Chapter 2 - The Photograph
I spun around.
Eleanor stood there.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“Keep your voice down.”
She locked the door.
I held up the photograph.
“Tell me this isn't what it looks like.”
She couldn't.
The image showed Sebastian beside Adrian's black Aston Martin inside the private garage beneath Vale Tower.
The driver's door was open.
Sebastian was leaning inside.
11:47 p.m.
Eleven hours before Adrian crashed.
Eleanor inserted the flash drive into Adrian's isolated desktop computer.
One folder appeared.
BLACKTHORN.
Inside were financial spreadsheets documenting transfers from Vale Global subsidiaries into shell corporations.
$187 million.
Then $64 million.
Then another $91 million.
Every transaction had been approved using Adrian's executive credentials.
Except Adrian had been in Tokyo when several approvals occurred.
“Someone stole his authorization,” I said.
Eleanor nodded.
We opened another file.
It contained a list of names.
Board members.
Lawyers.
Executives.
At the bottom:
SEBASTIAN CROSS.
Beside his name Adrian had written:
Not mastermind. Find who owns him.
My assumptions shifted.
Sebastian was involved.
But perhaps he wasn't running anything.
The office door handle moved.
Eleanor closed the laptop.
“Who is it?”
“Security.”
A man's voice answered.
“Mr. Cross reported unauthorized access to Mr. Vale's office.”
I stared at Eleanor.
“How did he know?”
Her expression hardened.
“Because he's watching us.”
We hid the flash drive and opened the door.
Two security officers escorted us upstairs.
Sebastian waited outside Adrian's room.
“You broke into his office?”
“My husband's office,” I said.
His jaw tightened.
“You've been Mrs. Vale for twelve hours.”
“And apparently that's twelve hours too many for you.”
Eleanor stepped between us.
“Enough.”
Sebastian lowered his voice.
“You don't understand what's happening.”
“Then explain the photograph.”
Silence.
His face changed.
“You found it.”
“Yes.”
He looked toward Adrian's room.
Then at the security cameras.
“Not here.”
I almost laughed.
“You expect me to follow you somewhere private?”
“I expect you to survive long enough to understand why Adrian warned you.”
That stopped me.
“You admit he was warning me about you?”
“Yes.”
His answer came without hesitation.
“He had every reason to.”
Before I could respond, Dr. Mercer emerged.
“Adrian is asking for Claire.”
I entered alone.
Adrian looked stronger, though speaking clearly still exhausted him.
I sat beside him.
“I found Blackthorn.”
His eyes sharpened.
“Sebastian?”
“In the files.”
Adrian swallowed.
“Not... alone.”
“I know.”
His fingers moved over the blanket.
“Father.”
“Your father?”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
Then he whispered a name.
“Richard.”
Richard Vale.
Adrian's uncle.
Chairman emeritus.
The man who had publicly wept at the hospital after Adrian's accident.
The man who had signed our marriage certificate as a family witness that morning.
“Richard is behind this?”
Adrian closed his eyes.
“Trust... no one.”
“Not even your mother?”
His eyes opened.
“Claire.”
“Yes?”
“Wedding.”
“What about it?”
“Why?”
I told him.
The trust.
The company.
His mother's request.
His letter.
When I finished, Adrian stared at me for a long time.
“I wrote that?”
My cheeks warmed despite everything.
“You did.”
“Bad timing.”
A laugh escaped me.
It was tiny and broken, but real.
“Yes. Terrible timing.”
His thumb moved weakly over my hand.
“Did you mean it?”
“What?”
“What you said when I woke.”
I knew exactly what he meant.
I didn't marry you for your money.
“Yes.”
His eyes softened.
“I heard you.”
I froze.
“What?”
“Sometimes.”
“During the coma?”
He blinked once.
“Voices. Pieces.”
My heart pounded.
“What else did you hear?”
His expression darkened.
“Sebastian.”
“What did he say?”
Adrian opened his mouth.
The monitor suddenly alarmed.
His body stiffened.
Doctors rushed in.
I was pushed into the corridor.
Twenty minutes later, Sebastian found me alone.
“We need to talk now.”
“Talk.”
“Richard isn't the only person you need to fear.”
“Who?”
“Eleanor.”
I stared at him.
“That's convenient.”
“Ask yourself why she needed you to marry Adrian today.”
“She explained the trust.”
“She explained part of it.”
He handed me a folded document.
It was a copy of Adrian's trust amendment.
I read the highlighted paragraph twice.
Upon marriage, the spouse would receive temporary authority over Adrian's personal estate.
But another provision followed.
If Adrian died within thirty days of the marriage, the spouse inherited controlling voting rights.
My stomach turned.
“You think Eleanor married me to him because she expects him to die.”
Sebastian's voice dropped.
“I think someone does.”
Footsteps sounded behind us.
Richard Vale approached.
Silver-haired, composed, elegant.
He smiled when he saw me.
“Claire. I heard our miracle patient woke up.”
I folded the document.
Richard kissed my cheek.
“You've given this family hope.”
I looked into his eyes.
“Have I?”
His smile remained.
But his eyes became cold.
Later that night, Adrian stabilized.
I stayed beside him.
At 2:13 a.m., my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
One photograph.
It showed me sitting beside Adrian's bed.
Taken through the partially open door.
The message underneath contained six words.
LEAVE YOUR HUSBAND BEFORE MORNING.
May you like
Then another message arrived.
THIS TIME HE WILL NOT WAKE UP.
