Chapter 5 - THE MOTHER WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Kate's mother, Margaret Bennett, was fifty-four.
Before her illness, she'd worked as a legal secretary.
She understood contracts.
She understood powerful men.
And she understood what happened when frightened people signed documents they hadn't read.
When Kate told her about Ethan's offer, Margaret became furious.
“Absolutely not.”
“Mom—”
“Kate.”
Her voice trembled.
“You don't owe that man your silence.”
Kate sat beside the hospital bed.
Her cast rested on a pillow.
Margaret touched her daughter's hand.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Kate looked away.
“I didn't want to make you worry.”
Margaret's eyes filled.
“Sweetheart, I'm your mother. Worrying is part of the job.”
Then Margaret asked something unexpected.
“Did Damon Blackwell help you?”
Kate nodded.
“He found me.”
Margaret became very still.
“What?”
“He found me in the storage room.”
Margaret stared at her.
Then whispered:
“Damon Blackwell?”
Kate frowned.
“Yes.”
Her mother looked toward the door.
Then back at her daughter.
“Kate, there's something I never told you.”
Twenty-seven years earlier, Margaret had worked for a law firm representing the Blackwell family.
She had helped prepare documents during a bitter inheritance dispute.
The dispute involved Damon's father.
And a missing trust.
Kate stared.
“What trust?”
Margaret swallowed.
“One that was supposed to protect children whose families were harmed by Blackwell business operations.”
Kate frowned.
“What happened to it?”
Margaret's expression darkened.
“It disappeared.”
May you like
Then she whispered:
“And Senator Whitcomb was the attorney who made it disappear.”
