Chapter 7 - THE ARGUMENT IN THE CAR
Charles had not been in the car.
But he had caused the chase.
That was his phrase.
Caused the crash.
The reality was more precise.
On the night Isabelle went to get Emily, Charles discovered what she planned.
He called her.
Ordered her home.
She refused.
He called Marjorie.
Marjorie followed them.
Then Charles called security from Laurent Holdings and told a driver to retrieve the company car before Isabelle reached the police station.
A corporate SUV caught up on the highway.
Not to hurt them.
To force Isabelle to stop.
The security driver pulled alongside.
Isabelle panicked.
She lost control.
The company buried the security vehicle’s involvement.
Charles approved the payment.
There it was.
Not intentional murder.
A reckless attempt to stop his daughter from exposing a scandal.
Then a cover-up after a fatal crash.
“Who was the driver?” Evelyn asked.
Charles looked sick.
“Daniel Ross.”
Our former head of security.
Alive.
Retired in Florida.
Evelyn found him within a day.
Daniel had kept documents.
Of course he had.
Men who participate in rich families’ crimes often keep insurance.
He admitted driving the SUV.
He admitted Charles told him to stop the girls before they reached police.
He denied hitting their vehicle.
Traffic reconstruction supported him.
The crash came from Isabelle overcorrecting.
But he also admitted Marjorie reached the scene first because she had been following directly behind.
“She pulled Isabelle out,” Daniel said.
“Was she conscious?”
“Barely.”
“Why didn’t you call an ambulance?”
“I did.”
“Under what name?”
He looked down.
“Unknown female.”
“And Emily?”
He said nothing.
“Emily was already dead?”
“Yes.”
Then Daniel revealed the next layer.
Marjorie removed Isabelle’s emerald necklace before paramedics arrived.
She placed it with Emily’s body.
Later, she gave Charles the matching dental chart and arranged the identification.
“But why the necklace?” Sofia asked.
Daniel looked at her.
“To make the dead girl look like you.”
Sofia went pale.
For ten years, the emerald around her neck had been one of the few links to the life she forgot.
But if Marjorie put Isabelle’s necklace on Emily’s body—
then which necklace did Sofia have?
The answer came from the velvet box.
I had bought two matching pendants.
One for Isabelle.
One for myself.
Mine remained locked away.
The pendant Sofia wore could not be Isabelle’s original if that one was placed with Emily.
Unless someone later recovered it.
Sofia opened Anna’s letter again.
A postscript we had overlooked:
The necklace was mailed to us six months after we moved. No return address.
I stared at Charles.
“Did you send it?”
He shook his head.
May you like
Then he whispered:
“Marjorie did.”
