Chapter 2 - The Boss Who Suddenly Started Protecting Her
The next morning, I arrived at Veil Meridian Tower at 6:42.
Ronin was already there.
He was standing outside my office.
That alone was alarming.
Ronin Vale did not stand outside anyone's office.
People went to him.
"Good morning," I said carefully.
"You didn't sleep."
It wasn't a question.
I tightened my grip on my coffee.
"I slept."
"How long?"
"Three hours."
His jaw tightened.
"That's not enough."
"I'll survive."
He stepped aside.
"Come with me."
"Where?"
"Doctor."
"I don't need a doctor."
"That's not your decision."
I stopped walking.
"Actually, it is."
He looked at me.
The hallway seemed suddenly too quiet.
"Marin."
"Mr. Vale."
"You're stubborn."
"I'm shy, not obedient."
Wade, standing twenty feet away, turned his face to hide a smile.
Ronin glanced at him.
Wade immediately became interested in the ceiling.
Ronin looked back at me.
"Fine."
I relaxed.
"You can have the afternoon off."
"I don't need—"
"The morning too."
"But—"
"That's an order."
I stared.
"You're giving me time off because I fell asleep on your shoulder?"
"No."
"Then why?"
His eyes held mine.
"Because someone broke into your office."
That answer ended the argument.
I followed him upstairs.
The security room was darker than usual.
Multiple screens showed footage from the previous night.
Wade paused the recording.
At 11:18 p.m., a man entered my office.
Black coat.
Baseball cap.
Gloves.
He didn't touch my computer.
He opened my bottom drawer.
Then he looked directly at the camera.
His face was obscured, but his body language felt strangely familiar.
I leaned closer.
"Can you enhance that?"
Wade did.
The man's left wrist became visible.
A scar.
Three inches long.
I stopped.
"I know him."
Ronin looked at me.
"Who?"
"Mr. Bell. The contractor who repaired the elevators last month."
Wade immediately pulled up the contractor database.
The man's name was Vincent Bell.
Except Vincent Bell did not exist.
The company that hired him was a shell corporation.
Ronin stood.
"How many people knew you had access to the vendor files?"
I thought.
"Nolan. Finance. Legal. You."
"Anyone outside the company?"
"No."
He looked at Wade.
"Find Bell."
Wade nodded.
Ronin turned to me.
"What did your father do?"
I stiffened.
"I don't know."
"You've never talked about him?"
"My mother told me he was dead."
"When?"
"I was ten."
"And you believed her."
"Until last night."
He studied me.
"Tell me everything you remember."
I stared at the floor.
"My father worked nights. He wore dark suits. He smelled like smoke when he came home. He always checked the locks twice."
Ronin listened.
"My mother used to argue with him. Quietly. She'd send me upstairs."
"Anything else?"
"There was a phrase."
"What phrase?"
I swallowed.
"Blue rooms stay closed."
Ronin's expression changed.
"What?"
"That's what he used to say. I never understood it."
Wade glanced at Ronin.
Ronin said nothing.
The security room door opened.
A woman walked in.
Tall.
Elegant.
Blonde hair.
Black suit.
I recognized her as Evelyn Vale.
Ronin's younger sister.
She looked at me.
Then at Ronin.
"So she's the secretary."
I smiled nervously.
"Yes."
Evelyn studied me.
"Interesting."
Ronin's expression cooled.
"Why are you here?"
"Father wants you at dinner."
"No."
"He's expecting Marin too."
My stomach dropped.
"Why?"
Evelyn smiled faintly.
"Because he wants to meet the woman who sleeps on his son's shoulder."
Wade coughed.
Ronin closed his eyes for half a second.
I wanted the floor to open.
"That was an accident," I whispered.
Evelyn laughed.
"Oh, I know."
Ronin looked at me.
"You're not going."
Evelyn raised an eyebrow.
"Father asked."
"I said no."
"That's not how Father hears the word."
The room went silent.
Ronin's phone rang.
He answered.
His father's voice came through.
"Bring her tonight."
Ronin looked at me.
"No."
Salvatore Vale said something.
Ronin's jaw tightened.
"Absolutely not."
Then he hung up.
I looked at him.
"What did he say?"
"Nothing you need to know."
That afternoon, I found an envelope on my desk.
No name.
No stamp.
Inside was a photograph.
My father.
Standing beside Salvatore Vale.
They were both younger.
And behind them was a building.
Veil Meridian Tower.
Except the tower didn't exist yet.
On the back of the photograph were four words.
YOUR FATHER TRUSTED HIM.
I took the photo upstairs.
Ronin read it.
Then he became very still.
"You knew."
"About what?"
"About my father."
"I knew your father worked with mine."
"You said he disappeared."
"He did."
"When?"
"Seventeen years ago."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't know if you were ready."
"Ready for what?"
He looked at me.
"The possibility that your mother lied to protect you."
My heart pounded.
"From what?"
"From people who believed your father knew where something was hidden."
"What?"
Ronin looked at the photograph.
"A ledger."
"What ledger?"
"The Vale Blackbook."
I had heard the name.
Everyone in the city's shadows had.
But I had never seen one.
Ronin continued.
"It's rumored to contain names, payments, deals, betrayals. Enough information to destroy several powerful people."
"And my father knew where it was?"
"He disappeared the same week the ledger disappeared."
I looked at the photograph.
"Then why would he come back now?"
Ronin had no answer.
That evening, he took me to dinner.
Not because Salvatore ordered him to.
Because he said, "If my father is involved, I want you where I can see you."
The Vale mansion stood beyond a private gate.
Every room felt like history.
Salvatore sat at the head of the table.
His eyes fixed on me.
"So you're Marin Whitlock."
"Yes, sir."
"I've heard you're efficient."
"I try to be."
"I've also heard you're very quiet."
I glanced at Ronin.
"Usually."
Salvatore smiled.
"Good."
Ronin's expression changed.
"Why is that good?"
"Quiet people hear things."
I went still.
Salvatore leaned back.
"Tell me, Marin. What does my son say about me?"
"Nothing."
He laughed.
"Smart girl."
After dinner, Ronin escorted me outside.
"You did well."
"Your father scares me."
"He scares everyone."
He opened the car door.
Before I got in, I noticed movement in the upstairs window.
Someone was watching us.
I pointed.
Ronin turned.
Nothing.
Then a whisper came from behind us.
"Blue rooms stay closed."
I froze.
Nobody else had heard it.
Ronin looked at me.
"Marin?"
I couldn't speak.
May you like
Because I knew that voice.
It belonged to my father.
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