Chapter 11 - THE WIFE HE THOUGHT HE KNEW
Police reached the mansion before Natalie left.
She stood in the marble entrance wearing the same dark emerald dress.
A leather bag rested beside her.
Detective Shaw asked to search it.
Natalie refused.
“You need a warrant.”
“We have one.”
Inside the bag were passports, cash and the original Wilson family trust.
Natalie claimed she was protecting the documents.
Andrew arrived as officers read her rights.
She looked at him.
“Are you going to let them treat your wife like a criminal?”
Andrew remembered asking his mother why she had remained silent.
She said Natalie threatened to destroy his marriage.
Now Natalie was using the marriage as protection.
“You locked my mother away.”
“She poisoned you against me.”
“You drugged her.”
“She needed medication.”
“You forged her signature.”
“Dominic prepared those documents.”
“Did he force you to hold her wrist?”
Natalie looked toward the officers.
“You have no proof I touched her.”
Andrew thought of the bruise.
The emerald fibers.
The broken heel.
The recordings.
Proof surrounded her.
But what hurt most was how long he had loved the version of Natalie she performed for him.
She knew which wine he preferred.
She remembered every business anniversary.
She arranged perfect dinners.
She kissed Margaret’s cheek whenever Andrew entered the room.
Then she wheeled her into darkness when he left.
“How long have you hated her?” he asked.
Natalie’s expression hardened.
“She controlled everything.”
“She welcomed you into this family.”
“She reminded me every day that the mansion, the company and the money came from her.”
“So you decided to take them.”
“I decided our future should not depend on a confused old woman.”
Margaret was not confused.
Natalie knew it.
That was why the drugs were necessary.
That was why the fake reports were necessary.
That was why the locked door was necessary.
Police arrested Natalie for unlawful imprisonment, vulnerable-adult abuse, medication tampering and forgery.
She was released on bond the following morning.
The guardianship hearing remained scheduled.
Dominic Voss could not be found.
Natalie’s attorney announced that Andrew had staged the storage room after discovering his mother planned to remove him from the trust.
According to the attorney, Margaret wanted Natalie to protect her from her greedy son.
Andrew read the public statement.
Natalie had changed targets.
First she portrayed Margaret as incompetent.
Now she portrayed Andrew as dangerous.
At the hospital, Margaret watched the report.
“She will show them the video.”
Andrew sat beside her.
“What video?”
May you like
Margaret’s face became pale.
“The night she made me say I was afraid of you.”
