Chapter 9: The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Danielle called her father immediately.
“Daddy, I need you in Mom's study.””
Robert entered less than a minute later.
“What's wrong?””
Danielle handed him the phone.
“Melissa Pierce called.””
Robert frowned.
“Jonathan's wife?””
“Yes. She said Mom had a business partner.””
Robert stared at her.
“What business partner?””
“She said the woman was believed to have died with Mom.””
Robert slowly sat down.
“That doesn't make sense.””
“That's what I thought.””
“Did Melissa give you a name?””
“No. The call disconnected.””
David entered the room.
“Sir, I've been trying to reach Melissa. Her phone is switched off.””
Robert looked at him.
“Can you locate her?””
“We're attempting to contact her through the legal department.””
Danielle paced beside the desk.
“Why would someone pretend a woman was dead?””
Robert looked at the documents scattered across the desk.
“Maybe because she knew what happened.””
He picked up Angela's handwritten summary.
Then he noticed something.
A name written in the margin.
*Catherine Bell.*
Robert stared at it.
Danielle approached.
“Who is that?””
Robert's expression changed.
“Catherine was Angela's closest business associate.””
“You knew her?””
“Of course. She worked with your mother on the company's original airport-service contracts.””
“What happened to her?””
Robert looked toward the window.
“Her car went off a bridge six months before your mother died.””
Danielle froze.
“Was she killed?””
“That's what the police report said.””
“Did they find her body?””
Robert shook his head slowly.
“They found the car. They never recovered her body.””
Danielle looked at the name on the paper.
“Then how could everyone be sure she was dead?””
Robert had no answer.
At 8:20 p.m., Patricia Lewis arrived at the Brooks residence.
She carried a folder containing the original records from the company's archives.
“Mr. Brooks, we found something connected to Catherine Bell.””
Robert took the folder.
“What?””
“Her company shares were transferred after the accident.””
Robert looked up.
“Transferred to whom?””
Patricia placed the document on the desk.
“Northbridge Advisory Partners.””
Danielle looked at her father.
“That's the company Mom wrote about.””
Patricia nodded.
“The transfer was authorized under a power-of-attorney document allegedly signed by Catherine before the accident.””
Robert read the signature.
Then he shook his head.
“That's not Catherine's signature.””
Patricia looked surprised.
“You're certain?””
“I worked with her for twelve years. I've signed hundreds of documents with her.””
He placed the paper down.
“Someone forged it.””
Patricia opened another folder.
“We also found an insurance settlement connected to the accident.””
Robert frowned.
“Why would there be an insurance settlement if no body was recovered?””
“The policy allowed payment after a legal presumption of death under certain circumstances.””
Danielle felt a chill.
“Who received the money?””
Patricia checked the file.
“The beneficiary was Northbridge Advisory Partners.””
Robert stood.
“That's enough. We need to reopen the investigation.””
Patricia nodded.
“We've already contacted the relevant authorities. The original accident records are being reviewed.””
David entered with another phone.
“Sir, we've located Melissa Pierce.””
Robert turned.
“Where?””
“She has requested a meeting with independent compliance counsel.””
“Is she safe?””
David hesitated.
“She says she's being followed.””
Danielle immediately stood.
“By whom?””
“We don't know yet.””
Robert looked at David.
“Arrange a secure location. She can meet with Patricia and counsel.””
David nodded.
At 9:10 p.m., Melissa Pierce arrived at a secure meeting room inside the company's legal offices.
She looked exhausted.
Her hair was tied back, and she carried a small handbag.
When Danielle entered, Melissa immediately stood.
“Thank you for coming.””
Danielle remained cautious.
“Why did you call me?””
Melissa looked toward Patricia.
“Can we speak privately?””
Patricia shook her head gently.
“I'm afraid we need to keep the meeting documented.””
Melissa nodded.
“All right.””
She opened her handbag and removed a small USB drive.
“Jonathan kept this in a locked drawer at home.””
David took it.
“Do you know what's on it?””
“Emails. Financial records. And a recording.””
Robert leaned forward.
“Of whom?””
Melissa looked directly at him.
“Richard Whitmore and Eleanor Grant.””
Robert's face tightened.
“What are they discussing?””
Melissa swallowed.
“They're discussing the company shares transferred from Catherine Bell.””
Danielle stared.
“What does that have to do with my mother?””
Melissa looked at her.
“Your mother was trying to stop them.””
Robert slowly sat down.
“Tell us everything.””
Melissa explained that Jonathan had become increasingly secretive over the previous year.
He had started taking late-night calls.
He had traveled without explaining where he was going.
And he had begun keeping separate phones.
At first, Melissa assumed it was work pressure.
Then she found the USB drive.
“Jonathan told me he was protecting the company,” Melissa said.
“He said Richard and Eleanor were dealing with a complicated ownership issue.””
Robert frowned.
“Ownership of what?””
“The original airport-service division.””
Robert looked at Patricia.
That division had been the foundation of his company.
It was where he and Angela had started.
Melissa continued.
“Catherine Bell owned a portion of the original company. After her accident, her shares were transferred to Northbridge. But Jonathan discovered that the transfer documents were fraudulent.””
Robert closed his eyes.
“How much of the company?””
Melissa looked down.
“Thirty percent.””
Danielle stared at her.
“Thirty percent?””
Melissa nodded.
“Your mother had discovered the fraud before she died. She was trying to stop the transfer.””
Robert leaned forward.
“Why didn't you come to me?””
Melissa's eyes filled.
“Because Jonathan told me you were involved.””
The room went silent.
Robert stared at her.
“What?””
“He said you had approved the arrangement. He told me not to interfere because it was a confidential board decision.””
Robert shook his head.
“I never approved it.””
Melissa looked at him.
“I know that now.””
Patricia opened the USB drive.
The files were encrypted, but the technical team had already extracted several documents.
One email was particularly revealing.
It was from Eleanor to Richard.
The ownership transfer must remain undisputed until the next governance review. Robert cannot discover Catherine's involvement before the documentation is finalized.
Richard had replied:
Angela is already asking questions. We need to deal with her concerns.
Eleanor's response was short.
Keep her away from the records.
Robert stared at the screen.
Danielle felt sick.
“Were they planning to hurt Mom?””
Melissa looked frightened.
“I don't know.””
Patricia spoke carefully.
“The documents suggest an effort to conceal information. They do not, by themselves, establish responsibility for anyone's death.””
Robert nodded.
“I understand.””
But his hands were shaking.
At 10:00 p.m., the investigators opened the audio file.
Richard's voice came through first.
“Angela won't stop asking questions.””
Eleanor answered.
“She has no authority over the transfer.””
“She knows about the missing payments.””
“Then we need to control the situation.””
A pause.
Richard spoke again.
“What about Catherine?””
Eleanor lowered her voice.
“She isn't supposed to exist anymore.””
Robert stood abruptly.
“Stop.””
Patricia paused the recording.
Nobody moved.
Robert looked at Melissa.
“What does that mean?””
Melissa shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Danielle looked at the screen.
“Play the rest.””
Patricia hesitated.
Then she continued.
Richard's voice returned.
“What if Angela finds her?””
Eleanor answered:
“Then we lose everything.””
There was a chair scraping.
Then Richard spoke.
“And the daughter?””
Eleanor paused.
“She has no idea what happened.””
The recording ended.
Danielle felt her knees weaken.
Robert caught her arm.
“Sit down, sweetheart.””
She stared at him.
“They were talking about me.””
Robert's face was pale.
“Apparently.””
“They knew Mom had found something. They knew I was connected to her.””
Patricia closed the file.
“We need to establish the date and context of this recording.””
Melissa nodded.
“It was made last year. Jonathan recorded it during a meeting.””
Robert looked at her.
“Why did he record it?””
Melissa hesitated.
“Because he was afraid.””
“Of Richard?””
“Of all of them.””
At 10:45 p.m., David received a call from the airport security office.
He listened carefully.
Then he approached Robert.
“Sir, we've found something.””
“What?””
“Richard Whitmore has been located.””
“Where?””
“At a private hangar outside the airport.””
“Is he leaving?””
David nodded.
“He has a flight plan filed for a departure within the hour.””
Robert stood.
“Stop him.””
David raised his hand.
“We can't detain him without lawful authority. But the authorities have been notified about the evidence and the possibility of document destruction.””
Patricia immediately contacted legal counsel.
Meanwhile, Danielle looked at Melissa.
“Do you know where Catherine Bell is?””
Melissa shook her head.
“Not exactly.””
“What does that mean?””
Melissa reached into her handbag again.
She removed a folded photograph.
It showed an older woman standing beside Angela.
They were smiling in front of a small office building.
On the back, Angela had written:
The two people who built this dream.
Danielle recognized her mother.
She didn't recognize the other woman.
Melissa pointed to her.
“That's Catherine.””
Danielle looked at the photograph.
“Where was this taken?””
“Savannah. About a month before the accident.””
Robert studied the image.
Then he noticed the date.
It was taken only five months before Angela died.
He turned it over again.
There was another handwritten line beneath the first.
If we ever lose everything, find the blue house.
Robert frowned.
“The blue house?””
Melissa nodded.
“Jonathan mentioned it once. He said Catherine had a safe place where she could disappear if she ever felt threatened.””
Danielle looked at her father.
“Do you know where it is?””
Robert shook his head.
But Patricia was already searching the property records.
After several minutes, she looked up.
“I found a property registered to Catherine Bell in coastal Georgia.””
Robert approached.
“Address?””
Patricia read it aloud.
“It's a small house near Tybee Island.””
David immediately checked the location.
Then he received another message.
His face changed.
“Mr. Brooks…”
“What?””
“Someone has just accessed that property.””
Robert looked at the screen.
“Who?””
David enlarged the security report.
A vehicle had arrived at the property less than ten minutes earlier.
The driver was a woman.
She stepped out carrying a small suitcase.
The security camera captured her face.
Danielle leaned closer.
Then she gasped.
It was the woman from the photograph.
Catherine Bell.
Alive.
At 11:20 p.m., Robert's phone rang.
The number was unfamiliar.
He answered.
“Robert Brooks.””
A woman's voice came through.
“Robert?””
He stopped breathing.
He knew that voice.
He had heard it in old recordings, at business dinners, and in the background of countless conversations with Angela.
“Catherine?””
There was a pause.
“Yes.””
Robert sat down.
“Where have you been?””
Catherine laughed softly, but there was no happiness in it.
“Somewhere I thought nobody would find me.””
“Why didn't you contact us?””
“Because I was told Angela was dead and you had signed the documents.””
Robert looked at Danielle.
“Which documents?””
“The ownership transfer. The settlement. Everything.””
“I didn't sign them.””
“I know that now.””
Robert closed his eyes.
“Catherine, we need to talk.””
“I know.””
“Can you come to us?””
“No.””
“Why?””
Her voice dropped.
“Because someone is already outside my house.””
David immediately signaled to the security team.
Robert stood.
“Catherine, listen to me. Don't open the door.””
“I wasn't planning to.””
Then a loud knock came through the phone.
Catherine gasped.
A man's voice sounded in the background.
“Ms. Bell? We need to speak with you.””
Robert's expression changed.
“Who is it?””
Catherine whispered.
“I don't know.””
The man knocked again.
“Ms. Bell, we know you're inside.””
David was already contacting local authorities.
Robert spoke firmly.
“Catherine, stay on the line.””
Then came a second voice.
A familiar voice.
Richard Whitmore.
“Catherine, it's time to stop running.””
Danielle looked at her father.
Richard was supposed to be at the airport.
But somehow, he had reached Catherine first.
Catherine began crying.
“Robert…”
“What?””
“Angela wasn't the only person who discovered the transfer.””
Robert gripped the phone.
“What else did she find?””
Catherine whispered:
“She found out who really owned Northbridge.””
A crash sounded through the phone.
Then the call went dead.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
David immediately dispatched the local security response and contacted law enforcement.
Robert stared at his phone.
Danielle held Amara tightly.
“Daddy, we have to help her.””
Robert nodded.
“We will.””
Patricia looked at the documents.
“Mr. Brooks, if Catherine has evidence about Northbridge's ownership, it could establish who controlled the transfers.””
Robert looked at her.
“Then we find her.””
His phone vibrated again.
An incoming message from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph.
Catherine's blue house.
The front door stood open.
Beneath the photograph was one sentence:
Stop investigating, or Danielle will be next.
Robert stared at the screen.
Then he looked at his daughter.
And for the first time, he understood why the people behind Project Prestige had been so determined to silence a woman carrying a newborn.
May you like
*They weren't afraid of Robert discovering the truth.*
*They were afraid of what Danielle's mother had left behind—and what her daughter might finally uncover.*