Chapter 9 - The Assistant in the Lake House
Megan Price had worked for Julian for four years.
Audrey had met her only twice.
She remembered a quiet woman in her late twenties who avoided eye contact whenever Julian spoke harshly.
Megan once apologized to Audrey for rescheduling a dinner reservation.
Julian responded by humiliating her in front of everyone.
“You’re paid to solve problems, not create them.”
At the time, Audrey said nothing.
Now she wondered how long Megan had been trapped too.
Thomas reviewed toll-road cameras and parking records.
Megan’s car appeared near the airport, but she was not driving it.
The driver wore a baseball cap and Eleanor’s beige trench coat.
Investigators enhanced the image.
The driver was Charles Merrick’s adult son, who worked as Eleanor’s personal security manager.
Police arrested him.
He insisted he only moved the car because Eleanor said Megan had abandoned it.
Then officers searched his phone.
They found directions to a lake house owned by a Whitmore shell company.
Police arrived after midnight.
Megan was inside.
She was alive, frightened, and locked in an upstairs bedroom.
Eleanor’s security manager had taken her there after Julian’s arrest, claiming the family needed to protect her from Audrey’s father.
Megan had been told Thomas was dangerous.
She was told Audrey had suffered a psychotic break.
She was also warned that if she contacted police, she would be blamed for the forged documents.
When Detective Ramirez showed her photographs of Audrey’s injuries, Megan began to cry.
“I didn’t know he hit her.”
“What did you know?” the detective asked.
Megan admitted Julian instructed her to create digital signatures using samples from Audrey’s birthday cards, tax forms, and personal letters.
At first, he claimed Audrey had authorized everything but was unavailable to sign.
Later, Megan realized the loans were secret.
When she threatened to tell Audrey, Eleanor became involved.
Eleanor paid off Megan’s student debt and promised her a promotion.
Then she threatened Megan’s younger brother, who worked for a company controlled by the Whitmores.
Megan surrendered emails, backup drives, and handwritten notes.
One email from Julian said:
Once Audrey is under Mother’s roof, we can finish the competency filing.
Another from Eleanor read:
The policy solves the exposure if the court process fails.
Audrey read the emails from her hospital room.
The language was cold.
Businesslike.
Her life had been discussed as an obstacle.
Megan agreed to testify.
But she revealed one final detail.
The $10 million policy was not the only one.
“There was another application,” Megan said.
“It was for someone else.”
“Who?” Detective Ramirez asked.
Megan lowered her eyes.
May you like
“Audrey’s father.”
👉 Julian and Eleanor had not merely planned to control Audrey—they had prepared for Thomas Bennett to die too.
