Chapter 3 - The Secret My Father Left Inside the Wall
Adrian drove Paige to a small private office on the outskirts of Atlanta.
It looked nothing like Vale Hart.
No marble.
No glass.
No polished reception desk.
Just brick walls and old wooden furniture.
“This is where your father met my father,” Adrian said.
Paige looked around.
“And you?”
“I was never supposed to come here.”
“Yet you did.”
“Once.”
“When?”
“The night before your father disappeared.”
Paige stopped walking.
“You were there.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Adrian looked toward the wall.
“I was twenty-four.”
He paused.
“My father was furious.”
“Why?”
“Because your father had found the ledger.”
Paige felt her pulse increase.
“And?”
“My father ordered him to hand it over.”
“He refused.”
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
“Your father told me to leave.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew what my father intended.”
Paige looked at him.
“Did you leave?”
“No.”
Adrian's face hardened.
“I stayed outside the room.”
“What did you hear?”
“A gunshot.”
Paige closed her eyes.
“My father was shot.”
“Yes.”
“By whom?”
“I don't know.”
“You've said that twice.”
“Because it is the truth.”
She looked around.
“Where was the room?”
Adrian pointed to a closed door.
Paige entered.
Dust covered the shelves.
A single desk stood against the wall.
She touched it.
“This is where he sat?”
“Yes.”
She looked at the wall.
Something felt wrong.
“The dimensions are off.”
Adrian frowned.
“What?”
“This room should be wider.”
He stared.
She measured with her eyes.
“There's a cavity behind this wall.”
Adrian looked at her.
“You're sure?”
“I did market analysis for construction firms for three years. I know what bad renovations look like.”
They searched.
Behind an old painting was a seam.
Adrian pushed.
The panel opened.
Inside was a box.
Paige stared.
Her father's handwriting was on the lid.
FOR PAIGE.
Her knees weakened.
She picked it up.
Inside was a cassette recorder.
An envelope.
And a small photograph of her as a child.
Her hands shook as she opened the envelope.
Paige,
If Adrian is with you when you read this, then my greatest fear has come true.
You are carrying his child.
Claire?
She looked at Adrian.
“My father knew.”
Adrian took the letter.
His face went pale.
“How could he?”
The date was written at the bottom.
Eight months before her father's death.
Paige read on.
The marriage of your lives may not happen. But the alliance between our families will.
If you and Adrian ever find yourselves together, trust him only after he tells you the truth without being asked.
Adrian stared at the paper.
Paige looked at him.
“You knew my father expected this.”
“No.”
“You didn't?”
“No.”
Then they found another page.
This one contained a list of dates.
The hotel.
Paige's college graduation.
Her first promotion.
Her first apartment.
Every important event of her adult life.
Adrian looked disturbed.
“He was protecting you.”
“From whom?”
A second note answered.
From the person who still wants the ledger.
There was a name.
Marcus Voss.
Paige had never heard it.
Adrian had.
His face changed.
“Who is he?”
“My father's former partner.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Prison.”
Paige frowned.
“What?”
“Federal prison. He was convicted twelve years ago.”
“Then why am I in danger now?”
Adrian didn't answer.
He turned the page.
A sentence was written in red.
HE NEVER WENT TO PRISON.
Paige stared.
“What does that mean?”
“It means someone took his identity.”
“Who?”
Adrian's phone rang.
He answered.
“Go.”
A man's voice came through.
Adrian went still.
Then he asked, “Are you certain?”
A pause.
“Find him.”
He ended the call.
Paige watched him.
“What happened?”
“The man in prison died six months ago.”
Her stomach dropped.
Adrian continued.
“The body was identified as Marcus Voss.”
“And?”
“And someone has been using his name for years.”
Paige's blood ran cold.
“Who?”
Adrian looked at the photograph of her father.
“Your father's killer.”
The door slammed shut.
Someone had entered the building.
Adrian immediately stepped between Paige and the hallway.
“Stay behind me.”
Three footsteps.
Then five.
A voice called,
“Mr. Vale.”
Adrian drew his weapon.
Paige's heart pounded.
The door exploded.
Men rushed in.
Adrian returned fire.
Paige ducked behind the desk.
One attacker moved toward her.
She grabbed a metal lamp and swung.
He dropped.
Adrian looked at her.
“Remind me never to call you fragile.”
She glared.
“Shut up.”
The fight lasted less than a minute.
Then one attacker remained.
Adrian pinned him against the wall.
“Who sent you?”
The man laughed.
“You already know.”
“Voss?”
“Ask the girl.”
Paige stepped closer.
“Why me?”
The man smiled.
“Because you're not just his wife.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“What does that mean?”
The attacker looked at Paige.
“Your father left the ledger inside you.”
Paige froze.
The man laughed.
“Not literally.”
He spat blood.
“There's a second archive.”
“Where?”
“In the one place your father knew Adrian would never search.”
Adrian's face went hard.
“What place?”
The attacker smiled.
“Her childhood home.”
Then he bit down.
Adrian pulled him away from the poison capsule too late.
Silence.
Paige stared at the body.
“My childhood home was sold.”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“I bought it.”
She stared at him.
“You did what?”
“It was never sold.”
“You own it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He looked at her.
“Because your father asked me to keep it.”
Paige's heart twisted.
Every road in her life suddenly seemed to lead back to this man.
She picked up the box.
“We're going.”
“Where?”
“My old house.”
Adrian nodded.
But neither of them noticed the tiny red light blinking beneath the desk.
Someone had been listening.
May you like
And three miles away, a man smiled as he heard Paige say the words he had been waiting fifteen years to hear.
“We're going home.”
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