Chapter 4 - The Woman in the Rain
Eleanor Hale had spent ten years presenting herself as the grieving grandmother.
She funded memorial scholarships in Emma’s name.
She visited Cameron every Christmas.
She placed flowers at Rebecca and Emma’s graves every year.
And now we had a photograph of her standing beside Victor and the mechanic who had serviced Rebecca’s car hours before the fatal crash.
Cameron refused to believe the obvious conclusion.
“A photograph isn’t proof.”
He said it repeatedly.
Perhaps for me.
Perhaps for himself.
The next morning, Rachel arrived with the investigator.
His name was Thomas Reed.
He placed Marcus Vane’s recovered box on Cameron’s dining table.
Inside were invoices, photographs, old receipts, and a handwritten notebook.
Thomas wore gloves as he examined everything.
Then he found an envelope.
Inside was a copy of a bank transfer.
$250,000.
The sender was a company linked to Victor.
The transfer occurred three days after the crash.
Cameron stared at it.
“Payment?”
“Possibly,” Thomas said. “But we shouldn’t assume.”
That mattered.
We needed facts.
Not fear.
Not Sadie’s mysterious statements.
Facts.
Then Thomas found a handwritten page.
R.H. CAR — BRAKE LINE — V.H.
Cameron sat down heavily.
R.H.
Rebecca Hale.
Thomas immediately contacted the detective who had handled the original accident.
The case had been closed as mechanical failure.
But preserved evidence still existed.
If new evidence suggested deliberate tampering, authorities could reopen it.
Cameron nodded.
“Do it.”
By afternoon, investigators were involved.
We gave statements.
The flash drive, photograph, messages, and Marcus’s records were preserved properly.
Cameron never tried to use his wealth to control the process.
He simply wanted answers.
But one question remained.
Why was Eleanor there?
Cameron called his mother.
He didn’t accuse her.
He invited her to lunch.
She arrived wearing pearls and carrying flowers.
Then she saw Sadie.
Her smile disappeared.
“Whose child is that?”
“Mine,” I said.
Eleanor looked at me dismissively.
“Why is an employee’s child in Cameron’s home?”
Cameron’s expression hardened.
“She’s my guest.”
Sadie hid behind me.
Eleanor turned toward Cameron.
“You’ve always been too sentimental beneath all that armor.”
“Have I?”
“Rebecca knew that better than anyone.”
The room became still.
Cameron placed the rainy photograph on the table.
His mother stopped breathing.
“Tell me why you were there.”
Eleanor stared at the photograph.
“Where did you get this?”
“That isn’t an answer.”
Her hands trembled.
Finally, she sat.
“I followed Victor.”
“Why?”
“Because Rebecca called me.”
Cameron frowned.
“She knew something was wrong. She asked me to help her.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
Eleanor began crying.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of Victor?”
“No.”
She looked at Cameron.
“Of your father.”
Cameron stared at her.
“My father was dead.”
“Not when it started.”
The foundation theft had begun years earlier.
Cameron’s father, William Hale, had created hidden financial structures to move money away from the company.
Victor discovered them.
Instead of exposing William, he continued the scheme.
Rebecca discovered both.
After William died, Victor inherited the secret.
“And the accident?” Cameron asked.
“I didn’t know what Victor planned.”
Eleanor’s voice broke.
“I went to the garage because Rebecca asked me to photograph everything. Victor saw me. He told me Marcus was repairing something Rebecca had requested.”
“You believed him?”
“I wanted to.”
Cameron slammed his palm against the table.
“You knew Rebecca was frightened!”
“I know!”
Eleanor sobbed.
“After the accident, Victor came to me.”
“What did he say?”
“That if I accused him without proof, he would reveal your father’s crimes and destroy the company. Thousands of employees could lose everything.”
Cameron stared at her in disbelief.
“So you chose the company?”
“I chose you.”
“No.”
His voice became terrifyingly quiet.
“You chose silence.”
Eleanor lowered her head.
Sadie watched from across the room.
Then she walked toward Eleanor.
I almost stopped her.
Sadie looked up.
“The little girl doesn’t hate you.”
Eleanor’s face changed.
“What?”
“She says you were scared.”
Cameron closed his eyes.
“Sadie…”
But Eleanor had begun trembling.
“What little girl?”
Sadie pointed toward Emma’s photograph.
Eleanor covered her mouth.
Then she whispered something none of us expected.
“The yellow bird.”
Cameron’s eyes opened.
“How do you know about that?”
“Emma showed it to me the night before she died.”
Eleanor began crying harder.
“She told me she had made you a promise picture.”
Cameron looked toward the piano.
For the first time, something shifted between mother and son.
Not forgiveness.
Not yet.
But truth.
Thomas’s phone rang.
He stepped away.
When he returned, his expression was serious.
“The police reopened the accident investigation.”
Cameron stood.
“And Victor?”
“They want to speak with him.”
“Where is he?”
Thomas hesitated.
“That’s the problem.”
Victor had left his office.
His phone was off.
His Ferrari had been abandoned near a private airfield.
A charter plane had been reserved under another name.
Authorities were working to determine whether he had boarded.
Then Sadie suddenly said, “He didn’t go on the airplane.”
Everyone looked at her.
“How do you know?” I asked.
She pointed toward Emma’s photograph again.
“She says he came back.”
My blood ran cold.
At that exact moment, the penthouse security alarm began screaming.
Daniel’s voice came through Cameron’s phone.
“Cameron, someone just entered the private service elevator.”
“Who?”
A pause.
May you like
Then Daniel answered.
“Victor.”
