Chapter 12 - The Family Attorney Was LyingGerald Mason had been part of Michael’s life longer than Rachel had.
He attended Michael’s high-school graduation.
Handled the prenuptial agreement before Rachel and Michael married.
Sat in the front row at Richard Whitmore’s funeral.
Michael trusted him almost as much as family.
That made what happened next worse.
Rebecca ran a forensic comparison on the male voice from Anna’s recording.
She obtained publicly available interviews with Gerald.
Probability of match: eighty-nine percent.
Not enough for court.
Enough for Michael.
He called Gerald and asked him to come to the mansion.
Rachel listened from the adjoining library while Michael confronted him.
Gerald arrived at seven wearing a navy suit and carrying his leather briefcase.
Sixty-seven years old.
Silver hair.
Calm eyes.
He looked like the kind of man who had never once been surprised.
Michael placed the codicil on the desk.
“Is this real?”
Gerald examined it.
“I told you we were investigating.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Gerald looked up.
“It appears authentic.”
Michael placed Richard’s August letter beside it.
Gerald’s composure changed slightly.
“Where did you get this?”
“Thomas Reed.”
Silence.
Rachel watched through the partially open library door.
Gerald removed his glasses.
“That man is unreliable.”
“He says he’s Anna’s father.”
Gerald said nothing.
Michael leaned forward.
“You knew.”
Gerald’s eyes moved toward him.
“You knew Anna wasn’t Richard’s daughter.”
“I suspected.”
“You threatened her when she requested DNA.”
“To protect the estate from fraudulent claims.”
“Then why are you now telling me the codicil could be legitimate?”
Gerald began packing the papers.
“I need time to review—”
Michael slammed his hand on the desk.
“Sit down.”
Gerald stopped.
Rachel had rarely seen Michael truly furious.
Not impulsive rage like the night he slapped her.
This was different.
Cold.
Controlled.
“You’ve handled my family’s finances for thirty years,” Michael said. “If you know something, tell me now.”
Gerald slowly sat.
“What exactly do you think I know?”
Michael played the recording.
Anna’s voice filled the study.
He didn’t take the bait.
Then the male voice.
Mason wants this finished before the trust audit.
Gerald’s face remained calm.
Too calm.
When the audio ended, he said:
“That isn’t me.”
Michael laughed.
“No?”
“No.”
Rachel entered.
Gerald looked at her.
“You shouldn’t be involved in this.”
Rachel smiled without warmth.
“That sentence stopped working the night my husband hit me because of a lie you may have helped create.”
Gerald’s jaw tightened.
Rebecca joined them.
“We’re having the recording professionally authenticated.”
Gerald stood.
“I advise all of you to stop.”
Rebecca’s expression sharpened.
“Is that legal advice or a threat?”
Gerald looked toward Michael.
“You have no idea what your father did.”
Michael’s anger faltered.
“Then tell me.”
Gerald hesitated.
That was the first genuine crack.
“Richard used family trusts to conceal personal losses.”
Rachel remembered Thomas’s gambling-debt claim.
“How much?”
Gerald said nothing.
Michael stepped closer.
“How much?”
“Approximately forty million dollars over fifteen years.”
Michael went pale.
Rachel stared.
Gerald continued.
“Some funds were moved between trusts improperly. Some losses were disguised. Your father intended to restore them.”
“Did he?”
“Not completely.”
Rebecca’s voice hardened.
“And you covered it.”
Gerald looked at her.
“I protected the family.”
Michael laughed in disbelief.
“By committing fraud?”
“By preventing panic.”
Rachel finally understood Anna’s leverage.
The upcoming trust audit.
If Gerald’s actions were exposed, the Whitmore foundation could face investigations.
Gerald could lose everything.
Maybe prison.
“What does Anna have on you?” Rachel asked.
Gerald looked at her.
Nothing.
“What does she have?”
His silence answered.
Michael stepped forward.
“Gerald.”
The attorney finally spoke.
“She has copies of Richard’s private ledgers.”
Rachel felt the room tighten.
“How?”
“Claire took them before she left.”
“Why?”
“Insurance.”
Gerald looked exhausted suddenly.
“After Claire died, Anna found them.”
Michael whispered, “So she blackmailed you.”
Gerald gave a humorless smile.
“At first she wanted money.”
“How much?”
“Five million.”
Rachel stared.
“What did you do?”
“I refused.”
“And then?”
Gerald looked at her.
“She changed her demand.”
Rachel already knew she wouldn’t like the answer.
“What did she want instead?”
Gerald looked at Michael.
“She wanted access to this house.”
Rachel’s blood ran cold.
Michael stared.
“You hired her?”
“No.”
“But you helped her.”
“I instructed the staffing agency not to reject her background inconsistencies.”
Rachel stepped closer.
“You let her into our home knowing who she was.”
Gerald’s silence confirmed it.
Michael grabbed his jacket.
“You knew she was dangerous.”
“I thought she wanted documents.”
“She wanted my marriage.”
Gerald looked at Rachel.
“No.”
That single word stopped everyone.
Rachel frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Gerald swallowed.
“She told me destroying your marriage was only necessary because Rachel had something she needed.”
Rachel stared.
“I had never met Anna before she worked here.”
Gerald’s eyes shifted.
“Maybe not.”
He reached into his briefcase and removed a photograph.
Rachel took it.
The picture was from twelve years earlier.
Rachel stood at a college fundraiser beside her late father.
Behind them, almost hidden in the crowd, stood a teenage girl.
Dark hair.
Watching Rachel.
Anna.
Gerald spoke quietly.
“She chose Michael because he was a Whitmore.”
May you like
Then he pointed at Rachel.
“But she chose this marriage because of you.”
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