Chapter 14 - The Arrangement
Rebecca confronted her mother first.
They met in a church parking lot beneath a gray Ohio sky.
Her mother remained in the passenger seat of Daniel’s car.
“Did Dad introduce Marcus to me because of the trust?”
Tears filled her mother’s eyes.
“Yes.”
Rebecca looked away.
The world seemed suddenly unreal.
“Why?”
“Your father made bad investments after your grandmother died.”
“With my money.”
“He believed he could replace it.”
“But he didn’t.”
“No.”
“Then he brought Marcus into our lives.”
“Marcus understood trusts and taxes. He promised to protect the family.”
“He married me.”
Her mother began crying.
“I didn’t know that was his plan.”
“You watched it happen.”
“I thought he loved you eventually.”
Rebecca’s voice turned sharp.
“Eventually?”
Her mother covered her face.
The truth emerged in broken pieces.
Rebecca’s father had already lost more than half the trust when Marcus met her.
Marcus offered to conceal the losses if he gained access through marriage.
Her father agreed.
The wedding was not simply approved.
It was engineered.
Rebecca stood outside the car, unable to breathe.
Her first date.
Her engagement.
Her father walking her down the aisle.
All of it had hidden another transaction.
“Did Marcus ever love me?”
Her mother whispered, “I don’t know.”
Rebecca stepped away.
Then her mother lowered the window.
“He didn’t want three children.”
Rebecca stopped.
“What?”
May you like
“He only needed one legal heir.”
👉 Rebecca had discovered why Marcus married her—but the reason he resented Ethan and Grace was even darker.
