Chapter 4: The Name On The Transfer Record
For several seconds, I couldn’t understand the words Jordan had just spoken.
Someone from my own family.
The sentence repeated inside my head like a warning siren.
My father stood only a few feet away, watching my face change.
“Claire,” he said carefully.
“What happened?””
I lowered the phone slowly.
“Jordan found a payment.””
My father’s expression tightened.
“A payment to Marcus’s mother.””
His eyes shifted.
That tiny movement told me everything.
“Dad,” I whispered.
“You know something.””
He looked away.
And that hurt more than Marcus’s betrayal.
Because Marcus was a stranger pretending to love me.
My father was the person who had taught me what love was supposed to look like.
“Tell me the truth,” I said.
My voice wasn’t angry anymore.
It was tired.
“I deserve the truth.””
My father took a deep breath.
“There was someone who contacted me before Marcus met you.””
“Who?””
He hesitated.
Then he said something I never expected.
“Your uncle.””
My heart stopped.
“My uncle?””
My father nodded.
“Richard.””
I stared at him.
My uncle Richard Bennett had been part of my parents’ company for almost twenty years.
He was the person who taught me how to read contracts when I was a teenager.
The person who brought me birthday gifts.
The person who always told me I was like a daughter to him.
“No,” I whispered.
My father’s face showed regret.
“I didn’t want to believe it either.””
I stepped back.
“So Richard paid Marcus’s mother?””
“Not directly.””
“Then how?””
My father looked toward the ballroom.
“Richard had financial problems. He knew if you married someone who could influence your decisions, he could gain access to the company.””
I felt sick.
“Marcus.””
My father nodded.
“Marcus was the solution he found.””
I covered my mouth.
Everything suddenly connected.
The expensive dinners.
The sudden interest in my business meetings.
The questions Marcus asked about my parents’ accounts.
I thought he was trying to understand my world.
He was studying it.
My phone buzzed again.
Jordan.
I answered.
“Did you find proof?””
“Yes.””
His voice was serious.
“I traced the transaction further.””
“And?””
“There are emails.””
My grip tightened.
“What kind of emails?””
“Between Richard and Diane.””
The world felt unreal.
“About Marcus?””
“Yes.””
I looked at my father.
“He knew.””
My father closed his eyes.
“I suspected.””
“Suspected?””
My voice rose.
“You suspected my uncle was working with people trying to use me, and you let me continue this relationship?””
My father looked broken.
“I thought I could handle it.””
“That’s not protecting me.””
I wiped my tears.
“That’s controlling my life.””
He didn’t argue.
Because he knew I was right.
A few minutes later, Jordan arrived in the garden carrying his folder.
He looked at my father, then at me.
“I’m sorry, Claire.””
“Show me.””
He opened the folder.
Inside were printed emails and financial records.
The first page had Marcus’s name.
The second had Diane’s.
The third had Richard’s.
I read the first line.
“Once the marriage happens, Bennett Properties will become vulnerable through family access.””
My hands trembled.
“They wrote this?””
Jordan nodded.
“There’s more.””
I turned the page.
A message from Richard.
“Claire trusts people too easily. Marcus can keep her distracted.””
I felt something inside me break.
Not because Marcus had betrayed me.
I already knew that.
But because someone who shared my blood had helped him.
My father reached for the papers.
“I should have told you.””
I looked at him.
“Yes.””
He lowered his head.
“I was afraid.””
“Afraid of what?””
“That if I told you, you would see danger everywhere.””
I laughed bitterly.
“And now I see it when I’m standing at my own wedding.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Jordan’s phone rang.
He answered quickly.
“Hello?””
His face changed.
“What do you mean he’s gone?””
My father looked up.
“Who?””
Jordan ended the call.
His expression was tense.
“Richard.””
“What about him?””
“He left his office twenty minutes ago.””
“That’s not unusual.””
Jordan looked at me.
“Claire, his assistant said he took every company file connected to your inheritance.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Why would he do that?””
Jordan didn’t answer immediately.
Then he said,
“Because he may know we found him.””
My phone buzzed again.
This time it was a message from an unknown number.
I opened it.
One sentence appeared.
“Congratulations on ruining your wedding, Claire. But you have no idea what you just started.””
I stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
A photo.
It was taken inside my house.
May you like
My bedroom.
And on my bed was a folder marked with my name.
