Chapter 5: The Woman Who Had Been There All Along
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Daniel grabbed my arm.
"Behind me.""
A flashlight swept across the storage units.
Adrian stepped into the narrow corridor, followed by two men in dark suits.
His tuxedo jacket was gone. His white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar.
He looked furious.
"Give me the folder, Daniel.""
My brother held it against his chest.
"You've taken enough from this family.""
Adrian laughed.
"Your family? Eleanor was dead before you were old enough to understand what she owned.""
"She understood exactly what you were doing.""
Adrian's expression hardened.
"Careful.""
I stepped forward.
"You followed my mother?""
He looked at me.
"Don't be ridiculous.""
"There's a photograph of Vanessa beside your company car eleven years ago.""
For the first time, Adrian's confidence faltered.
He glanced at Daniel.
"Where did you find that?""
"Mom kept records.""
"Those photographs prove nothing.""
"Then why are you here?""
Adrian looked at me as if I were a disobedient child.
"Claire, you've been manipulated. Celeste is using your mother's death to force a corporate takeover. Daniel has always hated me. Neither of them wants you to have a peaceful life.""
I couldn't believe he was still trying to make himself the victim.
"You gave my mother's necklace to Vanessa.""
"It was a gift.""
"You stole it from our safe.""
"I borrowed it.""
"You tried to transfer my inheritance.""
He sighed.
"Because you were never interested in running a company.""
I stepped closer.
"I was interested in my husband telling me the truth.""
He looked away.
Daniel suddenly laughed.
"That's the problem, Adrian. You never understood that Eleanor left evidence.""
He opened the folder and removed a small USB drive.
Adrian's face changed.
"Where did you get that?""
"From the compartment behind Mom's old drafting table.""
One of Adrian's men stepped forward.
Daniel immediately slipped the drive into my handbag.
"Claire, take it.""
Adrian lunged.
I moved backward, knocking over a metal chair.
The crash echoed through the corridor.
Celeste grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall and pulled the pin.
A cloud of white powder burst into the air.
"Run!"" she shouted.
Daniel pulled me toward the emergency exit.
We pushed through a narrow door and stumbled into the rain.
A black car was waiting outside.
Celeste's driver opened the rear door.
We climbed inside.
Adrian appeared at the building entrance, shouting something I couldn't hear.
The car accelerated.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
I held the folder in my lap.
My hands were shaking.
Finally, I turned toward Daniel.
"Who is Vanessa Hart?""
My brother looked through the rain-covered window.
"Her real name is Vanessa Eleanor Hart.""
I frowned.
"She has the same middle name as Mom?""
Daniel nodded.
"Because she was born with a different surname. Her mother worked for Eleanor's company.""
I stared at him.
"Why would Mom be investigating her?""
Daniel opened another envelope.
Inside was a birth certificate.
The mother's name was Margaret Hart.
The father's name had been left blank.
But attached to it was a confidential family record.
I read the next line twice.
*Maternal connection: Eleanor Bennett.*
My stomach dropped.
"Is Vanessa related to my mother?""
Daniel nodded slowly.
"She's your half-sister.""
The words seemed to empty the air from the car.
"No.""
"Claire—"
"No. Mom would have told me.""
"She was trying to find the right time.""
"Then why did she keep it secret?""
Daniel looked at me.
"Because Vanessa's mother had threatened to expose a scandal that could destroy Eleanor's company.""
Celeste finally spoke.
"Margaret was one of our senior patternmakers. She and Eleanor had a brief relationship with the same man many years ago. Vanessa grew up believing Eleanor had abandoned her.""
I stared at the certificate.
"Who was the father?""
Daniel shook his head.
"That's what we're still trying to establish.""
I looked at Celeste.
"You knew?""
"I knew Margaret had a daughter. I didn't know Vanessa had approached Adrian until much later.""
"How much later?""
Celeste hesitated.
"Shortly before Eleanor's accident.""
My heart began pounding.
I remembered Vanessa saying Adrian had given her the necklace for their anniversary.
Perhaps she hadn't wanted the necklace because it was beautiful.
Perhaps she wanted it because it had belonged to the woman she believed had stolen her childhood.
Daniel took my hand.
"There's something else. Mom's investigation suggests Vanessa didn't enter Adrian's life by accident.""
I looked at him.
"What do you mean?""
He opened the final photograph.
It showed Vanessa outside Vale Atelier, standing beside Adrian.
The date was eleven years ago.
On the back, my mother's handwriting read:
She has approached Adrian. He knows who she is now.
My breath caught.
"Who told Adrian?""
Daniel looked at Celeste.
Celeste slowly removed her sunglasses.
"I did.""
Silence filled the car.
"You introduced them?"" I asked.
Celeste's voice cracked.
"I thought Vanessa wanted to reconcile with her family. I believed Adrian could help arrange a meeting.""
Daniel shook his head.
"And instead, he used her.""
Celeste looked down.
"Yes.""
I turned toward the window.
The city lights blurred through the rain.
Eleven years of marriage.
Eleven years of lies.
And now I was discovering that the woman who had stolen my front-row seat had been connected to my family before I ever met my husband.
My phone vibrated again.
An unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
Vanessa was standing inside my house.
Behind her was the open bedroom safe.
Her message contained just seven words.
*Your mother left something else in there.*
May you like
Then another message arrived.
*And Adrian has already found it.*
