Chapter 5 - THE MANILA FOLDER OF LIES
The entire ballroom seemed to hold its breath.
Patricia clutched the back of her chair. The knuckles of her worn hands turned white.
“What are you saying, Richard?” she asked, her voice a fragile thread.
Richard Whitcomb looked like a man who had aged ten years in the span of a single minute.
He pointed a trembling finger at his wife.
“Tell them, Lorraine. Tell them where the debt really came from.”
Lorraine stood perfectly still. The arrogant sneer was entirely gone, replaced by the trapped look of a cornered animal.
“It was business,” she whispered defensively.
“Business?” Richard shouted. “You destroyed a family for business?”
He turned to the crowd, addressing Daniel and Patricia directly.
“Twenty-eight years ago, your father, Arthur Ellis, was my best salesman. He discovered that Lorraine was embezzling company funds to pay off her own gambling debts.”
Lorraine closed her eyes.
“Arthur came to me,” Richard continued, his voice breaking. “He threatened to go to the police. The next day, he supposedly signed a massive loan with Thomas Vance. A week later, he had his fatal heart attack.”
Daniel stared at his future father-in-law.
“You’re saying... my dad didn’t borrow money?”
“No, Daniel.” Richard shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. “Lorraine forged his signature. She used her connections with Vance’s crew to make the debt look real. She used it to keep Arthur quiet. And after he died... she used it to keep your mother paying her back for the money she stole.”
A collective sound of disgust swept through the room.
I felt sick to my stomach.
For twelve years, Patricia Ellis had scrubbed floors, skipped meals, and worn thin coats in the Chicago winters to pay off a fake debt created by the woman who was trying to banish her to the kitchen.
Caroline dropped to her knees on the ballroom floor.
Her beautiful white dress pooled around her as she began to sob uncontrollably.
“Caroline,” Daniel said softly, stepping toward her.
“Don’t!” she cried, shrinking away from him. “Don’t touch me. How can you even look at me? My family ruined your life.”
Daniel knelt beside her.
He didn’t care about his expensive tuxedo. He didn’t care about the two hundred guests.
He gently reached out and took her hands.
“You are not your mother, Care.”
“I’m wearing a dress paid for with your mother’s blood money!” Caroline wept, frantically trying to pull off her veil. “Take it off. Get it off me.”
“Caroline, stop.” Daniel pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly as she cried against his chest.
I looked at Patricia.
She wasn’t crying anymore.
She stood tall, leaning on her cane, and looked directly at Lorraine.
“You took my husband’s life,” Patricia said quietly. “The stress of that debt killed him. You took my son’s childhood. You took my home.”
She paused.
“But you will not take my son’s happiness.”
Patricia turned to Luca Moretti.
“Mr. Moretti. You said you own the bank?”
Luca nodded respectfully. “I do, Mrs. Ellis.”
“Can you prove she forged the signature?”
“With these documents?” Luca gestured to the scattered papers. “My lawyers will have her in handcuffs before sunset.”
Lorraine finally panicked.
She grabbed Richard’s arm. “Richard, do something! Call our lawyers!”
Richard coldly peeled her fingers off his suit.
“I already did. I’m filing for divorce, Lorraine. And I’m turning all of this over to the District Attorney.”
Lorraine backed away, looking around the room for a single sympathetic face.
There were none.
Suddenly, the ballroom doors banged open.
Lorraine’s assistant, a young woman looking utterly terrified, ran in.
She was holding a small, velvet box.
“Mrs. Whitcomb!” she gasped. “The police are in the lobby! They said they’re locking down the building!”
Luca stepped forward and held out his hand.
“Give me the box.”
The assistant nervously handed it over.
Luca opened it. Inside rested a beautiful, antique gold pocket watch.
He walked over to little Leo, who was still hiding behind Patricia’s legs, and crouched down.
“I believe this belongs to your family, little man,” Luca said, handing the box to the boy.
Leo smiled, taking it carefully.
Then, Luca stood up and looked at me.
“Rachel.”
“Yes, sir?” I answered, my heart pounding.
“I need you to do one more thing for me today.”
May you like
He pointed toward Lorraine.
“Show this woman to the kitchen. The police can pick her up through the service entrance.”
