Chapter 7 - THE FATHER WHO COULDN'T SPEAK
Richard Bennett lived in a private rehabilitation residence north of Manhattan.
The stroke had left him unable to speak clearly.
Most people assumed his mind had deteriorated too.
Mary knew better.
Her father understood almost everything.
That afternoon, she sat beside his wheelchair.
“Dad.”
Richard looked at her.
“I need you to tell me whether Thomas caused your stroke.”
His fingers tightened around the blanket.
Mary placed a communication tablet in front of him.
Richard could answer simple questions by touching large letters.
T.
Then H.
Then O.
His hand began shaking.
Mary waited patiently.
THOMAS.
Her throat tightened.
“Thomas did something to you?”
Richard pressed YES.
Mary closed her eyes.
Daniel stood near the window.
A detective named Laura Martinez had joined them.
They had officially contacted authorities after Thomas’s call.
“Do you know how?”
Richard typed slowly.
PILLS.
Mary stared.
Her father had taken blood pressure medication every morning.
“Someone changed your medicine?”
YES.
“Thomas?”
Richard hesitated.
Then pressed NO.
Everyone in the room went still.
Mary leaned closer.
“Who?”
Richard began typing.
The first letter was E.
Mary’s chest tightened.
E.
Then T.
ETH.
Mary stared at the screen.
ETHAN.
“No.”
Richard became agitated.
Mary touched his hand.
“Dad, Ethan didn’t work for the company eight years ago.”
Richard struck the tablet impatiently.
Daniel stepped closer.
“He may mean something else.”
Richard typed again.
ETHAN FATHER.
Mary froze.
Ethan’s father.
Michael Cole.
A man Ethan claimed had abandoned his family when Ethan was twelve.
Mary had never met him.
“Dad, you knew Michael Cole?”
YES.
“How?”
Richard typed.
NORTHSTAR.
The room fell silent.
Daniel immediately called Olivia.
“Search Michael Cole and Northstar Capital.”
Minutes later, the answer came.
Michael Cole had been one of Northstar’s original attorneys.
Mary felt sick.
Ethan had told her he knew almost nothing about his father.
Another lie.
Richard began typing again.
MARY.
TRUST.
NO ETHAN.
Mary’s eyes burned.
Her father had tried to warn her for years.
She had believed his distrust came from class prejudice.
She had defended Ethan.
She had accused her father of refusing to accept the man she loved.
Now Richard reached out and touched her face.
Mary lowered her forehead against his hand.
“I’m sorry.”
Richard shook his head.
Then typed two words.
BE CAREFUL.
At that exact moment, Daniel received a message.
Security footage from Eleanor’s house showed Thomas leaving fifteen minutes earlier.
But Eleanor was gone.
And on the dining-room table, Thomas had left Mary’s canceled wedding invitation.
May you like
Across the front he had written six words.
YOU SHOULD HAVE MARRIED HIM, MARY.
