Richard didn't run.
He simply stared at the open doorway.
A waiter appeared first, confused by the noise.
Then another employee rushed behind him.
No one else entered.
The back corridor was empty.
Richard's phone stopped ringing.
Miriam released his arm.
“Are you sure you saw someone?”
Richard nodded.
“I know that number.”
“Victor's?”
“Yes.”
I looked toward the doorway.
“Could he have been watching you?”
Richard sat down again.
“He's been watching people for years.”
“Why?”
“Because he doesn't trust anyone.”
“That's not an answer.”
Richard looked at me.
“Victor Hale built the original investment network with our fathers.”
I felt a strange pressure in my chest.
“Then why did everyone say he disappeared?”
“He didn't disappear.”
“Then where has he been?”
Richard lowered his voice.
“Moving money.”
Miriam leaned forward.
“How?”
“Through companies that didn't appear connected.”
I looked at the photographs.
“Like Vale Meridian?”
“No.”
“Then which?”
Richard shook his head.
“Vale Meridian was created to separate your father's legitimate holdings from the rest.”
“By whom?”
“Your father.”
I stared at him.
“My father knew.”
“Yes.”
“About Victor?”
“Yes.”
“About the illegal transfers?”
Richard hesitated.
“About some.”
“Did my father participate?”
“No.”
The answer came quickly.
Too quickly.
I watched his face.
“Then why did he work with Victor?”
“Because Victor controlled access to capital.”
“And my father needed it?”
“At first.”
“What changed?”
Richard looked down.
“Victor began demanding control.”
I understood.
The partnership had become a struggle.
My father tried to leave.
Victor wouldn't allow it.
Daniel's father stayed.
That decision eventually connected their families.
“And Daniel?” I asked.
Richard exhaled.
“Daniel knew enough to be dangerous and not enough to understand the whole picture.”
That sounded painfully familiar.
“What about Vanessa?”
“She worked for Victor.”
Miriam's eyes narrowed.
“How?”
“Her first job after college was with one of his companies.”
“And Evelyn?”
“Evelyn discovered the transfers.”
“That's why she was fired.”
Richard nodded.
“And Vanessa?”
“She helped hide them.”
My hands tightened around the photograph.
“Then why did she marry Daniel?”
Richard looked at me.
“Because Victor believed Daniel could lead him to the remaining assets.”
I felt a chill.
“The remaining assets?”
“Your father's portion.”
My mind moved quickly.
The fourteen companies.
The old agreements.
The missing documents.
The fake account under my name.
Someone had been trying to identify which assets still belonged to the old network.
Daniel had married Vanessa because she had been sent to him.
But she had stayed.
Perhaps because she had developed genuine feelings.
Perhaps because she wanted something for herself.
Perhaps both.
“Where is Victor now?” I asked.
Richard shook his head.
“I don't know.”
“You just said he called you.”
“Yes.”
“Then he knows where you are.”
“Yes.”
“And he knows about me.”
“Yes.”
Miriam closed the folder.
“We're leaving.”
Richard nodded.
As we stepped into the parking garage, my phone rang.
Daniel.
I answered.
“Claire.”
His voice was low.
“Where are you?”
“Why?”
“Because someone broke into my office.”
I stopped walking.
“When?”
“Tonight.”
“Did they take anything?”
“I don't know.”
“What did they search?”
“My private files.”
I looked at Richard.
His face had gone pale.
“Which files?”
“The old company records.”
“Which ones?”
“My father's records.”
I closed my eyes.
“Daniel.”
“What?”
“Do you still have the original investment agreements?”
“No.”
“Who had access?”
“Vanessa.”
Silence.
Then Daniel said, “She left the house.”
“When?”
“An hour ago.”
“Did she take anything?”
“I don't know.”
“Daniel, listen to me carefully.”
“What?”
“Don't follow her.”
He was silent.
“Why?”
“Because you don't know who you're following.”
I ended the call.
Miriam looked at me.
“He finally knows.”
“Not enough.”
We returned to the hotel.
At midnight, Gregory sent another file.
It contained surveillance footage from Pierce Dynamics.
A man entered Daniel's office.
His face was partially obscured.
But his posture was familiar.
Richard watched the screen.
Then he whispered:
“Victor.”
I paused the footage.
“Can you prove it?”
“No.”
“Can you identify him?”
“Yes.”
“Then that's enough for now.”
The next morning, Daniel appeared at my hotel.
Alone.
He looked nothing like the man from the wedding.
His suit was wrinkled.
His eyes were red.
He stood outside my door for several seconds before speaking.
“I didn't know.”
I looked at him.
“About what?”
“Any of it.”
“You didn't know about Vanessa?”
“No.”
“You didn't know about the money?”
“No.”
“You didn't know about Victor?”
“No.”
“Then what did you know?”
He looked down.
“That someone was using my company.”
I waited.
“I found evidence years ago.”
“When?”
“Before Vanessa.”
My expression hardened.
“You knew.”
“I knew something was wrong.”
“You wrote a note telling someone to keep me uninvolved.”
He looked at me sharply.
“How did you see that?”
“Because we found the file.”
He sat down.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“From my father.”
The words stopped me.
Daniel continued.
“My father had been involved with Victor.”
“I know.”
He stared at me.
“You know?”
“Richard told me.”
Daniel's shoulders dropped.
“I thought my father had ended it.”
“He didn't.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“Claire, I found out that your father was involved too.”
“I know.”
“I thought you knew.”
“I didn't.”
He rubbed his face.
“I was twenty-nine. I didn't understand what I was looking at.”
“And later?”
“Later, I tried to fix it.”
“By hiding it from me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought I could protect you.”
I almost smiled.
“You protected me by letting me believe our marriage was the problem.”
He had no answer.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
Vanessa.
He didn't answer.
She called again.
Then a message appeared.
Daniel opened it.
His face changed.
“What?”
He handed me the phone.
The message was from Vanessa.
You need to leave the city immediately.
Beneath it was an address.
And one final sentence.
If Claire finds the ledger, everyone is finished.
I looked at Daniel.
“What ledger?”
He shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Richard entered the room behind us.
He saw the message.
Then he looked at me.
“I do.”
“What is it?”
“The original ledger from the partnership between our fathers.”
“Where is it?”
Richard's voice dropped.
“Your father hid it before he died.”
“Where?”
He looked at Daniel.
“His old lake house.”
Daniel went pale.
I stared at him.
“You own that house.”
He nodded.
“Then we're going.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 8: At the Lake House, We Found the Ledger Everyone Had Been Killing Their Futures to Control, But One Page Was Missing
The Divorce Decree He Celebrated Was Not the Victory He Believed He Had Won
Part 7 of 12
