Chapter 6: The Secret Account
I hated how quickly fear returned.
Not the fear of losing money.
Not the fear of losing the company.
Those things could be rebuilt.
I feared losing the last pieces of Sarah.
Her memories.
Her trust.
The truth about the woman I loved.
Victor’s words followed me through the lobby.
*The person standing closest to you.*
I looked around.
Daniel.
Michael.
The employees.
Everyone suddenly felt like a question mark.
Victor watched my reaction.
He wanted that.
He wanted doubt.
That was how people like him won.
They didn’t need proof.
They only needed suspicion.
“You’re lying,” Michael said.
Victor looked at his son.
“You still defend him?””
“You’re the one who betrayed her.””
Victor’s face hardened.
“Be careful.””
The old fear in Michael’s eyes told me something.
This was not the first time they had fought.
I stepped between them.
“Enough.””
Everyone stopped.
I looked at Victor.
“You said Sarah knew who betrayed her.””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
Victor shook his head.
“She never told you?””
“No.””
“Then maybe she didn’t trust you either.””
The words hit exactly where he wanted.
I felt it.
The tiny crack.
The question I had never allowed myself to ask.
Why didn’t Sarah tell me?
Why did she leave Michael instructions instead?
Why did she hide the truth?
Victor saw the doubt.
And smiled.
That was when I knew.
He was manipulating me.
I turned away.
“Daniel.””
“Yes?””
“Take Victor somewhere private.””
Victor raised an eyebrow.
“You’re ordering your own employee to remove me?””
“No.””
I looked at him.
“I’m giving you a chance to stop lying.””
For the first time, his confidence weakened.
Only slightly.
But enough.
Daniel guided him toward a conference room.
Before leaving, Victor stopped beside me.
“Ethan.””
I didn’t look at him.
“Your wife loved you.””
My jaw tightened.
“But she also knew you were predictable.””
I turned.
Victor smiled.
“And that’s why she hid the most important secret from you.””
The door closed.
I stood there, unable to move.
Lily suddenly appeared beside me.
She had climbed down from the sofa.
“Daddy?””
I looked down.
“What is it?””
She held the stuffed rabbit.
“Mommy said something before she went away.””
My heart stopped.
“What did she say?””
Lily looked at the rabbit.
“She told me to give this to you when I was older.””
My hands went cold.
“Give me what?””
Lily reached inside the rabbit’s torn fabric.
I had seen that tear a hundred times.
I thought it was just old stitching.
But inside was something hidden.
A small metal key.
Attached to it was a tiny tag.
A number.
*417.*
I stared at it.
Daniel walked back into the lobby.
“What is that?””
I didn’t answer.
Because I already knew.
Sarah had hidden something.
Not in the company.
Not in a safe.
Somewhere only Lily and I would find.
Michael stepped closer.
“Ethan…”
I looked at him.
“Did you know about this?””
He shook his head.
“No.””
That was the first honest answer I believed from him all night.
Daniel looked at the key.
“Room 417?””
I nodded slowly.
“The old hotel.””
Daniel frowned.
“What old hotel?””
“The first Grand Regent.””
The place where Sarah and I started.
The building we sold when the chain expanded.
The one place nobody in the company visited anymore.
Because everyone thought it was just a memory.
I looked at the key in my hand.
Sarah hadn’t hidden something from me.
She had hidden something for me.
And suddenly, I understood.
The letter.
The missing reservation.
The threatening message.
Someone knew I was searching.
Someone knew Sarah had left a trail.
I turned toward the private elevator.
“Get the car ready.””
Daniel looked surprised.
“Where are you going?””
I closed my fingers around the key.
“To find out what Sarah died protecting.””
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
No one spoke at first.
Then a woman whispered.
“Ethan?””
I froze.
Because I knew that voice.
I had not heard it in five years.
A voice I thought I would never hear again.
“Sarah’s sister?”” I whispered.
The woman cried softly.
“Don’t go to the old hotel.””
My grip tightened around the phone.
“Why?””
A pause.
May you like
Then she said the words that changed everything.
“Because someone has been waiting there for you since the night Sarah died.””
