Chapter 8 – The Witness Who Finally Told the Truth
Chapter 8 – The Witness Who Finally Told the Truth
The words echoed through the house.
"...He's asking to speak with Emily."
Every face turned toward me.
Even Mark.
For the first time since this nightmare began, there wasn't arrogance in his eyes.
There was fear.
Real fear.
The lead deputy looked at me.
"Mrs. Carter, you're under no obligation to meet with Mr. Turner."
Before I could answer, Evelyn spoke.
"But I think we should hear what he has to say."
Two Hours Earlier
Lucas Turner sat alone inside a small interview room at the Financial Crimes Division.
No handcuffs.
No lawyer.
Just a bottle of water and a thick binder filled with financial records.
Daniel Brooks entered carrying another file.
"Mr. Turner."
Lucas looked up.
"I figured you'd find me."
Daniel sat across from him.
"You weren't hiding very well."
Lucas gave a tired smile.
"I stopped hiding months ago."
Daniel opened the file.
"You asked to speak with Emily Carter."
"I did."
"Why?"
Lucas stared at the table for several seconds.
"Because I owe her the truth."
Back at the Carter house, deputies documented every room with body cameras.
The living room.
The kitchen.
The master bedroom.
Everything was photographed before anyone moved another box.
Mark's father quietly packed dishes into a carton.
His mother folded family photographs into newspaper.
Neither of them said a word.
The confidence they had worn that morning had completely disappeared.
Evelyn and I walked upstairs.
The nursery looked untouched.
The rocking chair remained exactly where Mark had left it.
The hidden compartment was still open.
The deputy carefully photographed it.
"What was supposed to be inside?" he asked.
I looked at the empty space.
"My grandmother never hid money."
"She hid evidence."
Meanwhile...
Daniel switched on the recorder inside the interview room.
"The time is 3:42 p.m."
"This interview is being recorded."
Lucas nodded.
"I understand."
Daniel leaned forward.
"Tell me everything."
Lucas took a long breath.
"When I joined Carter Development, Mark was ambitious."
"He worked hard."
"He paid people fairly."
"What changed?"
"He got greedy."
Lucas folded his hands.
"The first time he touched Emily's inheritance wasn't for himself."
Daniel looked up.
"It wasn't?"
Lucas shook his head.
"No."
"It was to save the company."
Three years earlier...
A major development project had collapsed.
Investors were demanding refunds.
Banks were threatening to call their loans.
Mark panicked.
"He borrowed money from the joint account," Lucas explained.
"He told himself he'd replace it before Emily noticed."
"Did he?"
Lucas looked away.
"No."
"Instead..."
"He realized how easy it was."
Daniel quietly made another note.
"So the first theft became the second."
"And the second became twenty-three more."
Lucas nodded slowly.
"Exactly."
Back at the house, one deputy approached me.
"Mrs. Carter..."
"You may want to see this."
He led me into Mark's home office.
Most of the shelves were empty.
Boxes covered the floor.
But one drawer had been overlooked.
Inside lay a framed photograph.
It showed Mark holding our son in the hospital.
I remembered that day.
He had smiled proudly for the camera.
Afterward...
He handed the baby back to me.
Then left twenty minutes later for what he called "an important client meeting."
I turned the frame over.
Something rattled inside.
The deputy carefully removed the backing.
A folded receipt slipped onto the desk.
Evelyn picked it up.
Her eyebrows rose.
"This wasn't from a client meeting."
"What is it?" I asked.
She handed me the receipt.
It was from a luxury jewelry store.
Dated the same afternoon our son was born.
The purchase totaled nearly $18,000.
Diamond earrings.
The customer name wasn't mine.
It belonged to another woman.
Across town, Daniel asked the question everyone had been waiting for.
"Was Mark having an affair?"
Lucas closed his eyes.
"Yes."
"For almost two years."
Daniel remained calm.
"Do you know with whom?"
Lucas slowly nodded.
"I do."
"Who?"
Lucas swallowed hard.
"It wasn't his secretary."
"It wasn't a client."
"It wasn't anyone from the company."
Daniel frowned.
"Then who was it?"
Lucas answered so quietly that Daniel almost didn't hear him.
"...His divorce lawyer."
The room fell completely silent.
Daniel stared at him.
"You're telling me..."
"...the attorney representing Mark had been in a relationship with him before the divorce?"
Lucas nodded.
"For over a year."
Back at the house, my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
I answered cautiously.
"This is Emily."
A familiar voice came through.
"Emily..."
It was Mark's attorney.
Or rather...
His former attorney.
"I've officially withdrawn from representing Mark."
I glanced at Evelyn.
"Why?"
There was a long pause.
"Because I just discovered my client lied to me."
"And because there's something you deserve to know."
"What?"
The attorney's voice became almost apologetic.
"The woman Mark planned to marry after your divorce..."
"...isn't who everyone thinks she is."
Before I could ask another question, he added,
"I'll explain everything."
"But not over the phone."
Then he hung up.
Evelyn looked thoughtful.
"Interesting."
"What is?"
"He sounded scared."
Before either of us could say another word, one of the deputies hurried into the hallway.
"Ms. Price!"
"We've just received confirmation from Financial Crimes."
"What happened?"
The deputy looked directly at me.
"Lucas Turner has agreed to testify under oath."
He paused.
"And he's bringing someone with him."
"Who?"
The deputy checked the message on his phone one more time.
His eyes widened.
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"You probably won't believe this..."
"...it's the woman Mark has been secretly seeing."
