PART 9
I returned to the letter. Your daughters are beneficiaries of the Reynolds Founding Trust. Not future beneficiaries. Current beneficiaries. Victor’s grandfather amended the trust eighteen years ago. Walter has spent years telling the family that control would pass only to the first male child in Victor’s branch. That is a lie. The amended language removed every reference to gender. It transferred shares to Victor’s children in order of birth. Abigail and Charlotte have owned shares in Reynolds Engineering since the days they were born. Walter concealed their ownership, falsified beneficiary statements, and diverted their distributions into three shell companies. One of those companies is controlled by Naomi. My hands began to shake. For nine years, the Reynolds family had treated Abigail as though she were a disappointment. For five years, they had done the same to Charlotte. All that time, my daughters had legally owned part of the company whose name they had been told they were unworthy to carry. “How much?” Margaret asked. “I haven’t reached that part.” I kept reading.
Walter believed that if Victor divorced you, Victor would receive primary custody because of his wealth and family influence. As the girls’ custodial parent, he could petition to control their voting rights until Abigail turned twenty-five. Walter intended to continue controlling those shares through Victor. Naomi’s purpose was to make you leave. The false pregnancy timeline was meant to keep Victor obedient by giving him the son he always wanted. Once the divorce was completed, Walter planned to remove Naomi quietly, restore Victor’s public reputation, and keep control of your daughters’ inheritance. But Victor made a decision Walter did not anticipate. He gave you primary custody. I stopped breathing for a moment. Victor had believed he was throwing us away. Instead, his selfishness had destroyed his father’s plan. “You have primary custody,” Margaret said slowly. “Yes.” “Then if this letter is accurate—” “Walter lost control of whatever belongs to the girls at 10:16 this morning.” A strange silence settled between us. Miles beneath the plane, the Atlantic stretched toward the horizon. Margaret looked again at Daniel’s letter. “Is that why you insisted on the relocation agreement?” “No. I didn’t know any of this.” “But Daniel knew.” I remembered the afternoon he had given me the envelope. It happened three weeks before the divorce. He came to the apartment while Victor was away and refused to step inside. He looked exhausted. There was a bruise near his collarbone. “Keep this somewhere Walter cannot reach,” he had told me. “What is it?” “Insurance.” “Against whom?” “My brother.” I had tried to give it back. Daniel closed my fingers around it. “If Victor chooses Naomi over his daughters, leave the country as quickly as you can.” “Why?” “Because the moment the divorce is finalized, Walter will realize Victor has handed you something he has spent nine years stealing.” I thought Daniel meant my freedom. Now I knew he meant far more. The final paragraph of his letter contained only four lines. The flash drive holds the trust amendment, banking records, recordings, and Naomi’s paternity result. The key opens a private evidence box at Westbridge Bank in Richmond. Do not give either item to Victor. Do not trust Walter. And Penelope—if Claire contacts you before I do, ask her what happened in Zurich. The letter ended there. No signature. No explanation. “What happened in Zurich?” Margaret asked. “I have no idea.” “You knew Daniel and Claire had been there?” “I didn’t even know they traveled to Switzerland.” The seat belt light illuminated above us. A flight attendant announced that we were approaching turbulence. I placed the letter, photograph, key, and drive back inside the envelope. As I locked the suitcase, Abigail leaned closer. “Mom?” “Yes?” “Are Grandma and Grandpa going to come after us?” I wanted to tell her no. I wanted to promise that no one would ever frighten her again.
