Chapter 5 - The Ledger Hidden Beneath The Hotel
The ledger did not exist on any public record.
Nicholas had spent three years looking for it.
His father had hidden it so well that even Marco's closest associates believed it had been destroyed.
But Clare's mother had known where it was.
The clue led them back to the Bellweather.
To a room Clare had never noticed.
An old chapel beneath the hotel's oldest foundation.
The hotel's owner had converted it into a private wine cellar decades earlier.
Behind the third wall was a brick marked with a faded B.
Clare pressed it.
Nothing happened.
Nicholas frowned.
She tried again.
The brick moved.
A narrow compartment opened.
Inside was a metal box.
Clare touched it.
Her hand shook.
"This belonged to my mother."
Nicholas nodded.
They opened it together.
Inside were pages.
Names.
Dates.
Accounts.
Photographs.
And one envelope addressed to Clare.
She could barely open it.
Her mother's handwriting filled the page.
Clare,
If you are reading this, then I failed to keep the truth buried.
You were never supposed to know about the Duca family.
You were never supposed to know about Nicholas.
And most of all, you were never supposed to know about your grandfather.
But there are things blood cannot erase.
I made one mistake.
I trusted the wrong person.
His name is Adrian Gray.
Clare stopped reading.
Nicholas looked away.
The letter continued.
Adrian helped me hide the ledger.
Then he tried to take it.
He believed Marco's empire belonged to him.
I refused.
If anything happens to me, the ledger must remain hidden.
Trust Nicholas only when he chooses mercy over power.
That is how you will know he is not his father.
Clare lowered the letter.
Her eyes filled.
"He was the one she trusted."
Nicholas nodded.
"My mother trusted him too."
"You knew?"
"I suspected."
A sound came from behind them.
Applause.
Clare turned.
Adrian Gray stood in the doorway.
Older than Nicholas.
Elegant.
Calm.
Smiling.
Two armed men stood behind him.
"Beautiful reunion."
Nicholas stepped forward.
"You've been playing a long game."
Gray smiled.
"I had to."
"You killed Anna."
"I didn't."
Clare stared.
Gray looked at her.
"Your mother was stronger than you think."
"You knew her."
"Very well."
"Did you kill her?"
He paused.
"No."
Nicholas studied him.
"Who did?"
Gray's smile disappeared.
"Your father's surviving partners."
"Which ones?"
"The ones still pretending to be respectable."
He glanced at Clare.
"They're afraid of the ledger."
"Then why didn't you take it?"
"Because your mother moved it."
Clare looked at Nicholas.
"She hid it here."
Gray nodded.
"She always loved this hotel."
Clare's heart raced.
"Why?"
"Because it was where she met your real father."
Silence.
Nicholas stiffened.
Gray looked directly at him.
"Not Marco."
Clare's world stopped.
"Then who?"
Gray smiled.
"Nicholas."
He hesitated.
Then said:
"Your father."
Clare looked at Nicholas.
He had gone completely pale.
"No."
Gray continued.
"That is the secret your mother was protecting."
Clare took a step back.
Nicholas said nothing.
"You knew?"
He looked at her.
"I suspected."
"Suspected what?"
"That your mother and I..."
He couldn't finish.
Clare's mind raced through years of photographs.
Her dark hair.
Her eyes.
Her mother's fear.
The explosion.
The lies.
"No."
Nicholas's voice broke.
"I didn't know."
Gray laughed softly.
"Of course you didn't."
Clare backed away.
"You're lying."
"Maybe."
Gray held up his hands.
"Maybe I'm lying. But ask Nicholas why your mother refused to let him see you after you were born."
Clare turned to him.
"Nicholas?"
His eyes were haunted.
"Because my father wanted you dead."
"What?"
"He knew you existed."
"Why?"
"Because you were proof of a betrayal."
Clare shook her head.
"Whose betrayal?"
May you like
Nicholas swallowed.
"Mine."
