accounts require not only the three keys, but confirmation from the auditor who built the integrity protocol.
Emma whispered, “Mom.”
I nodded.
As long as I am alive, Leonard cannot move everything without me.
Then why did Leonard want me?
I read further.
If I die, my authorization passes to my eldest daughter.
Silence.
Me.
“That’s why he needs you,” Graham said.
Not because I married him.
Not only because of the protector key.
Because through my mother, I controlled the hidden fourth safeguard.
Emma whispered, “Does that mean Mom is alive?”
“I don’t know.”
Another envelope sat beneath the letters.
Recent.
Postmarked three months ago.
No return address.
I tore it open.
Inside was one sentence.
Avery, if you are reading this, Leonard finally moved. Do not trust the first rescue. —Mom
My blood chilled.
First rescue.
I looked toward Daniel.
He had “rescued” us with information.
He saw the suspicion immediately.
“No.”
Marcus reached toward his weapon.
Daniel raised both hands.
“I didn’t know about that letter.”
“Then who is the first rescue?” Graham asked.
A metallic sound came from the hallway.
Everyone turned.
Security moved.
A woman stepped slowly into view.
Sixties.
Gray-blonde hair.
Thin.
Tired.
Familiar.
For one impossible second, my brain refused to recognize her.
Emma made a sound beside me.
Not a word.
A broken breath.
The woman stopped.
Tears filled her eyes.
“Avery.”
My knees nearly gave out.
My mother.
Alive.
Standing twenty feet away.
Emma began crying.
“Mom?”
She covered her mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
I couldn’t move.
Eight funerals lived inside those two words.
Every birthday.
Every Christmas.
Every moment I wanted to call her.
“You’re alive.”
“Yes.”
I wanted to run to her.
I wanted to scream at her.
I wanted to collapse.
Graham stayed beside me.
Not touching.
Waiting.
My mother looked at him.
Then at our matching wedding bands.
Despite tears, she actually laughed.
“Oh, Avery.”
I nearly lost my mind.
“That is what you’re going to say?”
“I had hoped you’d meet him differently.”
“You knew him?”
“I knew of him.”
“Why didn’t you come back?”
Her face changed.
“Because Leonard had someone inside your life.”
My body went cold.
“Who?”
She looked toward Emma.
Then toward me.
“Someone who has been close to you for years.”
I thought of friends.
Coworkers.
Managers.
Then my mother said,
“Your promotion into Reed Global wasn’t an accident.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“Leonard arranged it.”
My stomach dropped.
“He wanted you close to Graham long before either of you knew why.”
May you like
And suddenly my entire career felt like a path someone else had built.
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