Chapter 17 - The Secret Nathan Kept
Nathan asked to speak with Rebecca present.
I agreed because I no longer trusted him with the weather.
We met in a conference room overlooking downtown Boston.
He looked terrible.
Thinner.
Older.
His expensive haircut had grown out.
The tailored suits were gone.
He wore a plain navy jacket and shirt.
No watch.
No swagger.
“What does Franklin think I don’t know?” I asked.
Nathan stared at his hands.
“When Daniel died, there was an investigation.”
“I know. The police ruled the crash accidental.”
“Yes.”
“Get to the point.”
Nathan swallowed.
“Franklin hired someone to follow Daniel before the crash.”
My stomach turned.
“Why?”
“He wanted evidence Daniel was hiding partnership assets.”
“Was he?”
“No.”
“Then why hide this from me?”
Nathan’s eyes filled with shame.
“Because I found out after Daniel died.”
“How?”
“Franklin called me drunk. He said he felt guilty.”
“Did you tell the police?”
“No.”
Rebecca swore softly.
I stared at him.
“You knew your uncle had been surveilling my husband before he died, and you said nothing?”
“I was scared.”
“You are always scared.”
“I know.”
“Did Franklin cause the accident?”
“No.”
The answer came quickly.
Too quickly.
“How do you know?”
“Because I saw the investigator’s reports. Daniel was followed for three weeks. The investigator stopped working for Franklin four days before the crash.”
“That proves nothing.”
“I gave police his name.”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Six years late.”
Nathan bowed his head.
“Yes.”
“Why now?”
“Because Franklin threatened Sophie.”
I stood so fast my chair rolled backward.
“You knew about the photograph?”
“No. But I know him. When I heard someone photographed her, I knew what he was capable of.”
“You knew what he was capable of when you worked with him.”
“I thought he wanted money.”
“He always wanted money.”
“No.” Nathan finally looked up. “He wanted revenge.”
Silence filled the room.
Nathan continued.
“Franklin believed Daniel destroyed his life. Every failure became Daniel’s fault. His divorce. His bankruptcy. His estrangement from Margaret. Everything.”
“And you still partnered with him.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Nathan’s voice cracked.
“Because I was jealous.”
There it was.
Not complicated.
Not sophisticated.
Jealousy.
“I spent my whole life standing next to Daniel,” he said. “College. Work. Friend groups. He was smarter. Kinder. More successful. People trusted him automatically.”
“He earned that.”
“I know.”
“You married his widow.”
Nathan looked sick.
“Yes.”
“Did you ever love me?”
“Yes.”
The answer hurt more than if he had said no.
“Then why?”
“I loved you and resented everything around you.”
He wiped his eyes.
“I walked into Daniel’s life after he died and convinced myself I could finally become the man everyone already thought he was.”
“You used us.”
“At first, I thought I was helping.”
“At first.”
“Then I got addicted to the life.”
He laughed bitterly.
“The house. The respect. The introductions. The money. People looked at me differently when they thought I controlled Daniel’s estate.”
“And Franklin offered you a way to make it permanent.”
Nathan nodded.
“He said if we reopened the old property claim, we could settle quietly. He said your trust had so much money you would never notice.”
The same excuse Margaret had given.
“So you tried to steal from children.”
“I did.”
“Say it clearly.”
He closed his eyes.
“I tried to steal from Sophie and Caleb.”
Rebecca remained silent.
I wanted Nathan to hear himself.
“I told myself it wasn’t really stealing because I would still take care of them.”
“Like at Margaret’s birthday dinner?”
His face collapsed.
“No.”
“That night was the truth, Nathan.”
“I know.”
“No, that night was who you were when protecting them cost you social approval.”
He began crying.
I felt nothing.
Not because I was cruel.
Because I had already spent all my grief on him.
Nathan reached into his bag.
“I brought something.”
Rebecca tensed.
He placed a sealed evidence envelope on the table.
Inside was a small external hard drive.
“Franklin gave this to me eighteen months ago.”
“What’s on it?”
“Records.”
“What records?”
“Everything.”
Rebecca leaned forward.
“Why wasn’t this provided earlier?”
“Because I kept it hidden as insurance against Franklin.”
I shook my head.
“Even while betraying everyone, you were preparing to betray your partner.”
“Yes.”
For once, Nathan did not defend himself.
Rebecca took the drive.
“If this contains what you claim, federal investigators will receive it.”
“I know.”
Nathan stood.
Before leaving, he looked at me.
“Caroline.”
I said nothing.
“I don’t expect forgiveness.”
“Good.”
“But Caleb…”
“No.”
He stopped.
“You do not use Caleb to make yourself feel human again.”
“I miss him.”
“He misses who he thought you were.”
Nathan looked as if I had struck him.
“He asked about me?”
“That is none of your business.”
He nodded slowly.
Then he left.
Rebecca waited until the door closed.
“You okay?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t look okay.”
“I’m furious.”
“That qualifies as not okay.”
I stared at the evidence drive.
“Open it.”
Jonah arrived an hour later.
The drive contained banking records, photographs, recorded conversations, forged templates, and a spreadsheet named FINAL DISTRIBUTION.
Franklin had planned to obtain forty million dollars through litigation and fraudulent settlements.
Twenty million for himself.
Fifteen million for Nathan.
Five million for Margaret.
Margaret’s name was highlighted yellow.
Beside it were three words.
Does not know yet.
For the first time, I believed her.
Then Jonah opened one final folder.
May you like
It contained photographs of Daniel’s car.
Taken the week before he died.
