Chapter 12 - Helen’s Silence
Helen resisted until Michael placed the call records in front of her.
They sat in Laura’s old bedroom.
Nothing had changed.
A wool coat still hung behind the door.
Books filled the shelves.
Sophie’s baby picture remained taped to the mirror.
Helen stared at Daniel’s number.
“I didn’t know.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I didn’t.”
“You knew enough.”
Helen’s face hardened.
“And you knew enough to stop stealing from Sophie’s trust.”
Michael recoiled.
Then nodded.
“You’re right.”
That surprised her.
“I was wrong.”
He sat across from her.
“I was desperate. I convinced myself saving the company made it acceptable.”
Helen looked down.
“I thought protecting the refinancing was acceptable.”
“And Laura paid for both of us believing the company mattered more than rules.”
Neither spoke.
Finally Helen whispered, “Your father built Reed Aeronautics from one hangar.”
“I know.”
“He mortgaged our house twice.”
“I know.”
“When he died, I promised him I would not lose it.”
Michael leaned back.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The family religion.”
Helen looked offended.
Michael gestured around Laura’s room.
“We sacrificed everything to keep the company alive. Birthdays. Marriages. Truth.”
“Hundreds of families depend on it.”
“And Laura doesn’t get a family anymore.”
Helen’s eyes filled.
Michael softened.
“What did Daniel have on you?”
She looked toward the window.
“Red Peak.”
“We know you didn’t directly receive Blue Alder money.”
“You know now.”
“What did Daniel threaten?”
Helen pressed her lips together.
“Two years ago, I signed a side letter guaranteeing one of Red Peak’s aviation investments using Reed property.”
Michael stared.
“You pledged company property without full board approval?”
“I believed I had authority.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
Another family secret.
“Daniel knew?”
“He drafted the letter.”
Michael almost laughed.
Of course he did.
“If regulators saw it?”
“We could face lender default claims. Shareholder litigation. I could be removed.”
“So when Laura discovered Daniel stealing, he reminded you what you had done.”
Helen nodded.
“He said if I accused him, he would say I ordered the Blue Alder structure to hide losses.”
“And you believed people might believe him.”
“I had signed enough bad paperwork that they might.”
Michael’s anger returned.
“You let Laura confront him alone.”
“She was thirty-four years old.”
“She was your daughter.”
Helen stood.
“Do you think I do not know that?”
Her voice cracked through the room.
“You want someone to blame because blaming weather is unbearable. So blame me. I already do.”
Michael stopped.
Helen pressed a hand to her mouth.
“I told her to wait three days.”
She began crying.
“If I had told her to go straight to police, maybe she would still be alive.”
Michael could not promise that.
He moved beside her anyway.
They sat without touching.
After a while, Helen said, “There was something else.”
Michael looked at her.
“The morning Laura died, she called me at six twenty-five.”
His pulse surged.
“The phone records don’t show that.”
“My landline.”
“What did she say?”
Helen closed her eyes.
“She was driving. She sounded frightened.”
Michael barely breathed.
“She said the brake pedal felt wrong.”
The room disappeared.
“What?”
“I told her to pull over.”
“Did she?”
“I don’t know.”
“What else?”
Helen’s voice became a whisper.
“She said, ‘Mom, Daniel was at the hangar last night.’”
Michael stood so quickly the chair fell backward.
“You never told police?”
“I told them she said the brakes felt strange.”
“Did you tell them Daniel’s name?”
Helen shook her head.
Michael stared at his mother as if she were a stranger.
“Why?”
“Because Daniel said Laura was paranoid. Because the mechanic said impact damaged the line. Because—”
“Because you were scared of the company.”
“Yes!”
The word shattered the room.
Helen covered her face.
Michael walked to the doorway.
“Do you know what the difference is between you and Vanessa?”
Helen lowered her hands.
Michael’s eyes were wet.
“Vanessa betrayed Laura because she was afraid of losing me.”
He opened the door.
“You betrayed Laura because you were afraid of losing a building with your name on it.”
He left Helen alone in his sister’s room.
An hour later, Rachel called.
Federal investigators had requested an interview with Michael.
Not as a witness.
May you like
As a potential subject.
Daniel’s counterattack had begun.
