Chapter 11 - Martha’s Secret
Julian returned to the hospital alone.
Martha knew something had changed the moment he entered.
“You spoke to Richard.”
“Yes.”
Martha looked away.
“He told me Bellmont was your idea.”
Silence.
Julian felt his heart sink.
“Was it?”
Martha closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Julian stood beside the window.
“Why?”
“Because Bellmont was going to destroy us.”
“How?”
“They had developed a turbine system that would have taken half our industrial contracts within five years.”
“So you ruined them.”
“I protected our company.”
“At what cost?”
Martha’s voice trembled.
“I never intended Daniel Bell to lose everything.”
“But he did.”
“Yes.”
“And Richard helped.”
“Yes.”
Julian turned.
“And Dad?”
“Your father hated the plan.”
“Then why did he go through with it?”
Martha looked at him.
“Because I convinced the board.”
Julian stared at the woman he had spent his life admiring.
Martha continued.
“Daniel Bell was reckless.”
“He falsified numbers.”
“Richard discovered it.”
“So the fraud was real?”
“Yes.”
Julian exhaled.
“Then Vanessa believes the wrong story.”
“Not entirely.”
Martha looked ashamed.
“We used the information before regulators saw it.”
Julian understood.
His family had not invented Bellmont’s fraud.
But they had exploited it.
They bought assets for pennies while Daniel Bell’s company collapsed.
“And Vanessa knows?”
“She knows pieces.”
“Did you know who she was?”
Martha nodded.
Julian laughed in disbelief.
“You knew before the engagement?”
“Yes.”
“And you said nothing?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“The night you announced it.”
Julian remembered.
Martha had taken him aside.
She had said Vanessa was dangerous.
Julian had accused his mother of class prejudice.
He had walked away.
Martha began crying.
“I was ashamed.”
Julian looked at her.
“You should have told me the truth.”
“I thought Richard had already poisoned the truth.”
Julian sat.
“Why is he doing this?”
Martha wiped her eyes.
“Because your father discovered something worse than the Bellmont leak.”
“What?”
“Richard had been stealing from Hale Industrial for years.”
Julian froze.
“How much?”
“Nearly thirty million.”
Julian stared at her.
Martha continued.
“Your father gave him a choice.”
“Repay it or go to prison.”
“Richard repaid part of it.”
“What happened to the rest?”
“I don’t know.”
Julian thought of Vanessa.
Her father.
The forged trust.
The insurance policy.
The attempt to declare Martha incompetent.
And suddenly the shape of Richard’s plan became clear.
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He was not trying to take revenge.
He was trying to finish a theft he had started decades earlier.
