Chapter 12 - Why Greg Was Really Marrying Sarah
Greg asked to see Sarah.
She refused.
Then she changed her mind.
“I need answers.”
We arranged the meeting in a monitored conference room.
I stayed outside behind the glass.
Not because Sarah needed me.
Because investigators wanted a witness nearby.
Greg entered first.
He looked exhausted.
Sarah sat across from him.
For almost a minute, neither spoke.
Then she removed her wedding ring.
She placed it on the table.
“You married me because of Elena.”
Greg closed his eyes.
“At first, I approached you because of your family.”
Sarah’s face remained still.
“At first?”
“I knew your father wanted us to meet.”
“So Dad was matchmaking for money.”
“Yes.”
“And you agreed.”
“Yes.”
“Because?”
“My father said if I became close to the Bennett family, there might be investment opportunities.”
Sarah laughed once.
“My romantic fairy tale.”
Greg’s eyes filled.
“I fell in love with you.”
“Do not say that.”
“It’s true.”
“You lied about your money.”
“Yes.”
“You lied about the wedding.”
“Yes.”
“You let me brag about you.”
“Yes.”
“You let my mother treat my sister like garbage because everyone thought you were rich.”
His voice cracked.
“Yes.”
Sarah leaned forward.
“Then whatever you felt wasn’t love.”
Greg shook his head.
“You can love someone and still be weak.”
“That’s what Elena said.”
He looked toward the mirrored glass.
Of course he knew I was there.
Sarah continued.
“Did my mother get paid?”
Greg went silent.
“Answer me.”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Five million was promised.”
My stomach tightened.
“So the six million transfer?”
“One million for expenses. Five for Margaret.”
Sarah stared.
“Why her?”
Greg looked ashamed.
“Because she agreed to influence Elena.”
I entered the room.
No one stopped me.
“What does that mean?”
Greg looked at me.
“Your mother believed she could get you to invest in Whitmore Capital after the wedding.”
I almost smiled.
“Based on what history?”
“She said guilt always worked with you.”
That hurt because it was true.
For years, guilt had worked.
Christmas.
Birthdays.
Loans.
Emergency expenses.
Hospital bills.
Cars.
Vacations disguised as family obligations.
Never millions.
But enough to train them.
Greg continued.
“The plan was for Sarah and me to return from the honeymoon. The company would announce a major expansion. Margaret would convince you that helping us was supporting your sister.”
“How much did you want?”
“Fifty million.”
Sarah whispered:
“Oh my God.”
I laughed.
“You wanted me to invest fifty million dollars in a collapsing company?”
“We would have offered equity.”
“In insolvency.”
Greg said nothing.
“And my mother expected five million for convincing me.”
“Yes.”
Sarah looked like she might throw up.
“Did Dad know?”
“Yes.”
“What was his cut?”
“Two million.”
I stared at the man who had nearly become my brother-in-law.
“No wonder they liked you.”
Greg lowered his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re scared.”
“I am scared.”
“Good.”
Sarah looked at me.
“Elena.”
I stopped.
This was her marriage to end, not mine.
She turned back to Greg.
“Did you know Mom was spying on Elena?”
“I knew Richard had financial information.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Greg hesitated.
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
“When?”
“After your engagement party.”
“You knew they were surveilling my home?”
“I knew Richard had installed something.”
“And you said nothing.”
“I was afraid he’d cut me out.”
“Of what?”
“The plan.”
I stared at him.
The same man who watched Mia fall had watched my family invade my home.
Silence was his favorite moral position.
Sarah stood.
“I want a divorce.”
Greg cried then.
Actually cried.
“I love you.”
Sarah picked up the ring.
For one second, I thought she would put it back on.
Instead, she placed it in his palm.
“No.”
Her voice was steady.
“You loved what being married to me might save.”
She walked out.
I followed.
In the corridor, Sarah leaned against the wall.
“I thought I would feel better.”
“You won’t yet.”
“When?”
“I don’t know.”
She looked at me.
“You lost Michael.”
“That was different.”
“You loved him.”
“Yes.”
“And then he was gone.”
“Yes.”
“How did you survive?”
I thought about twenty-one-year-old me.
Pregnant.
Terrified.
Angry at the universe.
Grandfather sitting beside me at the hospital after Mia was born.
“You don’t survive grief all at once.”
Sarah waited.
“You survive breakfast. Then lunch. Then the next phone call. Then bedtime. Eventually the days start joining together again.”
She nodded.
“I’m sorry I used his death against you.”
My eyes sharpened.
“What?”
“Mom used to say you became a single mother because you were too stubborn to move on.”
I felt anger rise.
Sarah continued quickly.
“I repeated it. More than once.”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
I looked away.
Some apologies fix relationships.
Others merely acknowledge damage.
Not every broken thing needs restoration.
“I appreciate you saying it.”
She understood what I meant.
Not forgiveness.
Not yet.
Maybe never fully.
That evening, Mia returned to the island for the first time since the fall.
Only because she asked.
“I want to see the place.”
I was nervous.
Dr. Patel believed it might help if handled carefully.
We arrived by boat instead of helicopter.
Mia held my hand.
When she saw the deck, she stopped.
“You okay?”
She nodded.
Then shook her head.
Then nodded again.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s okay.”
We did not go near the railing.
We sat on the beach.
Mia drew circles in the sand.
After several minutes, she said:
“I want to change something.”
“What?”
“The rocks.”
“They’re already removed.”
“All of them?”
“Yes.”
“And make the railing taller.”
“We will.”
“And no kids near there without a grown-up.”
“Done.”
She looked pleased.
Then:
“And Aunt Sarah can’t come near me.”
I swallowed.
“Done.”
Mia leaned against me.
Across the beach, Sarah stood far away near the main villa.
She had seen us.
She did not approach.
For the first time in her life, my sister respected a boundary without being forced.
Maybe consequences were teaching what love never had.
Then Marcus came down the path carrying a sealed envelope.
“Elena.”
“What?”
“We received something from Daniel’s attorney.”
I stared.
“My grandfather’s attorney?”
“Yes.”
“He died five years ago.”
“The document was scheduled to be released only under a specific condition.”
“What condition?”
Marcus looked toward the island.
“When a member of your immediate family attempted to claim ownership or financial rights in Aurelia.”
My father’s demand for five million had triggered it.
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
May you like
My grandfather’s first line made my hands shake.
Elena, if you are reading this, then Richard has finally come for what he believes should have been his.
