Chapter 2 - The Woman Who Knew Adrian’s Secret
By eight in the morning, Harper’s apartment had become a fortress.
Two men stood downstairs.
Another monitored the alley.
Someone had placed a security camera on the corner.
Harper hated every second.
“This is ridiculous.”
Adrian stood by the window.
“Yes.”
“You can't turn my building into a prison.”
“No.”
“Then stop.”
He looked at her.
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because the people looking for my mother know you helped her.”
Harper folded her arms.
“Maybe they should be more grateful.”
For the first time, Adrian smiled.
It disappeared quickly.
Evelyn was asleep in the bedroom.
Adrian lowered his voice.
“She doesn't sleep well.”
Harper nodded.
“She was awake most of the night.”
“Did she say anything?”
“Fragments.”
“What kind?”
“She kept asking about a man named Daniel.”
Adrian's face changed.
“Daniel what?”
“I don't know.”
“Did she say a last name?”
“Vale.”
He went still.
“Daniel Vale.”
“Your brother?”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
“My father.”
Harper frowned.
Adrian's father had been dead for twelve years.
At least officially.
She had seen the name in local news stories.
Arthur Vale.
Shipping investor.
Construction magnate.
Philanthropist.
Murder victim.
He had supposedly been killed in a car crash.
But now Adrian looked at Harper like she had just opened a grave.
“My mother believed my father wasn't dead.”
Harper swallowed.
“Do you?”
“I don't know.”
“That's a terrible answer.”
“Yes.”
She sat.
“You need to tell me the truth.”
Adrian looked at her.
“You don't know what you're asking.”
“I do.”
“You found my mother.”
“I did.”
“You may have put yourself in danger.”
“I know.”
“You could leave.”
“I could.”
She waited.
He finally sat across from her.
“My father died when I was twenty-six.”
“According to the papers.”
“Yes.”
“What really happened?”
Adrian stared toward the bedroom.
“My father disappeared.”
Harper felt a chill.
“How long before everyone believed he was dead?”
“Three months.”
“And then?”
“A body was found.”
“Was it his?”
“Dental records said yes.”
“But?”
“My mother never believed it.”
“Why?”
“Because two days before the body was found, he called her.”
Harper whispered:
“From where?”
“A hotel.”
“Which one?”
“The Saint Clair.”
Harper's face changed.
She knew that name.
It was one of Adrian's properties.
Adrian noticed.
“You know it?”
“I clean there.”
His eyes narrowed.
“You work for one of my companies?”
“Technically.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know who you were until today.”
He studied her.
That was true.
Harper worked mornings at one restaurant and evenings cleaning rental properties.
She had no connection to Adrian's world.
Or she hadn't.
Evelyn woke.
She came into the living room.
“Adrian.”
“Yes?”
“Did you tell her?”
“No.”
“Tell her.”
He looked at his mother.
“Tell her what?”
Evelyn touched Harper's shoulder.
“Your father knew her mother.”
Harper froze.
“My mother?”
Evelyn nodded.
“Rose Cole.”
The name hit Harper like cold water.
Her mother had died six years earlier.
Evelyn continued.
“Rose knew where the money was hidden.”
“What money?”
“The Vale family money.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Mom.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“You have to know.”
“What?”
“Your father did not lose the company.”
Adrian's face tightened.
“He transferred it.”
“To whom?”
Evelyn pointed toward Harper.
“To her family.”
Silence.
Harper laughed nervously.
“That can't be right.”
“It is.”
She shook her head.
“My family owned a small dry-cleaning shop.”
“Before that,” Evelyn said.
“Your grandfather owned land.”
“What land?”
“The Vale waterfront.”
Harper stared.
The apartment felt suddenly too small.
Adrian looked stunned.
“My father transferred the original waterfront holdings to the Coles?”
Evelyn nodded.
“Because he knew what the Vales were becoming.”
Adrian sat.
“This makes no sense.”
“It does.”
Evelyn touched Harper's hand.
“Your grandfather refused to participate.”
“In what?”
Evelyn whispered:
“Blue Lantern.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Blue Lantern was a shipping route.”
“No.”
Evelyn's eyes filled.
“It was a network.”
Harper felt her stomach turn.
“What kind of network?”
“People.”
Adrian stood.
“Mom.”
“He doesn't deserve another lie.”
Harper looked at Adrian.
His face was pale.
His family had been connected to human trafficking.
He had never known.
Or maybe he had known something.
He looked at Harper.
“I swear to you—”
“Don't.”
He stopped.
“I don't want a promise.”
“What do you want?”
“The truth.”
He nodded.
“So do I.”
Evelyn reached into her robe pocket.
She pulled out a tiny key.
She gave it to Harper.
Harper stared.
“What is this?”
“Your mother left it for me.”
“When?”
“Six years ago.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew I would need someone outside the Vale family.”
Harper closed her fingers around the key.
“What does it open?”
Evelyn smiled sadly.
“A box your mother buried.”
Adrian stared.
“Where?”
Evelyn looked at Harper.
“Under the old church.”
The church sat near the waterfront.
Harper knew it.
She had passed it every day.
Adrian immediately ordered the car.
They went together.
Beneath the church, they found a stone floor.
Harper inserted the key.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a wooden box.
Photographs.
Bank records.
A ledger.
And one handwritten page.
Harper recognized her mother's handwriting.
If you are reading this, the Vale family has finally found the truth.
Do not trust the man who says he wants to save you.
Trust the man who admits he failed you.
Harper looked at Adrian.
He stared back.
Then she read the last line.
Adrian's father did not betray us.
The man who did is the person Adrian trusts most.
Adrian closed his eyes.
Harper whispered:
“Who is that?”
He didn't answer.
Because both of them knew the same name.
Someone close enough to be considered family.
Someone who knew every secret.
Someone who had been waiting for years.
Victor Hale.
May you like
Adrian's uncle.
And the man currently managing the Vale empire.
