Chapter 3 - The Blue Door and the Woman Who Knew My Name
We left Crown Meridian Tower less than twenty minutes later.
Sebastian wanted me in a secure location.
I refused.
He wanted to send me to Connecticut alone with three guards.
I refused again.
Finally, he stared at me and said, “You are the most difficult woman I have ever met.”
“You’re the most controlling man I’ve ever met.”
“I’ve known dictators.”
“And?”
“You’re worse.”
Against every instinct I had, I laughed.
It was the first real laugh since waking up in his bed.
Something softened in his eyes.
Neither of us mentioned it.
We traveled north under heavy security.
The city disappeared behind us.
Snow began falling.
For most of the drive, I watched the landscape through the window while Sebastian took calls in silence.
Finally, I asked, “Why did you agree to help my father?”
He looked at me.
“Because I loved him.”
That answer startled me.
“You loved my father?”
“He was the closest thing I had to family.”
“Then why did he trust you?”
“Because he knew I was capable of becoming better than the men around me.”
I studied him.
“Did he?”
“No.”
He looked at the road.
“Not until after he died.”
The Hart property sat behind iron gates.
I remembered almost nothing about it.
A stone house.
Tall trees.
A small blue door near the basement entrance.
The moment I saw it, something inside me cracked open.
“That's it.”
Sebastian parked.
“You remember?”
“I think so.”
We entered the house.
Dust covered everything.
Furniture remained under white sheets.
The air smelled old.
I walked through the hallway.
My feet carried me toward the basement.
Sebastian followed.
“You should stay behind me.”
“I’m not five.”
“No. You’re someone people are trying to kill.”
I stopped.
“Do you think they’re going to kill me?”
He was silent.
“That isn’t an answer.”
“I don’t know.”
We reached the blue door.
My heart pounded.
The paint was chipped.
My fingers brushed the handle.
A memory came back.
My father kneeling beside me.
His face pale.
His hand covering mine.
“Promise me you’ll never open this unless Sebastian tells you.”
I pulled away.
Sebastian saw my expression.
“What happened?”
“My father said your name.”
His jaw tightened.
“What did he say?”
“He told me not to open the door unless you told me.”
Sebastian stepped closer.
“Then we open it.”
The lock had no keyhole.
There was only a small circular indentation.
The same symbol.
Sebastian placed his wrist against it.
Nothing happened.
I touched the mark.
A click sounded.
The door opened.
Inside was a narrow room.
One chair.
One desk.
One metal box.
And a cassette recorder.
I stared.
“My father left this.”
Sebastian walked inside first.
He inspected the walls.
“No wires.”
I picked up the cassette.
“My name is written on it.”
Sebastian looked at me.
“Then you should play it.”
We found an old player in the drawer.
My father’s voice filled the room.
“Valerie, if you’re hearing this, then I’m gone.”
I covered my mouth.
Sebastian closed his eyes.
Daniel continued.
“I’m sorry.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
“I did everything I could to keep you safe. But there are people who will never forgive me for what I took.”
The recording crackled.
“The Black Circle is not a criminal organization in the way you think. It is a network. Judges. Businessmen. politicians. Police officials. Bankers. Men who don’t need to pull triggers because they can make the world do it for them.”
Sebastian stared at the recorder.
Daniel continued.
“They will come for the ledger.”
A pause.
“But the ledger is not here.”
My heart jumped.
“I divided it into three pieces.”
Sebastian whispered, “Three.”
“The first piece is held by the person I trust most.”
The recording paused.
“The second is hidden where no one would think to search.”
Another pause.
“The third is inside Valerie.”
I froze.
Sebastian looked at me.
“What does that mean?”
My father continued.
“When Valerie was ten, I gave her a sequence of numbers to memorize. She believes it was a game. It wasn’t.”
My blood ran cold.
“She carries the final key in her memory.”
The tape ended.
Silence.
I stared at Sebastian.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“You knew!”
“I didn’t know where the key was.”
“You knew I was involved.”
“I knew your father used you to protect information.”
I stepped away.
“You should have told me.”
“I didn’t have proof.”
“You knew enough.”
Before he could answer, a sound came from upstairs.
A floorboard creaked.
Sebastian immediately drew his gun.
“Stay here.”
I followed him anyway.
We reached the hallway.
The front door was open.
A woman stood outside.
She wore a dark coat.
Her hands were raised.
“Sebastian Ward.”
He aimed his weapon.
“Identify yourself.”
The woman removed her sunglasses.
I recognized her.
Mara Feldman.
His attorney.
“Lower the gun,” she said. “I came alone.”
Sebastian didn’t move.
“You were supposed to stay in Manhattan.”
“I was.”
“What happened?”
Mara looked at me.
“I found something.”
She held up a photograph.
“This was taken twelve years ago.”
I took it.
The photo showed my father.
Mara.
Sebastian.
And a fourth person.
My mother.
Alive.
I stared.
“My mother died before I was born.”
Mara’s expression broke.
“No.”
“What?”
“Your mother never died.”
The room went silent.
Sebastian looked at Mara.
“You told me she was dead.”
“I told you what Daniel told me.”
I stared at the picture.
“Where is she?”
Mara hesitated.
“She disappeared the night Daniel was killed.”
“Disappeared where?”
“We don't know.”
I felt dizzy.
Then Mara said something that made Sebastian’s face change.
“She left one message.”
“What?”
“For Valerie.”
My mother had left a message for me.
Twelve years ago.
And no one had ever told me.
Mara reached into her coat.
She handed me a small envelope.
My name was written across it in my mother’s handwriting.
I opened it with trembling fingers.
Inside was a single sentence.
If Sebastian ever finds you, do not trust the woman who saved him.
I looked at Mara.
Then at Sebastian.
“What does this mean?”
Mara went pale.
Sebastian slowly raised his weapon again.
“Mara,” he said.
She stared at him.
“I had nothing to do with Daniel’s death.”
“You were there.”
“So were you.”
“Then why did your fingerprints disappear from the evidence?”
Mara stepped backward.
“I don’t know.”
A gunshot shattered the window.
Sebastian grabbed me and pulled me down.
Mara screamed.
The basement door slammed open.
Men rushed into the house.
Sebastian fired.
Chaos erupted.
Mara grabbed my hand.
“Valerie, run!”
I followed her.
We raced toward the back hallway.
Sebastian shouted my name.
Then another shot rang out.
Mara stumbled.
Blood spread across her coat.
I caught her.
“Are you okay?”
She looked at me.
Her lips trembled.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“The woman who saved him…”
She coughed.
“She was me.”
My eyes widened.
“What?”
Mara collapsed.
Sebastian reached us.
He stared at the blood.
Then at me.
“Mara?”
She whispered one final sentence.
“Your mother ordered your father killed.”
May you like
Then she passed out.
And for the second time that morning, my entire understanding of my family shattered.
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