Chapter 18 - MARGARET'S LAST SECRET|
Margaret agreed to meet at the Ashford estate.
She sat in the formal drawing room wearing pearls and a navy suit. Her expression was composed, but her hands were tightly clasped.
“You have become very troublesome,” she said.
“I learned from your family.”
She looked toward Arthur.
“I will speak only to Evelyn.”
Arthur remained near the door.
I placed the archived email on the table.
“Did you know my grandfather helped build Ashford Global?”
Margaret glanced at the document.
“Your grandfather was involved in the early years.”
“Did you know his shares were never legally surrendered?”
She said nothing.
“Did you know Nathaniel married me after investigating my family?”
Margaret's mouth tightened.
“I knew your grandfather's name had appeared in some old records.”
“That isn't an answer.”
She looked at me.
“Edward believed Samuel had become a threat to the company. He thought the Whitmore family would eventually demand control.”
“So you helped erase him.”
“I protected my son.”
“By letting him marry a woman you considered worthless?”
Margaret's expression shifted.
“I did not know Nathaniel had planned the marriage in that way.”
“But you knew enough to keep me ignorant.”
She looked down.
I placed another document on the table.
It was a letter from Edward to Margaret, written shortly after Samuel's death.
The girl must never learn what her grandfather owns. If she does, the agreement will become enforceable, and the Ashford family will lose its control.
Margaret closed her eyes.
“Edward was afraid.”
“Of my grandfather?”
“Of losing everything.”
“He stole from him.”
“He believed the company belonged to his family.”
“And what did you believe?”
Margaret looked at me for a long time.
“I believed my son deserved to inherit what his father had built.”
“Even if it was built with stolen money?”
She had no answer.
Then she reached into her handbag and removed a small key.
“Edward kept a second archive in the old company headquarters. I found it after he died. I never opened it.”
“Why give it to me now?”
“Because Nathaniel is no longer listening to me. He has become like his father.”
I took the key.
Margaret's voice weakened.
“There is something in that archive you need to see. It concerns the night Samuel died.”
My heart began to pound.
“What happened?”
She looked directly at me.
“Your grandfather did not die believing the company was lost.”
May you like
She paused.
“He died knowing someone had promised to restore it.”
