CHAPTER 6 — DINNER WITH THE ENEMY
The Whitmore dining room had been designed to intimidate.
A table carved from a single piece of black walnut stretched beneath three crystal chandeliers. Portraits of dead family patriarchs watched from the walls.
Margaret sat at the head of the table.
Vanessa sat to her right.
Nathan entered with the blue envelope hidden beneath his jacket.
“You’re late,” Margaret said.
“I was speaking with the clinic.”
Vanessa looked up sharply.
“Who did you speak with?”
“The receptionist.”
Her shoulders relaxed.
Nathan poured himself a drink but did not touch it.
“What happens when Claire’s seventy-two-hour hold ends?”
Margaret cut into her food.
“That depends on her condition.”
“And the baby?”
“The doctors will decide.”
“You mean Dr. Cole.”
“He has served this family for decades.”
Nathan sat across from his mother.
“Did he treat Evelyn?”
The knife in Margaret’s hand stopped.
Vanessa looked at Nathan.
“Who told you that name?”
“Claire.”
“She’s delusional.”
Nathan leaned back.
“Then it shouldn’t matter.”
Margaret placed the knife beside her plate.
“Evelyn was your father’s first wife.”
“You told me he had never been married.”
“You were a child. There was no reason to burden you with an old tragedy.”
“She was pregnant.”
Margaret said nothing.
“The baby was born alive,” Nathan continued.
Vanessa’s face became pale.
Margaret remained composed.
“Where did you hear that?”
“I found the birth certificate.”
The room became silent.
Margaret folded her napkin.
“Your father’s records are private.”
“He’s dead.”
“Some truths should remain buried with the dead.”
Nathan placed his phone face-down on the table.
The voice recorder was running.
“What happened to Evelyn?”
“She became unstable.”
“That’s what Dr. Cole says about Claire.”
“Because the symptoms are nearly identical.”
“Or the method is.”
Vanessa stood.
“You’ve been listening to your wife’s fantasies.”
Nathan looked at her.
“You created the photograph.”
Vanessa froze.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“The rear camera was offline when the picture was taken.”
“I used my phone.”
“You cropped out the medical bag.”
Her expression shifted.
Nathan saw confirmation in her silence.
He turned back to Margaret.
“Claire found Gabriel.”
Margaret’s composure finally broke.
Her hand tightened around the edge of the table.
“You spoke to him?”
“No.”
“Where is he?”
“Why are you afraid of him?”
“I am not afraid.”
“He’s my brother.”
“He is an opportunist.”
“The DNA report says otherwise.”
Vanessa walked quickly toward the door.
Nathan rose.
“Sit down.”
She stopped.
For the first time in her life, Vanessa obeyed him without argument.
Margaret looked older beneath the chandelier light.
“You have no understanding of what your father did.”
“Then explain it.”
“Henry was weak.”
“My father built this company.”
“His father built it. Henry nearly destroyed it.”
“Because he had another son?”
“Because he wanted to surrender everything to a woman who manipulated him.”
“Evelyn?”
“She convinced him to rewrite the trust. She wanted control of the company through the child.”
Nathan stared at her.
“And after Evelyn died, you married him.”
Margaret’s lips pressed together.
“You had the life you have because I protected this family.”
“Did you kill her?”
Vanessa gasped.
Margaret slowly stood.
“Be very careful.”
Nathan did not move.
“Did you order Dr. Cole to drug her?”
“Evelyn was ill.”
“Did you take her baby?”
“She was incapable of raising him.”
“Where did you send him?”
“I don’t know.”
“You knew enough to spend thirty-eight years hiding his existence.”
Margaret’s face hardened.
“Some people are removed for the greater good.”
Nathan’s stomach turned.
“Like Claire?”
Margaret’s eyes flickered.
That was all the answer he needed.
His phone vibrated on the table.
A call from the clinic.
Nathan answered.
“This is Dr. Cole,” a voice said. “Your wife has developed severe complications.”
Nathan stood.
“What complications?”
“Premature labor. We may need to deliver immediately.”
“I did not authorize surgery.”
There was a pause.
“Our records show your consent.”
“It’s forged.”
Margaret moved toward him.
Nathan stepped away.
“Do not touch Claire until I arrive.”
He headed for the door.
The phone shifted against Cole’s clothing.
For a moment, Nathan heard voices in the background.
Metal wheels.
An elevator bell.
Then Vanessa’s voice came through faintly.
“Use the lower exit. The transfer vehicle is already waiting.”
Nathan stopped walking.
Vanessa was standing inside the dining room.
He turned toward her.
She stared back at him.
The woman speaking at the clinic sounded exactly like his sister.
May you like
But it could not have been Vanessa.
Unless the woman at the dining table was never the one giving the orders.
