Chapter 4 - The Woman Who Owned Half the House
Margaret Bennett arrived before Richard could call her.
That was the first thing that felt wrong.
She swept into the estate at eight the next morning wearing a navy suit, pearl earrings, and the expression of a woman accustomed to entering rooms where everyone stood up.
Richard didn't.
Neither did Anna.
Margaret looked from her son to the storage boxes spread across the dining table.
"Nathan said there was some sort of incident."
Richard's eyes narrowed.
"Nathan called you?"
"Of course. He was concerned."
"About Leo falling or about the storage unit?"
For the first time, Margaret looked at the brass key.
Only for a second.
Anna saw that too.
"What storage unit?" Margaret asked.
Richard played Julia's voicemail.
His mother listened without moving.
When Julia's voice said her name, Margaret exhaled slowly.
"Your wife was not well at the end."
Richard stood.
"Be careful."
"She was frightened of everyone. Me. Nathan. The driver. The housekeeper. She thought the company was following her."
"Was it?"
Margaret stared at him.
"What exactly are you accusing me of?"
Anna watched the two of them and understood something she had never noticed before. Richard did not become a powerful man in spite of his mother.
He had become one because surviving her required it.
"Julia had sedatives in her system weeks before the crash," he said.
Margaret's face did not change.
"She had insomnia."
"She wasn't prescribed that drug."
"Then ask her doctor."
"I will."
Margaret turned toward Leo, who sat on the rug building a crooked tower of blocks beside Anna.
"And why is she still here?"
Anna looked up.
"Excuse me?"
"You were responsible for Leo when he fell."
Richard laughed once.
"You haven't seen the footage."
"Nathan summarized it."
"Nathan hasn't seen it either."
That stopped her.
Richard walked closer.
"Interesting, isn't it?"
Margaret's voice cooled. "Don't play games with me."
"Then stop giving me reasons to."
The doorbell rang.
A woman from county child services stood outside with two uniformed officers.
"Mr. Bennett? We received an emergency report concerning repeated injuries to your son."
Anna's stomach dropped.
The investigator opened a folder.
There were photographs inside.
Leo with a bruise on his knee from the playground.
Leo with a red mark under his chin after a food allergy.
Leo crying in Anna's arms after a fever.
All taken over the last four months.
"Who gave you those?" Richard asked.
"Anonymous source."
The investigator looked at Anna.
"We also received a statement alleging that Ms. Morales uses physical punishment."
"That's a lie," Richard said.
Margaret remained very quiet.
Too quiet.
Then the investigator pulled out the final photograph.
Anna felt the blood leave her face.
It showed Leo asleep in her bed.
Beside him, on the nightstand, was an open bottle of prescription sedatives.
Anna had never seen the bottle in her life.
The investigator looked directly at her.
"Ms. Morales, we're going to need you to come with us."
Richard stepped forward.
"No."
Anna stared at the picture.
Then at Margaret.
Julia's warning returned to her.
Someone inside the house.
But the photograph had been taken inside Anna's locked bedroom.
---
The next chapters are on the left side of your screen.
If you enjoyed the story, bookmark my site: https://metro.treeiq.biz
May you like
New stories are posted daily, so check back for updates.
