William's Daughter
Chapter 15 - William's Daughter
The case against William seemed complete.
Then a woman named Lauren Foster contacted Daniel.
William's only daughter.
She had been estranged from him for fifteen years.
"I have something you need."
Lauren revealed that her father kept recordings.
Conversations.
Meetings.
Phone calls.
Insurance against betrayal.
She had discovered copies years earlier and secretly kept them.
One recording involved Rebecca.
William's voice was clear.
Give me the files.
Rebecca answered.
No.
Think about your children.
Stay away from them.
Your father built everything he has with me.
You stole from him.
I protected him.
You robbed him.
Then came the sentence that changed the investigation.
Rebecca said:
If anything happens to me, Lauren has the second copy.
William became silent.
Lauren paused the recording.
Jonathan stared at her.
"You had the documents?"
"No."
"Then why did Rebecca say that?"
Lauren smiled sadly.
"Because she knew my father."
Rebecca had invented a second copy.
She wanted William to believe evidence existed somewhere beyond his control.
It kept him from destroying everything.
Lauren looked at Jonathan.
"Your daughter saved all of you by bluffing."
Daniel shook his head.
"That sounds like Rebecca."
Lauren handed the recordings to federal investigators.
Then she asked one question.
"Can I visit her grave?"
Jonathan nodded.
"Yes."
Because sometimes the children of guilty parents carried shame that never belonged to them.
May you like
Jonathan had learned enough about inherited guilt.
He would not create more.
