Chapter 16 - The Account Under Lucas’s Name
The hidden account held $8.4 million.
It had been opened using Lucas’s Social Security number and forged signature.
Rachel planned to make him appear responsible for the missing trust money.
But she had made one mistake.
Every transfer originated from a device registered to her private penthouse.
The account also revealed payments to jurors, county clerks, hospital employees, and one police officer.
The conspiracy was larger than anyone expected.
Detective Alvarez arrested the officer who had first handcuffed Lucas at the mansion.
He admitted Rachel paid him to treat the fire as evidence against Lucas and overlook the locked bedroom.
The arrest destroyed Rachel’s claim that she was merely following Charles.
She had built her own criminal network.
At the pretrial hearing, Rachel entered the courtroom wearing a conservative blue dress.
She looked directly at Lucas and smiled as if they were still sharing a private joke.
Her attorney argued that Walter manipulated Lucas into turning against his wife.
Then the prosecutor played the audio from Lucas’s hidden recorder.
Rachel’s voice filled the courtroom.
“Walter was supposed to die quietly.”
The room went still.
Her smile vanished.
Next came Derek’s recording.
“Wait until Lucas enters the room. Then inject Walter. Leave the syringe in Lucas’s tool bag.”
Several jurors stared at Rachel in horror.
Walter testified from his wheelchair.
He described the locked door, the missing water, and Rachel’s note.
The prosecutor displayed the note on a screen.
Rachel watched her own handwriting become evidence.
Her attorney stood.
“My client wrote those words in anger. She never intended them literally.”
Walter looked at Rachel.
“She removed my heart medication before writing them.”
The judge denied bail.
As deputies approached, Rachel turned toward Lucas.
“You think Walter chose you because he loves you?” she shouted. “Ask him what he did after Emily disappeared.”
Walter’s face changed.
Lucas felt a new chill.
Rachel smiled again.
May you like
“There’s one secret your grandfather still hasn’t told you.”
👉 Even in chains, Rachel found the one buried truth that could still divide Lucas and Walter.
