Chapter 6 - A NAME THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN BURIED|
Adrian canceled the dinner before dessert.
He didn't explain the decision to the guests. He simply informed the chairman that an urgent business matter required his attention and instructed Marcus to escort everyone out.
Sera followed him into his private office.
“You know something about my father.”
Adrian closed the door.
“Yes.”
She felt as though the floor had shifted beneath her.
“What?”
“Seven years ago, Daniel Walsh worked as an accountant for a company connected to my father's investment network. He discovered irregular transactions and attempted to report them.”
“Then what happened?”
“He disappeared.”
“You make it sound like a business inconvenience.”
“I wasn't involved in his disappearance.”
“But you knew about it.”
Adrian looked away.
“I was twenty-seven. My father controlled the company, and I was fighting to keep the legitimate businesses from collapsing. I knew Daniel had uncovered something. I didn't know what happened to him afterward.”
Sera's eyes filled with angry tears.
“You had seven years to investigate.”
“I did.”
“And?”
“Every trail ended with the same conclusion. He had stolen confidential records and fled.”
“My father would never abandon me.”
“I believe you.”
She laughed bitterly.
“You don't even know me.”
“I know what it looks like when someone refuses to accept the convenient explanation.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Adrian opened a locked cabinet and removed an old file.
Inside were copies of financial records, a photograph of Daniel, and a handwritten note addressed to Adrian's father.
The note contained one sentence.
If anything happens to me, the original ledger must never reach Vincent.
Sera read it twice.
“Who is Vincent?”
Adrian's expression became distant.
“Vincent Vale. My uncle.”
She had never heard the name.
“He died six years ago,” Adrian continued. “At least, that's what the family was told.”
Sera looked up.
“Was there a funeral?”
“Yes.”
“Did anyone identify the body?”
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
That was enough.
Sera stepped away from the desk.
“You've been lying to yourself for years.”
“Perhaps.”
“And now you're going to tell me that you'll handle everything alone.”
“I was going to say that you should leave this investigation to me.”
“Then you haven't learned anything about me.”
She grabbed her bag.
Adrian moved toward the door but stopped when she raised a hand.
“Don't.”
He obeyed.
“I won't let you use my father's disappearance as another reason to control my life,” she said. “If you know something, you tell me. If you discover something, you tell me. And if you decide I'm too fragile to hear the truth, I'll find it without you.”
Adrian looked at her for a long time.
Then he nodded.
“Agreed.”
Sera left the office.
After the door closed, Marcus emerged from the adjoining room.
“You shouldn't have told her.”
Adrian stared at the photograph of Daniel Walsh.
“She's already involved.”
“That's exactly the problem.”
Marcus lowered his voice.
“Vincent didn't die six years ago. And if Sera finds the original ledger, she'll learn why your father was willing to sacrifice an innocent man to protect it.”
Adrian turned slowly.
“What did you just say?”
Marcus looked toward the closed door.
“Your father wasn't protecting the family fortune.”
May you like
He swallowed.
“He was protecting the man who murdered Daniel Walsh's partner.”
