The Man Evelyn Had Trusted Most
Chapter 05 - The Man Evelyn Had Trusted Most
Marcus left before Evelyn could stop him.
Lily's surgery was scheduled for the following morning.
Doctors insisted she rest.
But eleven years of silence had already broken open.
There was no putting it back.
Noah eventually fell asleep in a chair with Evelyn's coat folded beneath his head.
Lily watched him.
“His father's name was Ben Reed.”
Evelyn remembered him.
A young musician who occasionally performed at foundation events.
She also remembered Marcus calling him irresponsible.
Unsuitable.
Dangerous.
“I liked Ben,” Evelyn said.
“No, you didn't.”
“I barely knew him.”
“Exactly.”
Lily explained what happened eleven years earlier.
She had been helping review accounts for the foundation when she noticed payments to companies she didn't recognize.
When she asked Marcus about them, he told her she was confused.
Then foundation money disappeared.
Documents pointed directly to Lily.
Ben was accused of helping her.
Marcus came to Lily privately.
He offered a solution.
Leave New York.
End all contact with the family.
And the investigation into Ben would disappear.
“I was pregnant,” Lily said.
Evelyn covered her mouth.
“You never told me.”
“I tried.”
The memory returned.
Lily standing in Evelyn's study.
Crying.
Begging her mother to listen.
Evelyn had been so furious about the missing money that she'd refused.
“I said terrible things to you.”
“Yes.”
“I believed Marcus.”
“Yes.”
Each answer landed harder than the one before.
“What happened to Ben?”
Lily looked toward Noah.
“He died four years ago. Construction accident.”
“I'm sorry.”
“So am I.”
Evelyn wanted to reach across the bed.
She didn't.
She had lost the right to assume her touch was welcome.
“Why did you send Noah tonight?”
“Because I'm tired.”
Lily's voice cracked.
“Tired of running. Tired of being scared every time someone from New York walks into the diner where I work. Tired of wondering what will happen to Noah if something happens to me.”
She looked at her mother.
“And because I saw your foundation gala advertised online.”
“The flute?”
“Ben kept it for me. Dad gave it to him.”
Evelyn frowned.
“My husband saw you?”
Lily nodded.
“Once.”
“Thomas knew where you were?”
“Not exactly.”
Before Lily could explain, Evelyn's phone rang.
Marcus.
She rejected the call.
A message immediately appeared.
Do not believe everything Lily tells you. There are things she doesn't know.
Evelyn read it twice.
May you like
Then another message arrived.
Especially about Thomas.
