Chương 3 - The Woman They Thought Was Worth Less
Three days after the wedding, the Whitcomb sisters hosted a lunch.
It was supposed to be a celebration.
Instead, it became a trial.
Vivian had invited several wealthy friends.
Colette had invited two businessmen.
Helena, Delara's mother, sat at the center of the table.
Damian was not there.
That was deliberate.
Vivian poured wine.
“So,” she said, “how is married life?”
“Wonderful.”
“Still?”
Delara smiled.
“Still.”
Vivian glanced at the ring.
“I still can't believe he gave you that.”
Helena sighed.
“Vivian.”
“What? I'm asking.”
Colette laughed.
“You know what's funny? We always thought Delara would marry some quiet gardener.”
“That's not funny.”
“No?”
“No.”
Delara put down her fork.
“You know, Colette, I don't mind jokes. But I do mind being treated like my life is a family embarrassment.”
Colette looked away.
Then Vivian spoke.
“We are worried.”
“About what?”
“About him.”
“Why?”
“Because Damian Vale is not what he says.”
Delara went still.
“You knew his name?”
Vivian smiled.
“Everyone knows his name.”
That afternoon, Delara confronted Damian.
They were in the garden.
“What aren't you telling me?”
He looked at her.
“Plenty.”
She stopped.
“That's not reassuring.”
“I've been trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“My past.”
“Then show it to me.”
He took her to a locked room beneath his office.
Inside were files.
Photographs.
Newspaper clippings.
Names.
Damian's father.
His uncle.
Rivals.
Business partners.
People who had died.
Delara felt sick.
“You were born into this?”
“Yes.”
“And you took over?”
“Yes.”
“How many people?”
He looked down.
“Too many.”
“Did you kill them?”
“Some.”
The answer was quiet.
Delara stepped back.
He let her.
“I don't expect you to forgive that.”
“I don't know if I can.”
“I know.”
“But I'm not leaving.”
His eyes rose.
“Why?”
“Because I know the man I married.”
He swallowed.
“That doesn't erase what I've done.”
“No.”
She stepped closer.
“But it tells me what you've become.”
He looked at her as though she had handed him something precious.
Then his phone rang.
Elias.
“Boss, there's a problem at Magnolia Hollow.”
Damian's body went rigid.
“What?”
“Someone is inside the greenhouse.”
They drove there immediately.
When they arrived, one of the rear windows was broken.
The greenhouse had been searched.
Nothing obvious was missing.
Then Delara saw the empty shelf.
“My grandfather's journal.”
Damian turned.
“What journal?”
“My grandfather kept an old gardening journal. It's been missing for years.”
Elias looked stunned.
“You had it?”
“No. I thought it was lost.”
Damian looked around.
Someone had not come searching for money.
They had been searching for history.
That night, Delara asked Ruth about the journal.
Ruth went pale.
“I haven't thought about that in years.”
“What was in it?”
“Names.”
“Whose?”
“Your grandfather's clients.”
Damian leaned forward.
“What kind of clients?”
Ruth hesitated.
“Your grandfather handled land deals.”
Damian looked at her.
“Who?”
She whispered, “The Vale family.”
Delara stared.
“My grandfather knew Damian's father?”
“Yes.”
“How well?”
Ruth looked away.
“Well enough to keep secrets.”
That sentence changed the atmosphere.
Damian returned to his office and searched his father's old records.
One file contained a name.
Thomas Whitcomb.
Delara's grandfather.
Underneath it was another.
Celeste Rourke.
Damian frowned.
He had heard that name only once.
Long ago.
His father had told him never to ask.
Now he understood why.
The Rourkes had been the Vales' greatest enemies.
And Delara's grandfather had been connected to both.
Before dawn, Damian received a call.
The voice on the other end was old.
“You married a Whitcomb girl.”
Damian's expression hardened.
“Who is this?”
“Someone who knows why your father never told you the truth.”
“What truth?”
The caller laughed.
“The reason your enemies are looking for your wife.”
The line went dead.
Damian stared at the phone.
Then he looked toward the window.
Delara was walking through the garden.
May you like
He watched her.
And for the first time, he wondered whether their meeting had truly been an accident.
