Chapter 9 - The Mother Who Left Behind a Dangerous Secret|
I stared at my mother's photograph for a long time.
She stood in our old backyard wearing a yellow summer dress.
Her hair blew across her face.
She was laughing.
My mother, Margaret Whitaker.
The woman who taught me to braid my hair.
Who sang while washing dishes.
Who held me through my first heartbreak.
She died when I was nineteen.
An aneurysm.
Sudden.
Devastating.
I remembered the hospital.
The doctor.
My father's face.
The funeral.
All of it.
Now an attorney was telling me someone had signed her name on a document two years earlier.
I didn't know whether to feel frightened or furious.
Maybe both.
I called Dad.
He answered immediately.
"Ren?"
"Dad, I need to ask you something."
His voice changed.
"What happened?"
"Did Mom ever work with the Valenti family?"
Silence.
Then he said:
"Why?"
My stomach tightened.
"Dad."
He sighed.
"Your mother knew Alessandro Valenti."
I froze.
"Roman's father?"
"Yes."
I sat down.
"How?"
"They worked together on a charitable foundation years ago."
I frowned.
"What foundation?"
"One that helped families affected by violence along the waterfront."
My heart raced.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Dad hesitated.
"Because that part of her life ended badly."
I closed my eyes.
"How badly?"
A long silence.
Then he whispered:
"Someone disappeared."
My stomach dropped.
"Who?"
Dad sighed.
"A woman named Elena Valenti."
I froze.
"Roman's mother?"
"Yes."
I stared.
Roman had told me his mother died when he was a teenager.
Now my father was saying she'd disappeared.
"Did she die?"
Dad hesitated.
"That's what we were told."
My heart raced.
Again.
Another death that didn't seem certain.
Another hidden agreement.
Another person who had vanished.
I took a breath.
"Dad, did Mom know what happened?"
He lowered his voice.
"I think she suspected."
"Suspected what?"
"That Elena was alive."
I stopped breathing.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then Dad continued.
"Ren, your grandmother and mother were involved in trying to protect her."
I stared at the wall.
"Why?"
"Because someone wanted Elena's shares in the waterfront company."
My stomach tightened.
"And the marriage agreement?"
Dad hesitated.
"That may have been intended to keep those shares from being transferred to someone else."
I closed my eyes.
My grandmother.
My mother.
Roman's mother.
Three women connected by a business empire and a disappearance.
And now I was standing in the middle of their secrets.
"Dad," I whispered, "why did you let me marry Derek without telling me any of this?"
He began crying.
"Oh, Ren."
My heart tightened.
"What?"
"I didn't know Victor Harlan was connected to the old agreement."
I stared.
"Then who did?"
Dad hesitated.
Then said:
"Cassandra's father."
My stomach dropped.
Cassandra's father had died years ago.
Or so she'd told me.
I felt cold.
"Dad, are you sure?"
He swallowed.
"Yes."
I ended the call after promising we'd talk in person.
Then I contacted Rebecca.
I told her everything.
She listened carefully.
Then said:
"Ren, we need to verify the old records."
I nodded.
"And the signature?"
"Still being examined."
I looked toward the window.
My mother's face seemed to follow me from the photograph on the desk.
For years, I'd believed her story ended at nineteen.
Now it seemed she had been involved in something larger than I ever imagined.
That evening, Roman arrived at Rebecca's office.
He looked serious.
"Ren."
I stood.
"Roman."
He hesitated.
"I heard about the amendment."
I nodded.
"Apparently my dead mother signed something two years ago."
His expression darkened.
"There's no verified explanation yet."
I swallowed.
"Do you think she's alive?"
Roman studied me.
"I don't know."
The answer hurt.
But it was honest.
I looked away.
Then Roman spoke quietly.
"There's something else I need to tell you."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"My mother."
I turned.
"Elena?"
He nodded.
"Your father mentioned her."
Roman's expression changed.
"Did he?"
"Yes."
He closed his eyes.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he whispered:
"My mother disappeared when I was sixteen."
I stared.
"Disappeared?"
He nodded.
"My father told everyone she died."
My chest tightened.
"So you never saw her body?"
Roman shook his head.
"No."
Silence.
Then he continued.
"For years, I believed she abandoned us."
I swallowed.
"But now?"
He looked at me.
"Now I'm not sure what I believe."
I stepped closer.
For a moment, I wanted to reach for his hand.
Then I hesitated.
Roman noticed.
He didn't move.
Finally, I placed my hand over his.
His fingers tightened gently.
Nothing more.
Just a quiet acknowledgment that neither of us had to face the moment entirely alone.
Then Rebecca entered.
Her expression was pale.
"We have news."
I turned.
"What?"
"The handwriting examiner found indications that your mother's signature on the recent document was copied."
Relief moved through me.
"So she didn't sign it?"
"We can't establish that conclusively yet, but the evidence raises serious concerns about authenticity."
I nodded.
Then Rebecca continued.
"And we found where the document was submitted."
My stomach tightened.
"Where?"
"Through an attorney representing Victor Harlan."
Roman's expression hardened.
Of course.
Derek's father.
The man who had apparently engineered the relationship.
The man who'd tried to take my house.
The man who wanted the waterfront holdings.
I looked at Roman.
"What does Victor really want?"
Roman's voice became quiet.
"Control."
I swallowed.
"Of what?"
He looked directly at me.
"The company our families built."
Then his phone rang.
Daniel.
Roman answered.
His expression changed.
"What?"
A pause.
"Are you certain?"
He slowly lowered the phone.
I stared.
"Roman?"
His face had gone completely pale.
"Daniel found something."
"What?"
He looked at me.
Then whispered:
"My mother's name appears on a property deed filed last month."
I froze.
"Where?"
Roman swallowed.
"At a house in Vermont."
My heart stopped.
May you like
Vermont.
The same state where Derek had proposed to me.
