Chapter 14 - Why Richard Married Me
I stayed on the porch.
Richard stayed by the road.
Dad watched from inside.
“You married me because your father told you to?”
Richard looked down.
“At first, I was supposed to meet you.”
“At first?”
“He wanted information.”
My throat tightened.
“About the trust.”
Richard nodded.
“He thought if you liked me, eventually you'd talk.”
“Did you ever love me?”
His eyes lifted.
“Yes.”
I hated that answer more than no.
Because part of me believed him.
Maybe he had loved me.
And still chosen greed.
Richard said Edward expected him to convince me to sell after we married.
When I refused, pressure increased.
Business loans were coming due.
Several Cole projects depended on lease renewals controlled by my trust.
Edward needed permanent ownership.
“So you forged my signature.”
Richard looked away.
“Caroline prepared the first documents.”
“And you used them.”
“Yes.”
There it was.
Not the whole conspiracy.
But enough.
My phone captured every word.
Then Richard said something unexpected.
“The insurance wasn't my idea.”
“Whose?”
He hesitated.
“Dad's.”
My skin prickled.
“But you requested the increase.”
“He told me it was collateral protection.”
“Twenty million dollars on your wife's life didn't bother you?”
His silence answered.
I felt something inside me finally detach from him.
He wasn't a monster because he'd never loved me.
He was worse.
He'd loved me enough to know exactly what his choices would do to me.
And chose himself anyway.
Richard stepped closer.
“I can testify.”
“Why would I trust you?”
“Because Dad is about to make me responsible for all of it.”
There it was.
Not remorse.
Survival.
Then headlights appeared.
A black sedan stopped behind Richard's car.
Edward stepped out.
Richard's face drained.
“What are you doing here?”
Edward ignored him.
He looked at me.
“Lily, go inside.”
Richard laughed bitterly.
“Still giving orders.”
Edward's eyes sharpened.
“You've said enough.”
Richard backed toward my porch.
And suddenly the son who had terrorized me was afraid of his own father.
Edward reached into his coat.
Dad opened the front door instantly.
But Edward didn't pull a weapon.
He pulled an envelope.
He tossed it onto the driveway.
Inside was a signed statement.
May you like
Richard's name was at the bottom.
And according to it, Richard alone had planned everything.
