Chapter 5: The Man Who Bought My Sister's Silence
Edward's words hung in the air.
Grace moved behind me, gripping my arm so tightly that her fingernails hurt.
Daniel stepped forward.
“Edward, you have no legal authority to enter this property and threaten anyone.””
Edward placed his leather folder on the mantelpiece.
“Threaten? Daniel, I've known you for years. Surely you can distinguish a threat from practical advice.””
He glanced at the open safe.
“You've found something that doesn't belong to you.””
I held up my father's letter.
“My father left this for me.””
“Your father left a great many things,” Edward replied.
“Most of them were mistakes.””
“Did you murder him?””
For the first time, his expression shifted.
Only slightly.
Then he laughed.
“Your father died of a heart attack. The same fact has been established by three doctors, a medical examiner, and a death certificate.””
“The same kind of death certificate you arranged for Grace?””
Edward's eyes moved toward my sister.
“You were always a clever girl, Lucy. It's unfortunate that you've inherited your father's habit of asking questions after it's too late to do anything useful with the answers.””
Grace stepped forward.
“You told me my sister had forgotten me.””
Edward tilted his head.
“I told you what you needed to hear.””
“You said she didn't want me back.””
“And you believed me.””
Grace's face crumpled, but she didn't look away.
“I was ten years old.””
“Yes,” Edward said calmly.
“And I was responsible for making sure you remained somewhere your father couldn't reach you.””
I stared at him.
“My father was the one who gave her to you?””
Edward sighed as though I were exhausting him.
“Your father had a financial problem. A very serious one. He had borrowed money from people who did not accept excuses, and he had placed the family business in danger.””
“So he sold his daughter?””
“Your father made arrangements to keep you both alive.””
Grace suddenly laughed.
It was a terrible sound.
“Is that what you call it? You locked me in a house for six months. You changed my name.
You told everyone I was an orphan. When I cried for Lucy, you said you'd make sure she suffered if I tried to escape.””
Edward's mouth tightened.
“You were given food, shelter, and an education.””
“You took my childhood!””
Her shout echoed through the room.
For a moment, Edward's polished mask slipped. He stepped toward her, pointing one finger at her chest.
“You were a liability, Grace. You still are. If you had stayed where you belonged, none of this would be happening.””
I moved between them.
“Take one more step toward her, and you'll regret it.””
Edward looked me up and down.
“You think your money makes you powerful? Your father thought the same thing. Look where it got him.””
Daniel pulled out his phone.
“I'm recording this conversation.””
Edward turned toward him.
“Then record carefully. I haven't confessed to anything.””
He reached into his folder and removed several documents.
“Lucienne, the forty-million-dollar account your father established is connected to an unresolved legal matter. If Grace returns and claims the funds, the entire family estate could become subject to investigation.””
I took the papers.
The first page showed a company I'd never heard of: Carter Holdings International.
The second listed a series of transfers.
The third contained a signature that looked like mine.
“What's this?””
“Your authorization to transfer ownership of certain assets,” Edward said.
“Signed shortly after your father's death.””
“I never signed this.””
“Perhaps you forgot.””
“I did not sign it!””
My voice cracked.
Edward leaned closer.
“Then prove it.””
He straightened his tie and picked up his folder.
“You have forty-eight hours to return the documents and the key. After that, your bank accounts may be frozen, your company investigated, and every newspaper in Atlanta will learn that you inherited your fortune through questionable transactions.””
He walked toward the door.
Then he stopped.
“One more thing, Lucienne. Ask Grace why she never tried to contact you after she turned eighteen. Ask her what happened the last time she attempted to return home.””
He left before I could answer.
The front door slammed.
I turned toward Grace.
“Is there something you're not telling me?””
She stared at the floor.
“Lucy, I tried to find you.””
“When?””
“When I was eighteen. I found an old newspaper article about your wedding. I called the number listed for your father's office.””
I felt a strange chill.
“What happened?””
“Edward answered.””
She swallowed.
“He told me you were pregnant and that if I came near you, he'd make sure your baby never lived long enough to know my name.””
My hand flew to my mouth.
I had lost my first pregnancy at twenty-six.
The doctors had never found a definitive reason.
For years, I had blamed myself. I had wondered whether stress, work, or some unknown medical condition had caused it.
Now I couldn't breathe.
“Are you saying Edward threatened my child?””
Grace shook her head.
“I'm saying he knew things about your life that I never told him. And he made me believe that coming back would destroy you.””
I sank onto the sofa.
Daniel crouched in front of me.
“Lucienne, we cannot treat Edward's accusations as facts. We need evidence.””
I looked toward the open safe.
“Then let's find it.””
We examined every document until late afternoon. Most concerned shell companies, bank transfers, and property purchases. But one folder contained photographs.
The first showed my father standing outside a building with Edward.
The second showed Grace as a teenager, standing beside a woman with short dark hair.
The third made my stomach turn.
It showed Marcus, my driver, standing outside my father's house twenty-five years earlier.
He looked younger, perhaps in his twenties, but unmistakable.
I held the photograph toward Daniel.
“Marcus was there?””
Daniel studied it.
“That's definitely him.””
Grace leaned over my shoulder.
Her eyes widened.
“That's the man who drove the car.””
“What car?””
“The night they took me away. I remember him. He was sitting in the front seat while Dad argued with Edward.””
I stared at the photograph.
Marcus had told me he'd grown up in Atlanta and started working as a driver after leaving the military. He had never mentioned knowing my father.
I reached for my phone.
Before I could call him, a message appeared on the screen.
*MARCUS: Ms. Lucienne, please don't trust Daniel. Edward isn't the only one who has been lying to you.*
Another message followed.
*MARCUS: I need to tell you what really happened the night Grace disappeared. Meet me alone.*
I looked at Daniel.
He was staring at the photograph, his face drained of color.
“What's wrong?”” I asked.
He slowly raised his eyes.
“Lucienne, there's something I should have told you years ago.””
“What?””
He closed the folder.
“Your father hired me to investigate Grace's disappearance before the police officially declared her dead.””
I stood.
“And?””
Daniel swallowed.
“I found evidence that she was alive. But someone paid me to destroy it.””
“Who?””
He looked at the photograph of Marcus.
Then at the message on my phone.
“I never found out who made the payment.””
My phone vibrated again.
This time, the message came from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph of Marcus sitting inside a parked car.
Beside him was Edward Vale.
The timestamp read *10:42 A.M. TODAY*.
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Underneath it was a single sentence.
*Your driver isn't trying to help you. He's trying to finish what he started.*
