Outrageous Fortune

by Lulu Taylor

  Margaret had gone pale. ‘How did you get that?’ she hissed, her eyes flashing. Then she recovered herself. ‘A forgery!’ she declared. ‘Anyone could write this. Where’s my signature?’

  ‘It had no signature, of course,’ Will said pleasantly, ‘but I believe any cursory investigation of your computer system and back-up files will reveal it, along with a great many other incriminating documents.’

  His father had gone an even darker crimson, but Will continued talking.

  ‘I have some other very interesting documents here that prove my father’s financial involvement with this mysterious Foundation, based in Switzerland. It seems that he’s been funding it to the tune of several hundred thousand pounds … a month. And a great deal of that money has been siphoned out of the family trusts, of which, incidentally, Miss Anderson here has recently suggested she become a trustee.’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘I’m not sure exactly how that would sit with the fact that she is also a co-owner of the Dangerfield Foundation along with a Professor Offenal, who also seems to have profited very nicely from the organisation.’

  Margaret’s mouth dropped open and she stared at Will in abject horror. Daddy’s solicitors turned to murmur rapidly to each other, worried expressions on their faces, while Daddy himself looked astonished. He turned towards Margaret. ‘Co-owner?’ he said in disbelief.

  She looked over at him pleadingly. ‘Lies, sir, lies! Who do you trust – these shameful excuses for children who’ve treated you so badly over the years, or me – your faithful helper for all this long time? Everything I’ve done, I’ve done to help you.’

  Daddy stared back at her, clearly confused.

  ‘Don’t be too sure about that,’ Will interjected. ‘You might want to have those wonder serums analysed by a competent chemist. I wouldn’t be surprised to find they were basic compounds, nothing special at all. And as for the Foundation’s claims to be discovering the secrets of eternal youth – eternally full bank accounts might be more like it.’

  ‘Shut up, damn you!’ snarled Margaret, her eyes blazing. ‘And where did you get all these lies, huh? All this make-believe?’

  Suddenly the beautiful girl at Mr Dangerfield’s side, who’d been watching the goings-on with a neutral expression on her face, stood up. ‘I think I may be able to answer that,’ she said in a calm voice. ‘He learned it all from me.’ She turned to Margaret. ‘I gained access to your files, and I gave the information they contained to Will. That’s how he knows. There’s no use pretending, it’s all there.’

  Daddy groaned in a broken-sounding voice, ‘Coco, no! Not this! What have you done?’ while Margaret stared at her furiously, ashen-faced.

  The lawyers swapped glances, clearly bemused by this turn of events.

  Coco took a deep breath. She clenched her fists hard, so that her knuckles turned white. ‘I also learned some other things,’ she said, in a voice that shook with emotion. ‘I learned that Daddy’s other daughter, Daisy, did not die in a scuba accident but was instead thrown out of her own home when he learned from a stolen letter that he was not her biological father. She was forced to change her identity and promise never to contact any member of the Dangerfield family again. She did that. And, to cover his own tracks, Daddy then arranged for her death to be faked.’

  He groaned again. Margaret’s eyes now showed plain fear as her mouth gaped open.

  Will and Sarah exchanged astonished glances. ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ rapped out Will.

  Coco walked towards the door of the office. ‘I didn’t say earlier because I wasn’t sure I would be able to find her. But I did. And here she is now.’

  She swung the door open with a flourish.

  Daisy had been waiting outside, still disguised with her glasses and dark hair, ready to play her part. As Coco opened the door she stepped in, her breath shallow in her chest and butterflies fluttering in her stomach, to face the round table of astonished-looking people.

  Daddy, who had been looking quite sick, suddenly cried triumphantly, ‘That’s not Daisy! That’s a woman from my office – Daphne Fraser. What the hell are you doing here, Fraser? What stupid game is this?’

  Daisy looked at him full on. From the corner of her eye she could see Margaret, white-faced and frightened, already suspecting. Will and Sarah stared, wide-eyed and amazed, still not understanding.

  This is it, then, she thought. I’m actually going to do this. She lifted her hand and took off the heavy-framed glasses. There were no lenses in her eyes today. Then she put her hand to the crown of her head and lifted off the blunt-cut dark wig that looked like her usual hair. Underneath, she’d had her own hair dyed back to its natural colour. As the wig came away, she looked her father straight in the eye and said, ‘Hello, Daddy.’

  He was staring at her as though seeing a ghost. Sweat had broken out all over his face, and he looked first appalled, then frightened, then angry. ‘Wh-wh-what?’ he spluttered. ‘What the hell is this?’

  ‘I’m back,’ she said simply, with a small smile. ‘In fact, I never went away. You thought you’d got rid of me for ever, but I’m afraid you were wrong. With a new name, I started work in one of Dangerfield’s least important, least noticed hotels. I learned everything I needed to know – what I hadn’t already learned at your knee – and I worked very hard. I got all the way to the top. You even welcomed me into your office and told me I was just the kind of person you wanted in your organisation.’ She smiled again. ‘I can’t tell you how sweet that moment was. So, yes, I’m Daphne Fraser. And I’m also Daisy, the daughter you spurned, and then – almost literally – killed.’

  All eyes turned back to Dangerfield, his lawyers looking almost as horrified as he did. The old man appeared to be on the brink of passing out, then suddenly he gathered his strength and leaned across the table towards his once-adored daughter, eyes full of hatred and his mouth twisted into a terrible snarl. ‘How dare you?’ he growled in a voice of fury. ‘I paid you! I paid you to go away and never come back. How dare you walk back in here like this?’

  ‘You threw me out and offered me money to leave your life for ever,’ Daisy replied calmly, but there was a hint of underlying emotion in her voice. ‘I was eighteen. I had no mother. Of course I took what you gave me. But you know what? You can have it back. All of it. I spent barely any of it, and I can easily make up the shortfall.’

  He ignored that and sneered, ‘You think you’re working in my company tomorrow? You can forget that! You’re sacked. And you!’ He turned to Margaret. ‘How the hell could you let this happen, you clumsy bitch? How did you let her walk back in like this? You were supposed to have her extinguished so thoroughly she could never turn up again!’

  There was a shocked silence. Daddy’s lawyers, who’d been trying to quieten their client, now froze with horror at what he’d just said. Will and Sarah stared at Daisy, stunned and disbelieving, even though they now recognised her. It was almost too much to take in.

  ‘I think you might want to stop there,’ Coco said, gaining the room’s attention at once. ‘You see, you trusted the DNA laboratory, didn’t you? And they were right. The sample they received showed absolutely that the person tested was unrelated to you. But it wasn’t Daisy’s DNA they received.’ Coco turned towards Margaret. ‘It was yours, wasn’t it? That’s why the result came back such a resounding negative.’ She shook her head. ‘You really shouldn’t keep such excellent notes.’

  Daddy turned to Margaret, his mouth dropping open. She appeared to try to speak for a moment, stuttered and then gave up. She threw Coco a filthy look and muttered, ‘It didn’t make any difference. That bitch her mother confessed the child wasn’t his in her letter.’ She turned back to Daddy, her expression pleading. ‘It was only to set your mind at rest, sir, to make you sure of what was certainly the case!’

  ‘Or was it to get your own hands on as much of the Dangerfield fortune as you could? You’ve been fooling an old man into thinking those bog-standard vitamin injections you’re
giving him are going to keep him young for ever, while siphoning off lots of lovely cash for your foundation.’ Coco smiled, looking deceptively pleasant. ‘I read Daisy’s mother’s letter – it’s in your files. She only said that Daddy might not be Daisy’s father, not that he definitely wasn’t. Whether you should have intercepted and opened it at all is a matter for the police to determine.’

  Daisy smiled at her father. ‘So you see, Daddy, I might be your daughter after all.’

  He stared at her, unable to take this in. Instead, his eyes went to Coco. ‘Why are you doing this to me?’ he whispered, white about the lips. ‘I wanted to marry you.’

  She turned to look at him. ‘We both know that would not have happened. There has never been anything of that nature between us. And it’s over now. You might as well know that I’m prepared to pass on everything I know about you and your methods.’

  ‘Traitor!’ he hissed, slumping back in his chair. ‘Margaret, help me!’

  ‘Sir, for once, I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do,’ she replied coldly. ‘After all, despite my years of service and devotion, I’m nothing more to you than a clumsy bitch.’

  ‘You’ve had your reward already!’ howled Daddy. ‘And now, if what they say is true, you’ll be sued to Kingdom Come!’ His eyes filled with tears. ‘You’re all betraying me,’ he whimpered. ‘You’re a bunch of thankless traitors, and you can all go to hell!’ He slapped the table like a petulant child.

  Will stood up. ‘Don’t worry, Dad. When you’ve resigned as trustee and from the Dangerfield Group, and repaid the money you owe, there’ll be enough left for a small house and no doubt you’ll get yourself a new companion. But right now, I think you need to admit that your little game is well and truly over. I shouldn’t think even your lawyers want much to do with you.’

  Coco moved to the door, standing straight and dignified. She turned to address the Dangerfield children. ‘I think my part in all this is finished. I’m leaving now.’ She looked straight into Will’s coppery eyes and smiled. ‘I hope it all works out for you. Goodbye.’

  As she walked away down the corridor, in a daze from all that had just happened, she heard footsteps behind her.

  ‘Coco!’ It was Will.

  She turned and looked at him.

  He stood there gazing at her, tall and handsome, looking unusually formal in his dark suit but still devastatingly attractive. ‘Thanks. Thanks for everything.’

  ‘I wanted you to know that I was on your side. I always was and I always will be.’ He made as if to take a step closer but she stopped him with an upraised hand. ‘But things have changed, Will. We can’t be together. Ever. That’s just how it is.’

  Then she turned and walked away, without looking back.

  86

  CHRISTOPHE WAS HARDLY able to take it all in when Daisy rushed to meet him. He’d been waiting in the hotel opposite the lawyers’ office, nervously drinking coffee and pacing about the lounge.

  ‘Wait,’ he said, laughing at her excitement and holding her hands, ‘I don’t understand! So you really are a Dangerfield after all?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ she cried, elated. ‘I might be. We’ll need to do new tests! Imagine, I might have been Daddy’s daughter all along!’

  Christophe was suddenly solemn. ‘I don’t know how he’d live with that. No one could.’

  Daisy’s eyes danced with joy. ‘Will and Sarah are joining us in a moment. We’ve got so much to talk about.’ She threw herself into his arms. ‘It’s over, Christophe! At last, it’s all out in the open, and I’ve got some of my family back. I’m so happy! I can’t believe it’s real.’

  Things had moved quickly after Coco had made her dramatic exit. Daddy and Margaret had left, Daddy deflated like a balloon, suddenly looking old and confused, while Margaret seemed intent only on getting away as quickly as possible. Will had watched her go intently. ‘She’s planning her escape,’ he muttered. ‘We’ll need to keep an eye on her.’

  But the next moment Sarah had rushed over and taken Daisy in her arms, tears streaming down her face. ‘Oh my God, you’re alive! I can’t believe it!’

  Daisy nodded, laughing. ‘Who was it who said “reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated”? I’m alive, as you can see.’ She hugged Sarah back, her eyes welling up. She saw Will gazing at her, contradictory emotions flitting across his face: amazement, bewilderment, shock – and then a kind of happiness that curled the edges of his mouth upwards.

  ‘Daisy, I’m happier than I can say to see you again. But … did he really do those awful things to you?’ He shook his head and she could see the questions crowding in on him.

  ‘I’ll tell you everything,’ she said, ‘but first … can I hug you too?’

  ‘Oh my God – yes!’ he cried, and threw his arms around her so that all three siblings were embracing at once.

  Back at the hotel, Daisy, Christophe, Will and Sarah sat around a table, a bottle of champagne open in front of them. There was a lot to tell, myriad questions to answer. The two Dangerfields listened intently, eyes round with horror and sympathy as Daisy’s story unfolded, interjecting questions when something occurred to them. When the facts were finally laid out and they understood everything, they were both stunned.

  ‘I can’t believe he was capable of it,’ Sarah said, shaking her head, tears in her eyes. ‘How could anyone do such a thing?’

  ‘You know how he felt – about the Dangerfield bloodline, the inheritance we supposedly had from Grandpa through him.’ Daisy gazed into the faces of her brother and sister. Maybe not my brother and sister at all. But I can’t help thinking of them that way. And who knows what the new DNA tests will reveal? ‘When he found out I wasn’t his daughter, he must have been heartbroken and humiliated – and he took all that out on me.’

  ‘But to cut you off like that! To throw you out with nothing!’ Will’s face flushed with anger. ‘I knew he was a monster. This proves it. And to let the world believe you’d died – to let us believe it! He’s not human, he’s really not.’

  ‘He’s very flawed,’ Daisy agreed. ‘But he’s his own worst enemy. Look where his pride has led him – he’s lonely, miserable and with no family at all. And his entire defence has gone up in smoke.’

  ‘Who was that girl Coco and why did she help you?’ Sarah asked. ‘She was Dad’s fiancée, wasn’t she?’

  Will nodded, looking strangely sad. ‘I don’t think she was exactly what she seemed. You see … a while ago, she and I were involved, but we fell out badly because I thought she was on Dad’s side. And I think she’s done all this to help me.’

  There was a pause while the two girls took this in.

  ‘She’s got balls,’ Daisy said frankly. ‘You should have seen her come into my office and tell me everything she knew. It was amazing.’ She smiled at her brother. ‘I can see why you liked her.’

  ‘I liked her very much … until I found out she’d been recruited as a spy by Dad and Margaret.’

  Sarah smiled. ‘She’s obviously made up for that. How do you feel about her now?’

  He bit his lip and said, ‘I don’t know, but it doesn’t make any difference. She’s out of our lives. Dad’s too. It’s all over for him.’

  ‘He’ll have to climb down now, anyone can see that,’ Daisy said. ‘And even though I might not be your sister, I want to help if I can.’

  ‘Don’t be silly,’ Sarah said warmly, reaching out a hand to her. ‘You’re family. It’s ridiculous to pretend you’re not.’

  ‘Sarah’s right,’ Will said emphatically, turning to face her. ‘You’re our little sister. And what Dad did to you only makes that stronger.’

  ‘I’m on your side completely,’ Daisy said. ‘Whenever you need me, I’ll be there.’ She smiled at the other two.

  ‘You’ve been amazingly brave,’ said Sarah. ‘I know I speak for Will when I say that we’re both sorry for treating you badly when we were all growing up. We felt terrible when we thought you were dead, and I’m so
happy we have the chance to make up and be a family again.’

  ‘That goes for me too.’ Will leaned over and put an arm around Daisy. ‘I’m sorry.’

  She felt an almost painful welling of emotion in her chest. She wasn’t alone any more. All the years of struggle and loneliness were over. She had Christophe and she had a family. ‘Thank you,’ she said in a choked voice. Christophe put a comforting hand on hers.

  Sarah spoke up suddenly. ‘You know, I’ve just thought of something. I know where we can go for some answers.’

  87

  MUM ALWAYS HAD terrible timing, Coco thought to herself, although in some ways a funeral suited her mood exactly. Her mum’s friend Rachel had sent a message that Michelle’s struggles were finally over, and the cremation was the following day.

  The service was short and perfunctory. The congregation was tiny – just five of them gathered in the crematorium chapel, with the vicar in his white cassock and dog collar. They sang a hymn, their six voices reedy in the large space, listened to the vicar speak a few words about Michelle and say a few prayers. He’d asked Coco if she’d like to speak but she’d said no. She had no idea what she might say and there was certainly nothing about her relationship with her mother that she wanted to share with anyone else. When the brief service was over, the coffin moved on its conveyor belt through the curtains and that was that. As they left the chapel, an official stepped forward to tell Coco when she could collect the ashes. The other mourners – neighbours of Michelle, an old friend and an ex-lover – came up to shake Coco’s hand and offer commiserations. They were going down the pub. Would she like to join them?