Chapter 8 - The Secret Adrian Was Hiding Wasn't About Money
Six months later, Paige moved into a new house.
Not Adrian's estate.
Not a company property.
A place they chose together.
It had a small garden.
A sunroom.
A nursery with two windows facing the trees.
Paige stood in the doorway of the nursery, holding a tiny yellow blanket.
“You hate yellow.”
Adrian appeared behind her.
“I changed my mind.”
“You never change your mind.”
“I changed it once.”
“When?”
“When I met you.”
She turned.
“That was dangerously sentimental.”
“I've been practicing.”
He smiled.
Then his expression became serious.
“Paige.”
“What?”
“There is one more thing.”
She groaned.
“Every time you say that, my life changes.”
“This one isn't dangerous.”
“That is what dangerous men say.”
He laughed.
Then handed her a small envelope.
She opened it.
Inside was a court document.
Adrian had transferred complete ownership of the legitimate Vale Hart assets into a new family trust.
Her name was on it.
“So?”
“I'm making you my equal.”
She stared.
“You don't have to.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“Because I spent too much of my life making decisions alone.”
He touched her stomach.
“I don't want to raise a child that way.”
Her eyes filled.
“Adrian.”
“I want our child to see two people who choose each other.”
She wrapped her arms around him.
“You know what?”
“What?”
“You're finally learning.”
“I had a good teacher.”
She smiled.
Then someone knocked.
Emma entered.
“I have news.”
Paige turned.
“What?”
“I found Dad's old storage records.”
Her heart jumped.
“Anything important?”
Emma handed her a folder.
Inside was a final letter.
Robert Bennett.
Paige opened it.
My daughters,
If you have found each other, then I have succeeded.
You were never separated because one of you was less loved.
You were separated because I loved you both too much to risk losing both.
Paige began to cry.
The letter continued.
Adrian is not perfect.
Neither was I.
But I trusted him because he understood the greatest lesson I ever learned.
Power means nothing if you have nobody you are willing to lose it for.
Paige looked at Adrian.
He was crying.
The letter ended.
Protect each other.
Not by controlling one another.
By standing beside one another.
That sentence changed everything.
Adrian took the letter carefully.
“I wish I could have met him again.”
Paige leaned against him.
“So do I.”
Their child moved.
Paige gasped.
Adrian placed his hand on her stomach.
A tiny kick.
He froze.
“Did that happen?”
She nodded.
He laughed.
Then, unexpectedly, tears filled his eyes.
“I felt it.”
Paige smiled.
“Our daughter is already causing trouble.”
He looked at her.
“Our?”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Do you know something I don't?”
He shook his head.
“I don't care.”
“You don't care?”
“I'll love the baby either way.”
She kissed him.
The happiest moments of their marriage were becoming ordinary.
That was what made them beautiful.
Coffee together.
Arguments over paint colors.
Appointments.
Late-night cravings.
Adrian learning how to assemble a crib.
Failing.
Twice.
Paige laughing.
Their lives were no longer ruled by secrets.
Until one afternoon, Adrian's phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
Paige watched.
“What?”
He listened.
Then said,
“No.”
A pause.
“Do not tell anyone.”
He hung up.
Paige stood.
“What happened?”
He looked at her.
“There's been an incident at the hotel.”
Her stomach tightened.
“The same hotel?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“Someone accessed room 1841.”
She went cold.
“Why?”
“Because the new booking system still recognized the old authorization code.”
Paige stared.
“Someone reopened the room.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Adrian shook his head.
“We don't know.”
A message arrived.
Adrian read it.
Then showed her.
WELCOME HOME, PAIGE.
She felt ice move through her veins.
May you like
The past wasn't dead.
Someone was bringing it back.
