Chapter 6 - Frank's Letter
Mark arrived at Rachel's house the following morning carrying a sealed plastic folder.
Anna met him on the porch.
He looked as though he had not slept.
“You brought it?”
Mark nodded.
“I made copies.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't know what Mom might do if she realizes I found it.”
Anna studied him.
For the first time since the birthday party, Mark looked genuinely frightened.
They sat at Rachel's kitchen table.
Rachel remained nearby.
Mark removed an old envelope.
Frank Bennett's handwriting covered the front.
For Mark.
Inside were four pages.
The first lines were ordinary.
Frank wrote about his illness.
He wrote about regrets.
He wrote about wanting Mark to be a better husband and father than he had been.
Then the letter changed.
There is something you need to understand about your mother.
Anna looked up.
Mark nodded.
“Keep reading.”
Frank described Eleanor's years of financial recklessness.
Risky property purchases.
Hidden credit cards.
Loans taken against family assets.
Arguments that Frank had concealed from Mark because he thought protecting his son meant keeping the family image intact.
Frank admitted that was a mistake.
Then came the sentence that made Anna stop.
Anna sees more than you think, and Eleanor resents her for it.
Anna reread it.
Frank continued.
He wrote that Eleanor had repeatedly complained about Anna asking questions regarding money.
He warned Mark not to allow Eleanor access to the couple's finances.
He specifically wrote:
Do not put your house at risk for Bennett Holdings.
Anna slowly lowered the paper.
Rachel stared at Mark.
“He literally told you not to do exactly what you did.”
Mark looked ashamed.
“I never got the letter.”
“Where was it?”
“In Dad's locked desk.”
“Who had the key?”
“Mom.”
Anna continued reading.
Frank wrote that he had placed money aside for Olivia and Lily.
Not a fortune.
But enough to help with education.
The amount was $80,000.
It was supposed to remain untouched until the girls were adults.
Anna's pulse quickened.
“Where is that money?”
Mark shook his head.
“I don't know.”
“You knew about the accounts?”
“No.”
“Did Eleanor?”
Mark looked at the letter.
“Dad says she did.”
Rachel leaned against the counter.
“So your mother knew about eighty thousand dollars belonging to the girls.”
“And nobody knows where it is.”
Mark rubbed his forehead.
“I called the bank listed in Dad's notes.”
“And?”
“The accounts were closed fourteen months ago.”
Anna froze.
“Who closed them?”
“The bank wouldn't tell me over the phone.”
“Fourteen months.”
“That is after Frank died.”
“Yes.”
“Who had authority?”
“I don't know.”
Anna looked at Mark.
“Find out.”
“I will.”
Rachel shook her head.
“No.”
“You both need lawyers to find out.”
Mark looked at her.
“Rachel, I'm trying to fix this.”
Rachel's response was immediate.
“You are trying to discover how bad it is.”
“That isn't the same thing.”
Mark looked as though the words struck him.
Anna folded Frank's letter.
“There is another part.”
Near the end, Frank wrote about Anna directly.
If I am gone and Eleanor begins trying to push Anna out of the family, stop it immediately.
Anna has protected those girls and protected you more times than you understand.
Do not mistake your mother's certainty for wisdom.
Mark looked away.
Anna felt tears sting her eyes.
Frank had been quiet.
Kind.
Sometimes frustratingly passive.
But apparently, near the end of his life, he had understood everything.
“He knew.”
Mark nodded.
“He knew.”
“Why didn't he tell me?”
“I think he was embarrassed.”
Anna wiped her cheek.
Mark took a breath.
“I need to tell you something.”
“What now?”
“The forty-two thousand.”
Anna stiffened.
“I didn't move it to an investment account.”
“I know that already.”
“I gave it to Mom.”
Rachel swore under her breath.
Anna stared at him.
“All of it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She said Bennett Holdings had a tax deadline.”
“And you believed her?”
“She showed me paperwork.”
“Did you verify it?”
“No.”
“When did she ask?”
“Last week.”
Anna thought back.
Eleanor had been unusually pleasant during dinner the previous Sunday.
She had even complimented Anna's cooking.
Now Anna understood why.
“Why did you transfer it before the party?”
Mark's face tightened.
“Because Mom told me you would object.”
Anna laughed once.
“So you hid it.”
“Yes.”
“And then she planned a birthday-party lecture about my parenting.”
Mark did not answer.
“Was the cake planned?”
“No.”
“I swear.”
“Did Eleanor intend to confront me?”
“Yes.”
“About what?”
“She said the girls didn't respect her.”
“Because Olivia rolled her eyes?”
“That was part of it.”
“What else?”
Mark hesitated.
“She said you were poisoning them against her.”
Anna stared at him.
“And you agreed?”
“I thought maybe you were frustrated with her.”
“Mark.”
“I didn't expect what happened.”
“But when it happened, you defended her.”
Mark's eyes dropped.
“Yes.”
The honesty hurt.
Yet it was the first useful thing he had given her.
Rachel checked the clock.
“The girls will be home soon.”
Mark stood.
Anna kept the letter.
“This stays with me.”
Mark nodded.
“I have copies.”
At the door, he turned.
“Anna.”
“What?”
“I think the psychological report came from Mom.”
“I know.”
“I mean I think I know how.”
Anna waited.
“Dad's caregiver was named Samuel Kerr.”
Anna frowned.
“The psychiatrist?”
“No.”
“The caregiver.”
“Sam Kerr.”
“He was a retired nurse.”
“Mom may have taken the name and built the report around it.”
Anna felt sick.
“That is insane.”
Mark looked exhausted.
“I don't know what to call any of this anymore.”
After he left, Anna sent the letter to Dana.
Then she stood at the kitchen window.
Rachel came beside her.
“Do you trust him?”
“No.”
“Do you believe him?”
“Some of it.”
“That sounds complicated.”
“It is.”
Anna stared at the empty street.
“The problem is that Mark might finally be seeing his mother clearly.”
Rachel nodded.
“But?”
“But that doesn't erase all the times he chose not to.”
That afternoon, Olivia came home carrying a folded paper from school.
She handed it to Anna.
“We had to write one thing we wanted for our family.”
Anna opened it.
Olivia had written:
I want nobody to be scared at birthdays.
Anna pressed the paper against her chest.
Then her phone rang.
It was Michael Torres.
The financial attorney sounded serious.
“We received the lender's preliminary records.”
Anna sat down.
“And?”
“Your electronic signature was submitted from an IP address registered to Bennett Holdings.”
Anna closed her eyes.
Eleanor's company.
“There is more.”
May you like
“What?”
“The witness on the authorization was Eleanor Bennett.”
