PART 4 — THE WOMAN WHO KNEW EVERYTHING
I spent the next forty-eight hours trying to find Elena.
Every official record said she was dead.
Every database confirmed it.
But the photograph proved otherwise.
Michael hired a private investigator.
His name was Robert Hayes.
He called me that evening.
“We found a lead.”
“Where?”
“Chicago.”
“Chicago?”
“She may have lived there under another name.”
I booked the first flight.
When I arrived, Robert was waiting outside the airport.
He handed me a file.
“Her name may be Elaine Carter now.”
“May be?”
“She changed everything. Address. phone number. employment records.”
“Why would someone disappear like that?”
Robert looked at me.
“Because they were afraid.”
We drove to a small apartment building.
The woman who opened the door was in her late sixties.
Gray hair.
Tired eyes.
But I recognized her immediately.
“Elena?”
She froze.
Then she whispered:
“Your father told me you'd come.”
I couldn't move.
“You knew?”
She nodded.
“Eventually.”
“Why didn't you contact me?”
“Because I wanted to stay alive.”
She let us inside.
The apartment was almost empty.
No photographs.
No decorations.
Nothing personal.
As though she expected to leave at any moment.
“Tell me what happened to my father.”
Elena sat down.
“He discovered the transfers.”
“I know.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You don't know how far it went.”
I waited.
“Your father discovered that Andrew's father had been using your family's investment accounts.”
“But Andrew was involved.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Elena looked at me.
“Andrew wasn't just involved.”
“He planned it.”
My heart sank.
“How old was he?”
“Twenty-seven.”
I stared at her.
“Before I met him?”
“Years before.”
“Then why marry me?”
Elena's expression softened.
“Because your father left something behind.”
“What?”
“Control.”
She reached into a drawer and pulled out a folder.
“Your father created a trust.”
I opened it.
My name was everywhere.
“If you remained unmarried, the trust stayed under your control.”
I looked up.
“But if I married?”
“The trustees could be challenged.”
“By whom?”
“Your husband.”
My blood ran cold.
“So Andrew married me for the trust.”
Elena nodded.
“But there was one thing he didn't know.”
“What?”
“Your father suspected him.”
She pulled out another document.
A handwritten note.
If Carla ever marries Andrew Falk, the trust must remain protected.
I stared at the words.
“Then why didn't the trust protect me?”
Elena smiled sadly.
“Because Andrew found another way.”
“What way?”
“He convinced you to sign documents.”
I remembered.
Three years into our marriage, Andrew had asked me to sign a stack of papers.
He told me they were refinancing documents.
I had signed them without reading every page.
My stomach turned.
“What did I sign?”
Elena looked at me.
“Power of attorney.”
I closed my eyes.
That explained everything.
Andrew hadn't stolen my money through hacking.
I had legally given him access.
Because I trusted him.
“Can I get it back?”
“Yes.”
“But there's something worse.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“Your father knew he was in danger.”
“From Andrew?”
“From someone else.”
“Who?”
Elena hesitated.
“Theresa.”
I stared at her.
“My mother-in-law?”
“She knew about the trust.”
“And my father?”
“He threatened to expose her.”
“What did she do?”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
“She arranged the accident.”
My entire body went numb.
“My father's death?”
She nodded.
“Theresa ordered it.”
I couldn't speak.
For twelve years, I had invited that woman into my home.
Celebrated birthdays with her.
Bought her gifts.
Listened to her complain about how I wasn't good enough for her son.
And she had known the truth about my father all along.
“Does Andrew know?”
Elena looked away.
“He knows enough.”
“Enough?”
“He knows his mother was involved.”
My heart broke.
Not because Andrew had stolen from me.
Not even because he'd used my money.
But because he had known who destroyed my father...
and married me anyway.
I stood.
“We need to go to the police.”
Elena grabbed my wrist.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because you don't have the whole story.”
“What else is there?”
She stared directly into my eyes.
“Your father didn't leave you only money.”
“What did he leave me?”
“A recording.”
I froze.
“What recording?”
“He recorded the conversation the night before he died.”
“Where is it?”
Elena pointed toward the bedroom.
“In a safe.”
I followed her.
She opened a hidden compartment.
Inside was a small cassette.
My father's voice was recorded on the label.
My hands shook.
“What does it say?”
Elena whispered:
“Listen.”
I pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then my father's voice emerged.
“If anything happens to me, the person responsible is not Theresa.”
I froze.
Elena looked at me.
My father's voice continued:
“It's someone much closer to Carla.”
Then came a name.
A name that made my blood run cold.
Because it belonged to someone I had trusted with my life.
Someone I had never suspected.
Andrew.
But the recording wasn't finished.
My father continued:
“And if Andrew marries my daughter, he will have access to everything.”
The tape clicked.
Then one final sentence played.
“He is not acting alone.”
* * *
