Chapter 11 - The Lawyer Who Was Never Just the LawyerRebecca Sloan arrived at Margaret’s apartment thirty minutes later.
She did not know why Ethan had called her.
At least, she pretended not to.
She walked inside carrying her leather folder.
“What happened?”
Ethan shut the door.
“Victoria says you’re her daughter.”
Rebecca stopped.
Margaret watched the reaction.
Not surprise.
Pain.
Rebecca slowly placed the folder on the table.
“How did she tell you?”
Ethan stared.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Four years.”
Margaret sat down.
Rebecca looked exhausted.
“I found the adoption records after my adoptive mother died.”
“You confronted Victoria?”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
“That she gave me up to save me.”
Ethan’s expression hardened.
“And you believed her?”
Rebecca looked at him.
“Wouldn’t you want to?”
He had no answer.
Margaret asked quietly, “Is Arthur your father?”
Rebecca closed her eyes.
“Genetic testing says yes.”
Silence.
Arthur Vale.
The founder whose corruption helped destroy Daniel.
Victoria’s secret daughter.
Halcyon’s chief legal officer.
Ethan’s closest legal adviser.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Ethan asked.
Rebecca’s jaw tightened.
“Because I knew exactly how you would look at me.”
“How?”
“Like this.”
She gestured between them.
“Like I’m part of their crime because of my blood.”
“That isn’t fair.”
“No.”
“But you still hid it.”
“Yes.”
“Did Charles know?”
“Not until last year.”
Ethan laughed.
“Of course.”
Margaret felt the familiar pattern.
Every person in Ethan’s world had a secret.
“Did Victoria ever ask you to protect her?”
Rebecca hesitated.
Ethan saw it.
“What?”
“She asked me to bury an internal complaint three years ago.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“What complaint?”
“A vendor analyst accused her of retaliating against him.”
Ethan frowned.
“Name?”
“Marcus Reed.”
“Why haven’t I seen that complaint?”
“Because HR closed it.”
“Under whose authority?”
Rebecca looked away.
“Charles.”
Ethan swore.
Margaret stood.
“We need to stop.”
Everyone looked at her.
“You are doing it again.”
Ethan frowned.
“Doing what?”
“Turning every new secret into another immediate accusation.”
“Mom—”
“No.”
She looked at Rebecca.
“Did you help Victoria hide anything illegal?”
“No.”
“Did you know about Daniel’s death?”
“No.”
“Did you know about Arthur’s vendor fraud?”
“Not until Ethan’s investigation.”
“Did you hide your parentage because you were ashamed and afraid?”
Rebecca’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
Margaret nodded.
“Then that is what we know.”
Ethan looked frustrated.
“You’re defending her.”
“I’m separating facts from fear.”
The room quieted.
Rebecca looked grateful.
Then her phone buzzed.
She checked it.
Her face changed.
“What?”
“It’s Victoria.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“What did she say?”
Rebecca showed him.
COME ALONE OR THE ARCHIVE DISAPPEARS.
Below it was an address.
An abandoned chapel in Brooklyn.
Margaret immediately said, “No.”
Rebecca looked at her.
“She’s my mother.”
“She is also frightened and desperate.”
“She wants to give me the archive.”
“Then police can come.”
“She’ll run.”
Ethan agreed with Margaret.
“You’re not going alone.”
Rebecca looked at him.
“You don’t get to decide.”
“I’m chairman.”
“This isn’t Halcyon.”
He almost smiled despite everything.
“Fair.”
Rebecca picked up her coat.
Margaret stood.
“I’m coming.”
Both Ethan and Rebecca said, “No.”
Margaret folded her arms.
“You can either argue while Victoria disappears again or take me.”
Ethan stared at her.
“Mom.”
“She slapped me, threatened you, and made me kneel.”
“Exactly.”
“I’m not afraid of hearing her speak.”
“You should be afraid of more than speaking.”
Margaret touched his hand.
“You spent years investigating because you thought you needed to protect me from the truth.”
Ethan said nothing.
“Stop.”
They went together.
Police followed at a distance.
The chapel had been closed for renovation.
Rebecca entered first.
Victoria stood near the altar.
Still wearing the red gown from the gala beneath a dark coat.
Her face looked exhausted.
Her lip was swollen.
She held Daniel’s brown leather briefcase.
Margaret stopped.
Eleven years disappeared.
That briefcase had sat beside their front door every morning.
Daniel always forgot his keys but never forgot that case.
Victoria saw Margaret staring.
“I’m sorry.”
Margaret almost laughed.
“For which part?”
Victoria looked down.
“All of it.”
Rebecca stepped forward.
“You’re my mother.”
Victoria’s face broke.
“Yes.”
“You watched me work at Halcyon for six years.”
“Yes.”
“And said nothing.”
“I thought you were safer not knowing.”
Rebecca laughed through tears.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Margaret and Ethan exchanged a look.
Victoria placed the briefcase on a pew.
“The archive is inside.”
Ethan moved toward it.
Victoria raised a hand.
“Not yet.”
“What do you want?”
“Protection.”
“From who?”
Victoria looked toward the dark rear of the chapel.
“Charles.”
Ethan stopped.
“Charles?”
Victoria’s voice dropped.
“You still think Arthur Vale was the worst man at Halcyon.”
She shook her head.
“He wasn’t.”
A floorboard creaked behind them.
Everyone turned.
A man stepped from the shadows.
May you like
Charles Whitmore.
Holding a gun.
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