Chapter 8: The Second Will
The First National Bank was almost empty when we arrived the following morning.
Officer Hayes had arranged for two investigators to accompany us. Samuel carried the necessary legal paperwork, while my mother sat silently beside me in the back of the vehicle.
I hadn't spoken to her since the previous evening.
She hadn't tried to explain herself again.
Instead, she kept looking through the window.
At one point, she reached for my hand.
I moved it away.
She didn't try again.
Inside the bank, a manager named Thomas Whitaker greeted us.
He was a thin man in his sixties with round glasses and a navy suit.
"Mr. Reed," he said, shaking Samuel's hand.
"I wasn't expecting you so soon.""
Samuel placed the documents on the counter.
"We need access to the Bennett family deposit box.""
Thomas examined the paperwork.
Then he looked at me.
"You're Richard Bennett's son?""
"Yes.""
He nodded slowly.
"Your father was a very careful man.""
He led us through a security door and down a narrow corridor.
We entered a private room containing rows of metal deposit boxes.
Thomas unlocked one of the cabinets.
Samuel inserted a key.
The door opened.
Inside sat a black metal case.
I stared at it.
"That's everything?""
Samuel nodded.
"Everything Richard wanted preserved.""
Thomas left us alone with the investigators.
Samuel placed the case on the table.
He opened it.
Inside were three folders, a sealed envelope, and a small digital recorder.
My father's handwriting appeared on the first folder.
*PROPERTY AND INHERITANCE.*
The second read:
*MEDICAL RECORDS — CONFIDENTIAL.*
The third contained a single name.
*BENITA BENNETT.*
I felt my stomach tighten.
Samuel opened the first folder.
"Your father wanted the property transferred to you without interference.""
He handed me the document.
It was a new will, signed and witnessed three days before my father's death.
The terms were clear.
I would inherit the business, the properties, and the controlling shares.
My mother would retain lifetime ownership of her personal assets.
David would receive nothing.
And there was one additional condition.
If anyone attempted to fraudulently transfer the estate, the entire transaction would trigger an independent audit.
I looked at Samuel.
"Why didn't this happen when Dad died?""
"Because David presented a different will.""
I frowned.
"What?""
Samuel nodded.
"He claimed Richard had changed his mind during his final hospitalization. The document he presented gave David temporary control over the company.""
"Was it real?""
"No.""
"Then why did the lawyers accept it?""
"Because the original witnesses had disappeared, and the medical records suggested your father had been heavily medicated.""
I looked at the second folder.
"What's in there?""
Samuel opened it.
Several medical reports were arranged chronologically.
The first confirmed my father's heart condition.
The second showed an unexplained change in his medication.
The third contained a handwritten statement from Dr. Collins.
I read it slowly.
Dr. Collins stated that Richard had been alert during the evening of his death and had repeatedly requested that no unfamiliar medication be administered.
The final paragraph caught my attention.
*At approximately 9:40 p.m., a family member entered the room carrying medication that had not been prescribed by the attending physician.*
I looked up.
"Who was it?""
Samuel pointed toward the sealed envelope.
"Your father identified the person in his final statement.""
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Inside was a letter.
The first line was written in my father's familiar handwriting.
My son, if you are reading this, then someone has finally found the courage to uncover what happened.
I stopped.
For a moment, I couldn't continue.
I remembered sitting on his shoulders as a child.
His laugh.
His silver watch.
The way he used to call me his greatest achievement.
I forced myself to read.
I have made mistakes. I trusted people who didn't deserve it. I allowed money and pride to become more important than the safety of my family.
But there is one thing I need you to understand.
I never wanted you to inherit a fortune built on lies.
The person who betrayed me was not the person I initially suspected.
I turned the page.
David is guilty of stealing from this family. But he did not arrange the medication that caused my collapse.
My hands became cold.
I continued.
I discovered that someone had been using my son's relationship with Benita to gain access to our financial records.
I confronted that person.
They told me they loved Marcus.
I stopped reading.
Samuel looked at me.
"Continue.""
I turned the page.
I believed them.
That was my final mistake.
A small handwritten name appeared at the bottom.
Not Benita.
Not David.
Not Samuel.
It was my mother's name.
*ELEANOR.*
I slowly looked up.
My mother was staring at the floor.
"Mom?""
She closed her eyes.
I held up the letter.
"Dad wrote your name.""
She began crying.
"Marcus, I can explain.""
I shook my head.
"Not again.""
Samuel removed the digital recorder from the case.
"There's a video message as well.""
The bank manager had already left, but the investigators remained.
One of them connected the recorder to a small laptop.
The screen flickered.
Then my father appeared.
He was sitting in his study.
His face looked tired, but he was smiling.
"Marcus, my boy.""
I felt my throat tighten.
"Hello, Dad," I whispered.
The recording continued.
"If you're watching this, then I wasn't able to tell you everything in person. I hope you've grown into a man who knows the difference between loving someone and trusting them blindly.""
My father looked down at his hands.
"I need to tell you about your mother.""
The recording paused.
Then he continued.
"Eleanor has been hiding something from me for years. She made a financial agreement with David before we were married. I discovered it only recently.""
My mother covered her mouth.
My father looked directly into the camera.
"She told me she did it to protect our family. But I don't know whether I believe her.""
He leaned closer.
"Marcus, your mother isn't a monster. But she has made decisions that have hurt people.""
The screen flickered.
Then he said something that changed everything.
"She was the one who asked me to bring Benita into our lives.""
I stared at the screen.
"What?""
My mother began shaking her head.
"No, Richard...""
The video continued.
"Your mother introduced Benita to the family because she believed Benita could help us recover the money David had stolen.""
I looked at Samuel.
He appeared shocked.
My father went on.
"At first, I thought it was a good idea. Benita was intelligent. She understood business. She knew how to make people comfortable.""
He paused.
"But I later discovered that Eleanor had been using her to get close to David.""
My mother started crying.
The recording continued.
"That is why I became suspicious of both of them.""
I looked at her.
"You introduced Benita to me?""
She nodded slowly.
"Yes.""
"Why?""
She couldn't answer.
My father continued.
"I don't know who changed my medication. I don't know who brought the substance into the room. But I know someone was trying to control the inheritance.""
The video ended.
Nobody moved.
I stared at the blank screen.
My mother finally spoke.
"I didn't know Benita would fall in love with you.""
I laughed bitterly.
"Was I part of the plan?""
"No!""
"Did you introduce her to me because you wanted her to marry me?""
She began crying.
"I thought she could help protect the business.""
I stood.
"You used my life as a business strategy?""
"Marcus, please...""
I stepped away.
Samuel quietly closed the folder.
"There's more.""
I turned toward him.
"What now?""
He pointed to the third folder.
"Your father left instructions that the evidence against Benita should only be released after the second will was opened.""
He removed several printed emails.
One was dated three months before my father died.
It showed a conversation between Benita and an unidentified person.
The subject line read:
*THE FINAL ARRANGEMENT.*
I scanned the message.
Benita had written:
He won't sign anything while Richard is alive. We need another way.
The reply was short.
Then make sure Richard doesn't become a problem.
I looked at Samuel.
"Who sent the reply?""
He turned the page.
A name appeared beneath the email.
*DR. MICHAEL BENNETT.*
My cousin.
The same man who had supposedly disappeared.
But there was another attachment.
A bank transfer.
The money had been sent to an account belonging to a private security company.
The account holder was not David.
It was Eleanor Bennett.
My mother.
I looked at her.
"Why was your account paying them?""
She stood abruptly.
"Because I was trying to rescue someone!""
"Who?""
She looked toward the bank's glass doors.
Then she whispered:
"Your father wasn't the only person they were holding.""
My heart began racing.
"Who else?""
She turned toward me.
"Michael.""
Before I could ask another question, one of the investigators received a call.
He listened.
Then his expression changed.
"Officer Hayes needs us back at the mansion immediately.""
"Why?"" Samuel asked.
The investigator looked at me.
"Because Benita has made a formal statement.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"What did she say?""
He hesitated.
"She claims your mother arranged your father's poisoning.""
My mother closed her eyes.
Then the investigator added:
"And she has provided a witness.""
I looked at the bank documents.
"Who?""
May you like
He answered quietly.
"Dr. Michael Bennett.""
