Chapter 8: The Woman Behind the Smile
Richard looked at the photograph again.
Then he looked toward the boardroom door.
“Where is Arthur?””
Margaret immediately contacted security.
“Bring President Bell into the main conference room.””
A few seconds later, the door opened.
Arthur entered between two security officers.
His tie was crooked, and his face was flushed.
“What is this now?””
Richard held up the photograph.
“Recognize this?””
Arthur glanced at it.
For a fraction of a second, his expression changed.
Then he looked away.
“I've never seen it.””
Eleanor stepped forward.
“Look at it properly, Arthur.””
He shook his head.
“Eleanor, you're supposed to be dead.””
She stared at him.
“And yet here I am.””
Arthur looked toward Daniel.
“Have you lost your mind? You brought her here?””
Daniel said nothing.
Richard placed the photograph on the table.
“Explain why you were at the accident scene.””
Arthur's expression hardened.
“I wasn't.””
Eleanor pointed to the image.
“That's your car behind the wreckage.””
Arthur looked at the photograph again.
“Anyone could have taken that.””
Margaret stepped closer.
“Then you won't mind providing the vehicle records for that evening.””
Arthur said nothing.
Richard's voice became colder.
“Twenty years of friendship. That's what I gave you.””
Arthur laughed nervously.
“Richard, you're being manipulated.””
“By whom?””
“Your wife.””
Eleanor shook her head.
“Don't do that.””
Arthur raised his voice.
“She disappeared. She abandoned her family. She allowed you to believe she was dead. And now she's back with a collection of accusations.””
Danielle stared at him.
“You were at the crash.””
Arthur turned toward her.
“You don't understand.””
“Then explain it.””
He looked away.
Richard took another step forward.
“Were you at the accident scene?””
Arthur remained silent.
“Did you arrange the false medical report?””
“No.””
“Did you help Daniel forge Eleanor's death certificate?””
Arthur's jaw tightened.
“I had nothing to do with the accident.””
Eleanor reached into her handbag.
“Then perhaps this will help.””
She removed a small digital recorder.
Arthur immediately went pale.
Richard stared at it.
“What is that?””
“The recording I mentioned.””
Eleanor placed it on the table.
“I made it three days before the accident. I was discussing the missing foundation money with Daniel and Arthur.””
Arthur moved toward the table.
“Don't play that.””
A security officer blocked him.
Eleanor pressed the button.
A man's voice filled the room.
Daniel's voice.
“We need another month. The accounts are not ready.””
Then Arthur's voice followed.
“Richard will never approve this. Eleanor is asking too many questions.””
Daniel answered.
“Then we make sure she stops.””
There was a pause.
Then Arthur spoke.
“What about the daughter?””
Daniel laughed.
“She doesn't know anything.””
Eleanor's voice entered the recording.
“She's not stupid, Daniel. She knows something is wrong.””
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Richard looked at Arthur.
“You were planning to steal from my wife.””
Arthur rubbed his forehead.
“It wasn't like that.””
“What was it like?””
Arthur lowered his voice.
“We had debts. The club was struggling. We needed capital.””
“So you stole from the foundation?””
“We borrowed.””
Richard gave a bitter laugh.
“Without permission?””
Arthur didn't answer.
Eleanor spoke quietly.
“And when I discovered it, you arranged for me to disappear.””
Arthur looked at her.
“I didn't arrange your disappearance.””
“You helped Daniel after the crash.””
Arthur's face tightened.
“I was trying to protect the club.””
Richard's expression changed.
“You keep saying that.””
He pointed toward Danielle.
“Today, my daughter was assaulted because you wanted to protect the club.””
Then he pointed toward Eleanor.
“My wife was declared dead because you wanted to protect the club.””
He stepped closer.
“How many people have you destroyed to keep this building standing?””
Arthur looked around.
Nobody defended him.
Even Evelyn, who had followed him into the room, remained silent.
Margaret opened her folder.
“Arthur, there is another issue.””
He turned sharply.
“What?””
“The foundation's missing funds were not simply transferred to operating accounts.””
She placed a printed statement on the table.
“Over the past three years, several transfers were made to a company called Bellcrest Consulting.””
Arthur's face went pale.
Richard looked at the name.
“Who owns it?””
Margaret answered.
“According to the corporate registry, the sole director is Cynthia Reed.””
Brandon stepped forward.
“That's Arthur's assistant.””
Margaret nodded.
“Yes.””
Eleanor looked at Richard.
“Cynthia was the person who followed me after I left the hospital.””
Richard stared at her.
“Are you sure?””
“I recognized her voice. She called me several times using different numbers.””
Margaret looked at the security officer.
“Find her immediately.””
The officer checked his radio.
“We have an update.””
Richard turned.
“What?””
“Cynthia Reed's vehicle was found outside the west parking area.””
“Where is she?””
“She left on foot.””
“Which direction?””
The officer hesitated.
“Toward the private residence wing.””
Margaret frowned.
“The residence wing is restricted.””
Arthur suddenly shouted.
“She's not there!””
Everyone turned.
Arthur's face had gone white.
Richard looked at him.
“How would you know?””
Arthur said nothing.
Then the lights went out.
The room plunged into darkness.
Danielle instinctively covered Amara's head.
Someone knocked over a chair.
A woman screamed.
Security officers shouted instructions.
“Everyone stay where you are!””
Richard reached for Danielle.
“Are you okay?””
“Yes!””
A red emergency light flickered on.
The boardroom door was open.
Arthur was gone.
So was Daniel.
Margaret looked toward the security officers.
“They've escaped!””
One officer ran into the corridor.
Another called for backup.
Richard remained beside Danielle.
“I'm not leaving you.””
Danielle looked toward the doorway.
“Mom?””
Eleanor was standing near the table.
Her face was pale.
“I'm here, sweetheart.””
Danielle took a breath.
Then a sound came from the hallway.
A woman's voice.
“Eleanor?””
Everyone turned.
A figure stood at the far end of the corridor.
It was Cynthia Reed.
She held a black folder in one hand.
In the other was a small silver object.
A flash drive.
“Put the folder down!”” a security officer shouted.
Cynthia shook her head.
“You don't understand what you're looking at.””
Richard stepped into the hallway.
“Then explain it.””
Cynthia stared at him.
“You think Arthur is the person responsible?””
Richard narrowed his eyes.
“Isn't he?””
Cynthia laughed bitterly.
“Arthur is a coward. Daniel is a thief. But neither of them made the decision to erase Eleanor's identity.””
Eleanor took a step forward.
“Who did?””
Cynthia looked directly at Richard.
Then she spoke a name.
“Your mother.””
Richard froze.
“My mother has been dead for eleven years.””
Cynthia shook her head.
“That's what you were told.””
Danielle looked at Richard.
“What is she talking about?””
Richard couldn't speak.
Cynthia continued.
“Your mother controlled the original Carter family trust. She arranged Eleanor's disappearance because she believed Eleanor was going to destroy the family.””
Richard shook his head.
“No.””
Cynthia held up the flash drive.
“The evidence is on here. Every payment. Every forged document. Every instruction.””
Eleanor stared at her.
“Why are you telling us this?””
Cynthia's expression changed.
“Because the woman who ordered all of it is coming here tonight.””
Richard stepped closer.
“Who?””
Cynthia looked toward the entrance.
Then she whispered:
“Your mother is alive.””
A car door slammed outside.
And through the glass doors, an elderly woman entered the country club.
She wore an elegant black suit, carried a silver walking cane, and had the same icy blue eyes Richard remembered from childhood.
May you like
Richard whispered one word.
“Mother.””