Chapter 8 - The Woman Who Disappeared from Cassandra's Past
I didn't sleep much after speaking with Margaret Ellison.
Every time I closed my eyes, I pictured Cassandra at our first family dinner.
She had asked so many questions about Richard.
How had he built his business?
When did we buy the house?
Was he close to his former partners?
Had he left Daniel a substantial inheritance?
I remembered thinking she was curious about our family history.
Now the questions sounded like an interview.
The following morning, Rebecca arrived with information about Jonathan Whitmore.
He had worked in commercial property development during the late 1990s.
For several years, he participated in investment projects involving Richard Mercer and Arthur Bell.
Then their partnership ended.
According to the records Rebecca located, there had been a serious financial dispute.
Jonathan claimed he was owed money.
Richard disputed the accounting.
Arthur, who managed many of the records, attempted to negotiate a settlement.
Eventually, Jonathan filed a civil action.
The case ended through a confidential agreement.
Not long afterward, Jonathan's career collapsed.
He accumulated debt, divorced his wife, and moved to another state.
He died eight years before Cassandra married Daniel.
I listened carefully.
"Did Richard ever mention him?" Rebecca asked.
"Only once, perhaps. He talked about a former business associate who had made serious allegations after an investment failed."
"Did he say the man's name?"
"I don't remember."
For years, I'd believed Richard had told me everything important about our finances.
Now I realized how much he had shielded me from during the final decade of his life.
But protecting someone and withholding information were not always the same thing.
Sometimes one became the other.
That afternoon, Margaret called again.
She wanted to introduce me to another woman.
Her name was Caroline Whitmore.
Cassandra's mother.
I stared at the screen when Caroline appeared.
She was sixty-three, with tired blue eyes and a face that resembled Cassandra's in ways that made me uncomfortable.
"Mrs. Mercer," she began, "I understand my daughter has hurt you."
I nodded.
"Yes."
Caroline looked down.
"I'm sorry."
I didn't know what to say.
She continued.
"Cassandra told everyone I was mentally unstable. She hasn't spoken to me properly in almost twelve years."
"Why?"
"Because I refused to support her version of what happened to Jonathan."
I leaned forward.
"What version?"
"That Richard Mercer deliberately destroyed him."
My heart thudded.
"Did he?"
Caroline shook her head.
"I don't believe so. Jonathan made risky decisions. He trusted Arthur Bell with records he should have examined himself. When the investment failed, he needed someone to blame."
"Why Richard?"
"Because Richard was the wealthiest partner."
Caroline wiped beneath one eye.
"Cassandra adored her father. She couldn't accept that he had made mistakes. After he died, she became obsessed with recovering what she called his stolen inheritance."
I remembered the day Daniel announced his engagement.
Cassandra had cried when I welcomed her into the family.
I'd believed those tears were gratitude.
Now I wondered whether she'd felt she'd finally gained access to the people she blamed for her father's ruin.
"Did Cassandra deliberately pursue my son?"
Caroline hesitated.
"I don't know exactly how they met. But she knew who Daniel was before she introduced herself."
I looked toward the window.
My son had told me they met at a charity fundraiser.
Cassandra approached him after recognizing the architectural firm on his name badge.
She claimed she'd never heard of our family.
I remembered teasing Daniel that he'd finally found a woman who wasn't impressed by the Mercer name.
The irony was unbearable.
"Did Cassandra ever speak about hurting me?" I asked.
Caroline's face tightened.
"Not directly. But she once told me that Richard Mercer left a fortune sitting in a house that should have belonged to the Whitmores."
I felt cold.
"She said that?"
"Yes."
Caroline leaned closer.
"Evelyn, there's something I need you to understand. Cassandra doesn't believe she's stealing. In her mind, she's collecting a debt."
That didn't excuse her actions.
But it explained the intensity of her hatred.
She hadn't simply wanted my home.
She wanted to humiliate the widow of the man she blamed for her father's downfall.
After the call, I sat quietly beside Helen.
For the first time, my sister didn't immediately offer an opinion.
Finally, she asked, "What are you thinking?"
"That Cassandra married Daniel for reasons he never understood."
"Do you think she loves him?"
I considered the question.
"I think she loves what he represents."
Helen sighed.
"And what about Arthur?"
"That's what I intend to discover."
At four o'clock, Detective Ortiz contacted me.
Arthur Bell had been located at a motel outside Richmond.
He had voluntarily agreed to speak with investigators through an attorney.
According to Ortiz, Arthur admitted helping prepare several documents for Cassandra.
He denied knowing she intended to physically harm me.
He also admitted something extraordinary.
Years earlier, Jonathan Whitmore had accused Arthur of improperly accounting for funds in the failed business arrangement.
Richard eventually discovered discrepancies and demanded an independent review.
Arthur feared losing his professional reputation.
He negotiated a settlement, but Richard insisted on preserving the original records.
"Where are those records?" I asked.
"We believe they may be connected to the letter your husband left."
I remembered the missing box.
The cloud recordings.
Cassandra's frantic determination to find the letter.
Then Ortiz said, "We recovered part of the missing study footage."
My pulse quickened.
"What does it show?"
"Cassandra entered your husband's study at 11:48 p.m. Wednesday."
"And?"
"At 11:56, Daniel joined her."
I closed my eyes.
"Did he know what she was doing?"
"We can see them arguing. There's no audio from that camera, but we recovered additional material."
"What material?"
Ortiz hesitated.
"A recording from Daniel's telephone."
My breathing became shallow.
"Was he recording his wife?"
"Apparently."
"Why?"
"We haven't established that yet."
Then he told me the final detail.
Daniel had secretly recorded Cassandra telling someone that once she obtained Richard's letter, Evelyn Mercer would no longer be a problem.
The person on the other end of the call was Arthur Bell.
May you like
And Arthur's reply was chilling.
"Cassandra, if that letter becomes public, your father's entire story falls apart."
Related Stories
