Chapter 4: The Passenger Who Was Never Supposed to Survive
Nobody moved.
Naomi stared at her father, struggling to understand the words he had just spoken.
“She wasn't supposed to be in that car.””
Daniel Carter nodded slowly.
“Your father had arranged to meet Edward that evening. You were supposed to stay at home with your aunt. But someone changed the plans.””
Naomi looked toward Brianna.
The young woman in the gold gown had stopped crying. Her hands were pressed against her pregnant stomach, and her eyes kept darting toward the ballroom exits.
“Why are you looking at me?”” Brianna whispered.
“I had nothing to do with your accident.””
Daniel Reed stepped away from her.
“Then why are you frightened?””
“I'm not!””
“You're shaking.””
“Because all of you are attacking me!””
Victoria moved between Brianna and the others.
“That's enough. This has gone too far. Edward, you're allowing a traumatized man to make accusations without evidence.””
Daniel Carter reached into his coat.
“Would you like to see the evidence?””
Victoria's expression tightened.
He removed a small black flash drive.
“This contains the original security footage from the night of the accident, along with two recorded conversations.””
Edward extended his hand.
“Give it to me.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Not yet. Naomi needs to hear this first.””
Naomi looked at her father.
“Why me?””
“Because you were the person they tried to silence.””
He walked toward a large television mounted above the fireplace. James hurried over and connected the flash drive.
A grainy security recording appeared.
The timestamp showed 9:42 p.m., seven years earlier.
The footage displayed the underground parking garage of a private medical center.
A black sedan entered the frame.
A woman stepped out.
Naomi leaned closer.
The woman wore a pale coat and carried a handbag over her left shoulder.
She recognized the handbag.
It had belonged to Victoria.
The woman approached the driver's side of the sedan and spoke to someone inside.
Then she opened the rear passenger door.
A young woman climbed out.
Naomi's stomach tightened.
It was her.
Seven years younger.
Her hair was longer, and she wore the white sweater she remembered from that night.
“Oh my God,” Naomi whispered.
Her father stood behind her.
“Keep watching.””
On the recording, young Naomi appeared to argue with the woman.
Victoria grabbed her arm.
Naomi pulled away.
Then another figure entered the frame.
A man wearing a dark jacket.
He approached the sedan and handed Victoria a small envelope.
Victoria examined its contents before slipping it into her handbag.
The footage ended.
Daniel Reed stared at the screen.
“That's Victoria.””
“Yes,” Daniel Carter replied.
Brianna shook her head.
“Security footage proves nothing. People meet in parking garages every day.””
Daniel looked at her.
“Interesting. Because I haven't shown you the second recording yet.””
He opened another file.
This time, a voice filled the room.
Brianna's voice.
“You said she wouldn't be there.””
Victoria answered.
“She wasn't supposed to be.””
“Then why did you let her get into the car?””
“Because your father was becoming difficult.””
A pause followed.
Then Brianna spoke again.
“What if she tells Edward?””
Victoria's response was cold.
“She won't.””
The recording continued.
Brianna sounded increasingly anxious.
“She knows about the accounts. She saw the papers in Daniel's office.””
Victoria sighed.
“Then we have a bigger problem.””
“Mom, I don't want anyone getting hurt.””
“You should have thought about that before you helped me.””
The recording stopped.
Brianna's face went white.
Daniel Reed looked at her as if he were seeing a stranger.
“You helped her?””
Brianna shook her head.
“No. That's not what it sounds like.””
“What did you mean when you said you didn't want anyone getting hurt?””
“I was scared!””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Were you talking about Naomi?””
Brianna began crying again.
“I didn't know what Mom was planning!””
Victoria suddenly reached for the flash drive.
James blocked her.
“Please step back, ma'am.””
“Get your hands off me!””
Edward struck his cane against the floor.
“Victoria, sit down.””
She turned toward him.
“You cannot order me around!””
“For the last thirty years, I have trusted you with my home, my finances, and my family. And now I discover you've been involved in something that nearly killed my friend's daughter.””
Victoria laughed bitterly.
“Your friend's daughter? That's what she is to you? You gave her everything. You treated her like your own child while your actual family watched you throw money at her.””
Edward's eyes narrowed.
“Is that what this was about?””
Victoria looked away.
Daniel Carter answered.
“No. It was about money.””
He placed a document on the table.
“Seven years ago, Victoria discovered that Daniel Carter Holdings owned a controlling interest in a technology company that had just received a government contract. She wanted the shares transferred before the company became publicly valuable.””
Edward examined the document.
“Those shares belonged to Daniel.””
“They were held in trust for Naomi.””
Naomi looked at her father.
“What?””
Daniel nodded.
“Your mother and I established the trust when you were born. You were the sole beneficiary.””
Victoria scoffed.
“Don't make yourself sound like a saint, Daniel. You hid assets from your own partners.””
“I protected my daughter's inheritance.””
“And you expected me to watch you hand over millions to a girl who couldn't even manage her own affairs?””
Naomi stared at her.
The cruelty in Victoria's voice was almost worse than the recording.
Edward stepped toward her.
“You have just explained exactly why you did what you did.””
Victoria's face hardened.
“You're choosing her over me?””
“I'm choosing the truth.””
For a moment, Victoria seemed to consider something.
Then she smiled.
It was a small, unsettling smile.
“Edward, you should ask your son what he knows.””
The ballroom fell silent.
Naomi looked toward Daniel Reed.
He frowned.
“I don't understand.””
Victoria slowly turned toward him.
“Don't you?””
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“What are you talking about?””
Victoria adjusted the bracelet on her wrist.
“Your father didn't tell you everything about the family business, did he?””
Daniel stepped forward.
“My father died when I was twelve.””
“Exactly.””
Edward's expression changed.
“Victoria. Stop.””
But she continued.
“Your father wasn't just an investor in Whitmore Carter Holdings. He was the person who approved the original transfer of those shares.””
Daniel Reed looked stunned.
“What?””
Victoria smiled again.
“And he signed the document that placed Naomi's inheritance under my temporary management.””
Naomi turned toward Edward.
“Is that true?””
Edward looked at the paper in his hand.
“Yes.””
Naomi felt something inside her collapse.
Her father had returned from the dead.
The woman who had helped destroy her life was standing in front of her.
And now the man she had trusted to protect her was admitting that he had signed documents giving Victoria control over her inheritance.
“Edward,” Naomi whispered, “how much did you know?””
Edward opened his mouth.
Before he could answer, Daniel Carter placed another document on the table.
“That's what I came here to explain.””
He looked at Naomi.
“Your inheritance wasn't simply stolen.””
He paused.
“It was used to finance the company that paid for the car that nearly killed you.””
And then he turned the document around.
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At the bottom was a signature Naomi recognized.
Her own.
