Chapter 10 - Margaret Was Paying For Silence
Margaret finally admitted the truth.
Henry had not been paying her.
She had been paying him.
For three years.
After Charles died, Henry approached Margaret with evidence of the underground rooms, forged guardianship papers, pension theft, and the plan to frame Daniel.
He threatened to release everything unless Margaret paid.
She did.
Daniel stared at her.
“You funded his blackmail.”
“I was protecting you.”
He closed his eyes.
“Please stop using that word.”
Margaret cried.
She feared Daniel would lose the company, the estate, and his reputation if Charles’s crimes became public.
So she used her own money to keep Henry quiet.
When she could no longer afford his demands, Henry began accessing Charles’s archive to find more leverage.
Nathan discovered the activity through an old security alert.
That brought him home.
Daniel asked Margaret whether she knew Nathan was returning.
“Yes.”
“Why pretend to be in New York?”
“Because Nathan told me Henry had people watching the house.”
She secretly stayed to remove old security screws and check the underground entrance.
Then Eric arrived unexpectedly.
Margaret panicked and closed the hatch after hearing movement, not realizing Eric had already descended.
Her actions had trapped him longer.
She accepted responsibility.
Daniel was exhausted by explanations that always began with fear and ended with someone else losing a choice.
Police arrested Henry after forensic evidence tied him to blackmail, illegal access, and Eric’s confinement.
Nathan remained under investigation for his own actions.
Daniel refused to interfere for either man.
Then the forensic team opened Charles’s final list.
Hundreds of payments.
Employees.
Lawyers.
Doctors.
Officials.
At the bottom was one name Daniel recognized instantly.
His late wife, Caroline.
Lily’s mother.
Daniel’s hands went cold.
Caroline had died four years earlier after a car accident.
According to Charles’s list, she had received a payment two weeks before her death.
Nathan looked at Daniel.
“I didn’t know.”
Daniel stared at the amount.
May you like
$250,000.
His wife had been connected to Charles’s secrets too.
