Chapter 7 - WHAT ARTHUR NEVER TOLD NORA
Nora's father died when she was sixteen.
At least, that was the story she had always known.
Richard Bennett had been driving home during a thunderstorm.
His car left the road.
He died instantly.
Nora's mother never remarried.
She died eight years later.
Nora had spent most of her adult life believing tragedy was random.
Now Arthur sat across from her and destroyed that belief.
"Your father worked for me."
Nora stared at him.
"You knew him?"
"Very well."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I promised your mother I wouldn't."
Nora stood.
"You had plenty of opportunities."
"I know."
"What happened to him?"
Arthur looked older suddenly.
"Richard discovered financial irregularities inside one of my companies."
Nora felt cold.
"What kind?"
"Money laundering."
"Who was responsible?"
Arthur hesitated.
"My business partner."
Nora's voice sharpened.
"Who?"
Arthur looked at her.
"Daniel's father."
Silence.
Nora felt as if the floor had disappeared beneath her.
"Robert Hale?"
Arthur nodded.
"Your father discovered Robert was moving money through foreign subsidiaries."
Nora couldn't speak.
"He planned to expose him."
Arthur continued.
"The night before Richard died, he called me."
"What did he say?"
"That he had proof."
Nora's hands trembled.
"And then?"
"He never arrived."
Nora stared at him.
"You think Robert killed my father."
Arthur's jaw tightened.
"I couldn't prove it."
"Did my mother know?"
"She suspected."
Nora turned away.
Every piece of her life suddenly felt contaminated.
"Why did she let me marry Daniel?"
Arthur looked down.
"She was already dead when you met him."
Nora closed her eyes.
Of course.
Daniel had entered her life eleven months after her mother's death.
Charming.
Patient.
Protective.
Too perfect.
Nora slowly turned.
"Did Daniel know who I was?"
Arthur didn't answer.
Nora's stomach dropped.
"Arthur."
"I don't know."
"Find out."
Rebecca interrupted.
"We should assume he did until proven otherwise."
Nora looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because your inherited assets matter."
Nora froze.
Her grandmother's brownstone.
Her mother's investments.
And something else.
Shares.
Nora had inherited shares in Whitmore Industrial Trust through her father.
She rarely thought about them.
Daniel had always managed the paperwork.
Rebecca saw her expression.
"What?"
Nora whispered.
"My father left me shares."
Arthur stood.
"How many?"
"I don't know."
"Who manages them?"
Nora looked toward the floor.
"Daniel."
Arthur swore.
Rebecca immediately opened her laptop.
Within an hour, they found it.
Richard Bennett had owned 4.8 percent of Whitmore Industrial Trust.
Those shares had passed to Nora.
Today, they were worth approximately eighty-six million dollars.
Nora stared at the number.
"I didn't know."
Arthur looked furious.
"You should have."
"Daniel told me they were basically worthless legacy shares."
"They're voting shares."
Nora looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
"It means you have influence over the company."
Rebecca's eyes narrowed.
"Enough influence to affect an acquisition?"
Arthur understood immediately.
"The Hale Meridian acquisition."
Nora felt cold.
Daniel needed shareholder approval.
Including hers.
"But I've never voted."
Rebecca looked at the documents.
"Apparently you have."
Nora's stomach turned.
"What?"
Rebecca rotated the laptop.
Years of proxy votes.
All submitted under Nora's name.
All favoring Daniel's interests.
All authorized by an electronic signature.
Nora whispered.
"I didn't do any of this."
Arthur's face became stone.
Rebecca continued searching.
Then she stopped.
"Oh, no."
Nora looked at her.
"What?"
Rebecca opened another document.
A transfer authorization.
Scheduled to activate after the Switzerland trip.
If Nora died or became legally incapacitated, voting control over her shares would transfer temporarily to Daniel.
Arthur stared at the screen.
"There it is."
Nora felt sick.
"This was never just about insurance."
"No."
Arthur looked at her.
"Your shares are the final piece Daniel needs to control the merger."
Nora slowly sat down.
The affair.
The forged documents.
The fake medical history.
The insurance policy.
The Switzerland trip.
All of it connected.
Then Rebecca found something else.
A scanned letter.
Dated eleven years earlier.
Sent from Daniel Hale to Robert Hale.
Nora read the first sentence.
I FOUND RICHARD BENNETT'S DAUGHTER.
Her hands began shaking.
The second sentence was worse.
SHE HAS NO IDEA WHAT SHE OWNS.
Nora couldn't breathe.
Daniel hadn't accidentally met her after her mother's death.
He had found her.
Chosen her.
Courted her.
May you like
Married her.
And for ten years, Nora had believed it was love.
