Chapter 5 - Victoria's First Husband
Marcus pulled Rose backward.
Another security officer opened the closet.
Empty.
A rear maintenance panel had been removed.
Someone had escaped through the building's service access.
Rose stared at the photograph.
Victoria looked young.
Perhaps twenty-five.
Miriam stood beside her.
Grant stood behind them.
“How did my mother know Victoria?”
Rose whispered.
Nathaniel arrived twenty minutes later.
Rose handed him the photograph.
His expression hardened.
“Victoria told me she'd never met Grant before last year.”
“That's obviously false.”
Nathaniel called her.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Marcus contacted the hospital.
Victoria had left.
Nobody knew where she'd gone.
They searched public records.
Victoria's history looked ordinary until Marcus found an old marriage license.
Fifteen years earlier, Victoria Bennett had married a man named Lucas Warren.
Warren.
Celeste's surname.
Rose leaned closer.
“Celeste?”
“Lucas's sister,” Marcus said.
The marriage lasted eleven months.
Lucas disappeared shortly after the divorce.
No death certificate.
No current address.
Nathaniel rubbed his face.
“So my wife used to be married to Celeste's brother.”
“And never told you,” Rose said.
They found an archived corporate filing.
Lucas Warren had worked for Grant.
So had Miriam.
The connections were tightening.
By morning, Victoria finally called.
She asked to speak with Rose.
Nathaniel refused.
Rose overruled him.
“If she wants me, there's a reason.”
They met in a lawyer's conference room with security outside.
Victoria entered without makeup.
She looked exhausted.
Rose placed the photograph on the table.
Victoria closed her eyes.
“Where did you get that?”
“Someone broke into my apartment.”
Victoria sat down.
“Miriam tried to save me.”
Rose stiffened.
“From what?”
“Grant.”
Victoria explained.
At twenty-five, she had married Lucas.
Lucas worked for Grant and discovered the financial scheme.
He wanted out.
Miriam helped them collect evidence.
Then Lucas disappeared.
Victoria believed Grant had forced him into hiding.
Miriam told her to run.
She did.
Years later, Victoria rebuilt her life.
Then she met Nathaniel.
“You knew who he was.”
“Yes.”
“You targeted him?”
“No.”
Nathaniel flinched.
Victoria looked at him.
“I avoided you for months because of who you were.”
“Then why marry me?”
“Because I loved you.”
Nathaniel said nothing.
Victoria continued.
“Three weeks ago, Grant contacted me. He had discovered Jonathan was alive.”
“And threatened your brother?”
“Yes.”
“And Lucas?”
Victoria's eyes filled.
“He said Lucas was alive too.”
Rose leaned forward.
“Is he?”
“I don't know.”
Grant promised to reveal Lucas's location if Victoria delivered the trust amendment.
“So you did.”
“Yes.”
Nathaniel's voice was cold.
“You could have told me.”
“I was afraid.”
“You lied to me.”
“I know.”
“On our wedding day, my mother almost died.”
“I know.”
Victoria looked at Eleanor's bracelet on the table.
“I grabbed her because Grant was approaching from behind.”
Rose frowned.
“You were trying to pull her away?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you say that immediately?”
“Because Grant told me if I implicated him, Lucas would disappear forever.”
Nathaniel looked away.
The marriage had lasted two hours before everything shattered.
Rose felt sympathy for Victoria.
But sympathy wasn't trust.
“Where is Grant now?”
Victoria reached into her purse.
Nathaniel's security moved instantly.
She slowly removed a phone.
“He contacted me this morning.”
She displayed a message.
COME ALONE. BRING MIRIAM'S DAUGHTER.
Rose stared.
“Me?”
Victoria nodded.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Another message arrived.
A location.
An abandoned Callaway records warehouse.
Nathaniel immediately said, “Nobody's going.”
Rose looked at the photograph.
“My mother spent years protecting this family.”
“That doesn't mean you owe us anything.”
“This isn't about owing you.”
Rose looked at Victoria.
“Grant knows something about my mother.”
Police were contacted.
A controlled meeting was arranged.
Rose and Victoria entered the warehouse wearing concealed transmitters.
Nathaniel hated every second.
Inside, rows of old storage shelves disappeared into darkness.
“Grant?” Victoria called.
No answer.
They walked deeper.
A light switched on.
A man sat at a table.
Not Grant.
Victoria stopped breathing.
“Lucas?”
The man stood.
Older.
Bearded.
But alive.
Victoria covered her mouth.
Lucas Warren looked at her.
“Don't come closer.”
“Lucas.”
“Grant's watching.”
Rose looked around.
“Where?”
“Everywhere.”
Lucas placed a folder on the table.
“Miriam discovered something before she died.”
Rose stepped forward.
“What?”
“Grant wasn't the person at the top.”
Rose stared.
“What does that mean?”
Lucas looked toward Victoria.
“Grant worked for someone.”
“Who?”
Lucas pushed the folder toward Rose.
Before she could touch it, every light went out.
Victoria screamed.
A door slammed.
Rose heard running footsteps.
Then Lucas shouted from the darkness.
“ROSE, DON'T OPEN THE FOLDER!”
Emergency lights flickered on.
Lucas was gone.
The folder remained.
Rose reached toward it.
Her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
One message.
IF YOU OPEN THAT FILE, NATHANIEL LEARNS WHAT YOUR MOTHER DID TO HIS FAMILY.
May you like
Rose stared at the screen.
Then the warehouse doors began closing.
