Chapter 4 - The Father Who Wanted His Granddaughter
The truth about Graham came from the least expected person.
An old accountant named Henry Walsh.
He had worked for Vincent Vale for more than thirty years.
He lived in a retirement community outside Indianapolis.
When Adrian showed him the raven symbol, Henry refused to speak.
Then Cassia showed him the photograph of Ellie.
His expression changed.
“That's the girl.”
“What girl?”
“The one your mother was trying to hide.”
Cassia stared.
“What do you know about my mother?”
“Everything I was paid to forget.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Start talking.”
Henry looked at Cassia.
“Your father was not born into wealth.”
“I know.”
“He worked for Vincent.”
Cassia blinked.
“My father worked for your family?”
“Yes.”
“As what?”
“A bookkeeper.”
Adrian frowned.
“My father had a private accountant named Graham Harlow.”
Henry nodded.
“He discovered something.”
“What?”
“A secret investment account.”
The money had belonged to Vincent.
But the beneficiary was Lucia Bennett.
Cassia stared.
“Why?”
“Because Vincent loved her.”
Adrian looked shocked.
“My father loved my mother?”
Henry nodded.
“Not romantically. He loved her as a sister.”
Cassia exhaled.
“That doesn't explain the trust.”
“No.”
Henry looked at Adrian.
“Vincent believed Graham was stealing from him.”
“He was.”
“Not yet.”
“Then what happened?”
“Graham found out Vincent intended to remove him from the organization.”
“So he retaliated.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He arranged Daniel Vale's murder.”
Adrian froze.
His uncle.
The murder Cassia had discovered five years earlier.
Henry continued.
“Lucia found proof.”
“She threatened Graham.”
“She threatened to expose him.”
“What did Graham do?”
“He took Elias.”
Cassia went cold.
“Where?”
“A private clinic.”
“Why?”
“To force Lucia into silence.”
Cassia's eyes filled.
“My mother gave him away.”
“No.”
Henry shook his head.
“She escaped.”
Adrian leaned forward.
“And Elias?”
“Vincent moved him.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere Graham couldn't reach.”
“Where?”
Henry looked at Cassia.
“He's been looking for Elias for twenty-five years.”
Cassia swallowed.
“Why?”
“Because Elias knows where the second trust is.”
Adrian stared.
“What second trust?”
Henry sighed.
“Vincent created a second trust for the children of Lucia.”
He looked at Cassia.
“Both children.”
“And Adrian?”
“Vincent added Adrian later.”
“Why?”
“To make sure the trust couldn't be controlled by Graham.”
Cassia sat back.
“So our parents knew that one day you and I would meet.”
Henry nodded.
“Not exactly.”
“What do you mean?”
“Vincent hoped you would.”
Silence.
The implications were overwhelming.
Their relationship had begun as a chance meeting.
A diner.
A rainy evening.
A spilled cup of coffee.
But their parents had once planned a future where the children might join forces.
Then the family war had destroyed it.
Adrian's phone rang.
Marco.
“We found something.”
“What?”
“Graham's accounts are active.”
“Where?”
“Chicago.”
Adrian stood.
Cassia followed.
At the apartment linked to Graham, they found no one.
But they found photographs.
Hundreds.
Cassia.
Ellie.
Adrian.
Their café.
Their townhouse.
And one photograph of Ellie entering a school.
On the back:
SHE KNOWS NOTHING.
Cassia stared.
“What does that mean?”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“She's safe because she doesn't know the truth.”
“What truth?”
“I don't know.”
A sound came from upstairs.
They moved quickly.
An elderly woman stood in the hallway.
She raised her hands.
“Don't shoot.”
Adrian lowered his weapon.
“Who are you?”
“Graham's sister.”
Cassia froze.
“Your father has a sister?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
“Why are you here?”
“To warn you.”
“About what?”
The woman looked at Cassia.
“Your daughter was never the target.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Then who is?”
“You.”
Cassia shook her head.
“Why me?”
“Because your mother left everything in your name.”
“What everything?”
“The second trust.”
Adrian turned to the woman.
“Where is it?”
“I don't know.”
“Who does?”
“Elias.”
Cassia swallowed.
“Where is my brother?”
The woman began crying.
“He was here yesterday.”
“Where did he go?”
“He said he was going to find you.”
Cassia's heart raced.
“Can he be tracked?”
“No.”
Then she saw something on the wall.
A photograph.
Elias at twenty.
Standing beside a man.
Graham.
Cassia's face went white.
“My brother knew him.”
The woman nodded.
“Graham raised him for six years.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Where did he take him?”
“I don't know.”
Cassia stared at the photograph.
“Then why is Elias working with my father?”
The woman's answer was devastating.
“He isn't.”
May you like
She looked at Cassia.
“He has spent twenty-five years trying to escape him.”
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