Chapter 8 - The Wedding Deadline
Monica had planned to become Andrew’s wife before he became her final target.
The life-insurance policy had been created through a private wealth adviser recommended by David.
Andrew’s signature appeared on the preliminary application.
He had signed a stack of estate-planning documents months earlier.
He did not remember the policy.
His signature was genuine.
That made the betrayal worse.
“Can someone insure me without telling me?”
Andrew asked his attorney.
“Not legally in the way they intended. But you signed an application.”
“Buried inside other documents.”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t read it.”
David’s temporary replacement, attorney Nina Patel, looked at him.
“You need to stop treating that as a defense.”
Andrew frowned.
“I know.”
“No, I mean generally.”
She tapped the papers.
“You delegated too much because wealth made delegation easy.”
Rachel stood near the window.
Andrew glanced at her.
She did not disagree.
The wedding was supposed to take place at the Bennett estate in Greenwich.
Three hundred guests.
Governors.
CEOs.
Celebrities.
A magazine had paid for exclusive photographs.
Monica had spent nearly $1.2 million organizing it.
Now the wedding became evidence.
Investigators reviewed vendor contracts.
One company had been hired for “special event medical services.”
Its owner was linked to David.
The company had ordered medication capable of producing dangerous cardiac effects if misused.
Andrew’s blood went cold.
“My heart?”
Nina shook her head.
“We don’t know.”
But Harold’s death had also been cardiac.
Detective Chen reopened the timeline.
Four days before Harold died, David visited him privately.
The day of Harold’s death, Monica attended a charity luncheon nearby.
A driver’s GPS placed her vehicle within two blocks of the Bennett estate that afternoon.
She had claimed she was in Manhattan.
Then Andrew discovered something more painful.
His father had called him three times that day.
Andrew had ignored all three calls.
He had been with Monica.
The phone logs were undeniable.
11:14 a.m.
2:03 p.m.
6:22 p.m.
Harold died shortly after 8:00.
Andrew sat in his father’s study staring at the phone records.
Rachel entered quietly.
“You couldn’t have known.”
“I saw his name.”
“Andrew.”
“I declined the second call.”
“Why?”
“Monica said if I answered every time my father called, he would control me forever.”
Rachel said nothing.
“I thought I was choosing my own life.”
“You were.”
“I chose her over him.”
“You made a mistake.”
“He died.”
“That does not mean you killed him.”
Andrew looked at her.
“You have a habit of making distinctions I don’t like.”
“They’re still true.”
Investigators found no direct proof Monica or David caused Harold’s death.
The medical evidence was gone.
The suspicious medication had been purchased months later.
No witness saw anyone administer anything.
Andrew wanted certainty.
He would not get it.
Detective Chen warned him.
“Some questions may remain questions.”
“I hate that.”
“Most victims do.”
Meanwhile Bennett Maritime faced its own crisis.
News of Victor’s theft leaked.
Reporters surrounded headquarters.
Lenders demanded explanations.
Employees worried about payroll.
Andrew’s controlling position gave him legal authority.
It did not give him trust.
He called an all-hands meeting.
Thousands watched remotely.
Andrew stood alone onstage.
“My brother stole from this company.”
No public-relations language.
No euphemism.
“Management systems failed. Oversight failed. I failed to see it.”
Silence.
“We are turning all vendor records over to independent forensic auditors.”
He announced a compensation guarantee for affected retirement funds if losses were found.
He froze executive bonuses.
Including his own.
He also announced an external compliance committee with employee representation.
Afterward the board chair, Cynthia Moore, confronted him.
“You made promises without consulting us.”
“Yes.”
“That’s irresponsible.”
“Maybe.”
“You could cost yourself tens of millions.”
“Yes.”
Cynthia stared at him.
“You’re serious.”
“For the first time in years.”
That evening, Rachel received an envelope at her apartment.
No return address.
Inside was a photograph of her mother walking into a grocery store.
On the back:
HEROES HAVE FAMILIES TOO.
Rachel immediately called police.
Andrew arrived before she wanted him to.
“You should not be here.”
“Someone threatened you.”
“That doesn’t mean you get to move into my apartment.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“You look like you were.”
He almost smiled.
Then he saw her fear.
“Your mother?”
“Police are taking her somewhere secure.”
Andrew’s expression hardened.
“David is in custody. Monica is in custody.”
“Victor isn’t.”
“You think Victor sent this?”
“I don’t know.”
Neither did Andrew.
Detective Chen traced the envelope.
No fingerprints.
No usable DNA.
But the photograph had been printed at a pharmacy kiosk.
Security video showed the person who collected it.
A woman in a red coat.
Andrew recognized her.
May you like
Monica’s younger sister, Claire Hale.
And Claire had worked for Bennett Maritime’s corporate communications department for four years.
