Chapter Fifty Nine

Despite her years of living in terror of the truth, Margaret Carter had never imagined that it would come back in her own writing.

With Thomas Reed's old envelope spread out on the desk, she remained alone in her study. Although the ink had faded in spots and the paper inside had yellowed with age, the names remained visible.

Victor Knight.

Thomas Reed

Ryan Carter.

She could not stop looking at her son's name.

Find out from your son what his father did that evening.

Margaret rubbed her temples with her fingertips.

Emily's parents had died that evening, she remembered. The phone rang after midnight. The hurried exchange she had heard in the corridor. Thomas appeared at her home three days later with an envelope she had refused to open.

She had persuaded herself that ignorance was a kind of protection.

Now she wondered if her ignorance had only made her useful to the wrong people.

Margaret did not come from a poor family. She came from old money, her family had been wealthy and their name was welcomed into decision-making rooms. Their wealth was subsequently destroyed by bad investments. Her father spent his last years acting like they hadn't lost anything. After that, her friends disappeared and her family members stopped picking up their phones.

She had been taught by her mother not to trust anyone else to look after her property. She saw with her own eyes from her dad how quickly money might vanish.

Margaret learned a different lesson from each of them: power belonged to the person who knew the most and disclosed the least.

She swore to herself that she would never be helpless again when she entered the Carter family through marriage.

Margaret assumed the position of Emily's legal guardian after her parents passed away and was given the responsibility of managing her personal inheritance trust. At first, she was certain that she could replace the funds before anyone found out, so she transferred money about. Next came the confusing dealings, the companies she had little understanding of, and the individuals who knew enough to jeopardize all she had created.

She kept repeating to herself that she was only attempting to stay alive.

But her decision to leave Thomas's envelope sealed for all those years couldn't be explained by survival.

A knock interrupted her thoughts.

Before she could respond, Ryan walked in.

As soon as he saw the paper on her desk, his face became expressionless.

"It appears as if you've seen a ghost," Ryan said.

Margaret removed all the papers. "You should learn to knock and then wait."

"You should learn to stop concealing secrets from your kid."

She looked him over carefully. Ryan possessed his dad's tenacity in addition to her own aptitude for identifying flaws. Sadly, he had also adopted the Carter family's belief that any issue might be resolved if enough pressure were applied.

"What have you found?" Asked Margaret.

Ryan pulled out a chair, but he did not sit. "It depends on what you want to admit you know,” he said.

"Then we're all just wasting our time," Margaret said.

He almost gave a faint smile. "You know you taught me that response," he said.

For a short time, they remained quiet.

He was hoping that she would tell the truth. He was questioned relentlessly by Margaret. They both realized that saying it directly would just make the other more determined.

Ryan's gaze eventually focused on the folded document.

"Is there a link between this and Emily's parents?"

The paper became increasingly difficult for Margaret to grip with her fingers.

"Why are you bringing them up now?"

"Because I discovered that you have been obstructing the route to any answer I approach."

Margaret stated, "I was only attempting to protect this family."

"From what?" He asked.

Looking at her son, she got a glimpse of the kid he used to be, always waiting for her to explain why adults made decisions that hurt people. She had reassured him at that time with straightforward answers. Each easy answer has now become just another lie.

"Some facts destroy more than they repair," Margaret stated.

Ryan's expression hardened. "That's the kind of thing folks say when they know that truth would destroy them."

He disappeared before she could answer.

Margaret listened as his footsteps faded down the hallway. She wanted to get him back. She desired to inform him that his father could have been aware of more than they had anticipated.

She could not bring herself to ask Ryan's father what he had done that evening.

___

Meanwhile, Emily sat next to Sophia at the law office in the other part of town, scrutinizing the inheritance documents spread out between them. Even though the papers didn't show who eventually got each payment, they did track down a number of transfers via firms linked to Victor Knight.

Sophia closed the folder and said, "The initial records are necessary." "Instead of who made every decision, these records reveal where the money went."

Emily's eyes swam with the figures as she stared at them. It wore her out to discover that those she had confidence in had kept certain aspects of their lives from her.

She thought about Damian, the distance between them, and the baby growing within her.

She desired him by her side. She hoped that his anxiety wouldn't become another wound she had to endure by herself.

She sent a short message enquiring if he was okay instead of calling him.

His response came almost immediately.

I'm alright. What about you?

 Emily read it twice and it made her very happy.

None of them had expressed their actual feelings.

She wanted him to know that she missed him. He wanted to ask her if there is a possibility of them becoming a family. But both of them had chosen safer words.

___

Meanwhile, Margaret was still in her study just looking at old files and documents when her phone rang.

She had engaged the guy who was speaking on the phone to find Thomas Reed.

"Madam Carter," the man replied, "we discovered something in the previous security records."

Margaret suddenly got up. "Huh?"

"A report was filed by Thomas shortly before Emily's parents passed away. Although it was removed from the official archives, a copy of it still exists."

"What does it say?"

The man paused.

"It names the person who told him to leave the house that night."

Margaret felt the space shift around her.

"Who?" she inquired.

The response was a little one.

Madam, it was Ryan's father. Your husband.