Chapter 7 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW
Three days passed.
My husband remained missing.
So did my mother-in-law.
Police issued warrants.
The news finally published my name.
For the first time, strangers learned what had happened.
Messages poured into my hospital room.
Some people believed me.
Some didn't.
Some said I should have left sooner.
They didn't know.
They didn't know what it felt like to be isolated.
To have every dollar controlled.
Every phone call monitored.
Every decision questioned.
They didn't know how slowly fear becomes normal.
Then a woman arrived at the hospital.
She introduced herself as Clara Mason.
“I used to work for your husband.”
I stared at her.
“In what capacity?”
“Accounting.”
My heart tightened.
“What do you want?”
“To tell you the truth.”
She sat down.
“I quit six months ago.”
“Why?”
She looked toward the door.
“Because I found payments.”
“To Dr. Bell?”
She nodded.
“Among others.”
“Who?”
She pulled out a folder.
“Your mother-in-law.”
I opened it.
Hundreds of transactions.
Money moving between companies.
Payments to lawyers.
Doctors.
Private investigators.
And one unfamiliar name.
Robert Walker.
My uncle.
“What is this?”
“Your husband wasn't just stealing from you.”
Clara's voice dropped.
“He was moving money out of the country.”
“Why?”
“To prepare for an escape.”
My heart pounded.
“When?”
“Months ago.”
She handed me another document.
“He purchased a property in Mexico.”
I stared.
“Under whose name?”
“His mother's.”
“Where?”
“Near the coast.”
I looked at her.
“Why tell me this?”
She took a breath.
“Because I helped hide the money.”
My eyes widened.
“What?”
“I was scared.”
She began crying.
“I thought they would hurt me too.”
I softened despite myself.
“Did they?”
“No.”
She wiped her eyes.
“But they threatened my daughter.”
My blood ran cold.
“Your daughter?”
“They knew where she went to school.”
I understood.
Fear.
The same weapon.
Different target.
“What do you need from me?”
“Nothing.”
She stood.
“I just needed someone to know.”
Before leaving, she turned.
“There's one more thing.”
“What?”
“Your husband wasn't planning to run alone.”
“Who was going with him?”
She looked at me.
“Your uncle.”
I stared.
Robert.
The man in my father's photograph.
The man who had disappeared.
The man my father had warned me about.
Clara walked away.
I sat there thinking.
Then Detective Harris entered.
“You've met Clara?”
“Yes.”
“We've been looking for her.”
“Why?”
“She disappeared after leaving your husband's company.”
“She knows everything.”
“That's why she's dangerous to them.”
I looked at him.
“Can she testify?”
“If her evidence checks out.”
“And the money?”
“We're tracing it.”
“Can you freeze it?”
“Some of it.”
I nodded.
Then I remembered something.
“The property in Mexico.”
Harris looked up.
“How do you know about that?”
“Clara told me.”
He wrote it down.
“We'll verify it.”
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
“What happened?”
He listened.
Then looked at me.
“They found your uncle.”
My heart jumped.
“Where?”
“Near the border.”
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
“Did he talk?”
Harris shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“What does that mean?”
“He requested a lawyer.”
I stared at him.
“Can I see him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“He's being held on federal charges.”
“What charges?”
“Fraud.”
I felt relief.
Then Harris added:
“And conspiracy.”
The relief disappeared.
“Conspiracy to what?”
May you like
He looked at me.
“That's what we're about to find out.”
