PART6

“Because I helped him do it.”

Margaret’s words stayed in my head long after the call ended.

For eight years, I had called this woman family.

I had bought her birthday presents, prepared Christmas dinners, listened to her complaints, and trusted her with things I wouldn’t have told my closest friends.

She had sat across from me at my wedding reception and cried when Brad promised to love me forever.

Now she was standing outside my house, admitting that she had helped him destroy another woman’s life.

I looked at Diane.

“Don’t open the door.”

She nodded.

Outside, Margaret knocked again.

“Sweetheart, I know you’re listening. We need to talk.”

I didn’t answer.

Then Emily stepped forward.

“Please,” she called through the door. “I know you don’t trust us, but I need to tell you something.”

Her voice sounded different from Margaret’s.

She sounded frightened.

I looked at Diane.

“Do you think she’s involved?”

“I don’t know,” Diane whispered. “But we need to be careful.”

I picked up my phone and called our lawyer, whose number Diane had just given me.

I explained what had happened, including the suspicious documents, the pharmacy bag, and the people outside.

He instructed us not to confront anyone or hand over any documents. He also advised us to contact the authorities about the suspected forgery and unauthorized prescription.

Then he told us something important.

“Do not destroy or alter anything in that office. Photograph what you have found, preserve the original documents, and let the proper investigators examine them.”

I agreed.

When I ended the call, Margaret was still outside.

Then Emily spoke again.

“Mrs. Bradshaw, my father is not coming home alone.”

I moved closer to the door.

“What does that mean?”

Emily looked at Margaret before answering.

“He told me he was coming here to collect his passport and some documents. But he also told me to bring something.”

“What?”

Emily opened her handbag.

She pulled out a small black flash drive.

“I think this belongs to you.”

Margaret immediately turned toward her.

“Emily, put that away.”

Emily stepped backward.

“No, Grandma. I’m done.”

That was the first time I saw Margaret lose control of her expression.

She grabbed Emily’s wrist.

“Do you understand what you’re doing?”

Emily pulled away.

“Yes. For the first time in my life, I do.”

I opened the door slightly but kept the security chain attached.

Emily held up the flash drive.

“My father asked me to destroy this. I couldn’t.”

“What is on it?” I asked.

“Everything.”

Margaret stepped forward.

“Don’t listen to her. She’s confused. This family has been dealing with a very difficult situation.”

I almost laughed.

A difficult situation.

That was what she called it.

Emily looked directly at me.

“My mother spent years trying to prove what my father did. Nobody believed her because Grandma helped him convince everyone she was unstable.”

She swallowed.

“Then he started doing the same thing to you.”

I felt my eyes fill with tears.

“Why didn’t your mother tell me?”

“She tried. Grandma intercepted her messages. Dad told everyone she was bitter and wanted money.”

Emily looked down.

“My mother died believing that nobody would ever know the truth.”

The words broke something inside me.

I stepped back from the door.

“Come inside, Emily.”

Margaret immediately raised her voice.

“Absolutely not!”

But Emily was already moving toward the entrance.

Diane opened the door fully and brought her inside.

Margaret remained on the porch.

She stared at me.

“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”

I looked at her.

“Actually, Margaret, I think I’m finally beginning to understand.”

Then I closed the door.

The flash drive contained several folders.

The first included scanned bank statements and financial agreements.

The second contained recordings.

The third was labeled with a single word:

MARRIAGES.

Diane opened it.

There were three folders.

Vanessa.

Another woman’s name.

And mine.

I felt sick.

Emily explained that her father had been keeping records of his financial activities for years.

He believed he was protecting himself.

He had stored recordings of conversations, copies of documents, and correspondence with people who helped him.

Some of the recordings were between Brad and Margaret.

We opened one.

Margaret’s voice filled the room.

“She trusts you. That’s the important thing. Don’t rush her. Let her sign things naturally.”

Brad answered.

“What if she starts asking questions?”

“Then you make her think she’s imagining things. You know how to handle that.”

I closed my eyes.

Another recording began.

This time, Brad was speaking to someone about the investment property.

“Once the transfer is completed, I can sell it without her approval. By the time she realizes what happened, the money will already be somewhere else.”

Then Margaret spoke.

“And what about the other documents?”

“Those are ready. The lawyer only needs the final signatures.”

Diane stopped the recording.

Nobody spoke.

I looked at Emily.

“Did you know about this?”

She shook her head.

“Not until recently. I always knew my father had problems with money, but I didn’t know how far he had gone.”

“Why did he ask you to destroy the flash drive?”

“Because he discovered I had copied some of the files.”

She looked at the floor.

“He threatened to stop paying for my education if I didn’t cooperate.”

I reached for her hand.

“I’m sorry.”

She looked up.

“You’re apologizing to me?”

“Yes. Because you shouldn’t have been placed in this position.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

For the first time, I understood that Brad hadn’t only damaged my life.

He had damaged the lives of the people who were supposed to love him.

At 2:06 p.m., Brad arrived.

CONTINUE FOR NEXT PART7…