Chapter 4 - THE FIANCÉE'S SECRET Victoria Ashford did not sleep that night.
She sat in the library of the Ashford estate while Thomas Hart paced in front of the fireplace.
Arthur Ashford sat in a leather chair.
At eighty-three, he was still the most powerful man in the room.
His eyes were sharp.
“Where is the key?”
Victoria looked at him.
“I don't know.”
“Evelyn has it.”
“I said I don't know where she put it!”
Arthur slammed his cane against the floor.
“Then find out.”
Victoria's hands trembled.
“You told me Daniel knew nothing.”
“He didn't.”
“You told me Evelyn was irrelevant.”
“She was.”
“Then why are you afraid of her?”
Arthur stared at her.
Because the answer was simple.
Evelyn Hart had been underestimated for twenty-two years.
That was what made her dangerous.
“She knows where the archive is.”
Victoria swallowed.
“What is inside?”
Arthur looked toward Thomas.
Thomas answered.
“Evidence.”
“Evidence of what?”
“Everything.”
Victoria stood.
“You said the company was legally ours.”
“It is.”
“Then why are you worried?”
Thomas laughed without humor.
“Because legal ownership is not the same as moral ownership.”
Victoria stared at him.
“I don't understand.”
Arthur leaned forward.
“Your marriage to Daniel was supposed to solve that problem.”
Victoria froze.
“What?”
Arthur's eyes hardened.
“Daniel is the last direct heir.”
“What does that mean?”
“His father created a trust.”
Thomas's face darkened.
“The Hartwell Trust.”
Arthur nodded.
“Your father never told you?”
Victoria looked at Thomas.
He said nothing.
Arthur continued.
“The company was transferred to the Ashford family only temporarily.”
Victoria felt the room tilt.
“Temporarily?”
“If Daniel marries into the family and signs the proper documents, the ownership becomes permanent.”
Victoria slowly understood.
“So that's why you wanted me to marry him.”
Arthur's expression did not change.
“Don't be childish.”
“You used me.”
“We all use what we have.”
Victoria stared at him.
For the first time, she realized that she was not the most powerful person in the family.
She was not even the most important.
She was a tool.
And now the tool had become inconvenient.
“What happens if Daniel finds out?”
Arthur looked at her.
“Then make sure he doesn't.”
Victoria's face went pale.
“Are you threatening me?”
“No.”
Arthur smiled.
“I am advising you.”
Later that night, Victoria entered Daniel's apartment.
He was not there.
She had the access code.
She searched his desk.
His laptop.
His drawers.
Nothing.
Then she found the photograph.
Daniel had left it on the table.
The picture of Arthur and Thomas standing beside Daniel's father.
Victoria stared at it.
On the back, written in black ink:
THE NIGHT THE HARTWELL NAME WAS STOLEN.
Her hands began to shake.
She heard a sound behind her.
Victoria spun around.
Daniel stood in the doorway.
She froze.
“What are you doing here?”
He looked at the photograph in her hand.
“What are you doing in my apartment?”
Victoria tried to smile.
“I came to talk.”
“About what?”
She placed the photograph down.
“About your mother.”
Daniel's eyes hardened.
“What about her?”
“She is manipulating you.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she have a photograph of my father and your grandfather?”
Victoria paused.
Daniel stepped closer.
“And why did your grandfather say my father was dangerous?”
Victoria's face lost color.
“You heard that?”
“No.”
Daniel picked up his phone.
“I recorded it.”
Victoria stared at him.
“You recorded me?”
“No.”
He looked toward the door.
“You were speaking to Thomas in the hallway.”
Victoria suddenly realized.
Daniel had been listening.
“Daniel…”
“Did you know my father owned Hartwell Financial?”
She said nothing.
“Did you know my mother was invited to the party?”
Silence.
“Did you hide the invitation?”
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
“I was trying to protect us.”
“From my mother?”
“From the truth.”
Daniel stared at her.
Victoria stepped toward him.
“Daniel, I love you.”
He looked away.
“I believe you think you do.”
Her face collapsed.
“What does that mean?”
“It means I don't know who you are.”
Victoria reached for him.
He stepped back.
“Don't.”
She began to cry.
“You're going to believe a woman who showed up looking like that over me?”
Daniel's expression changed.
“Be careful.”
“She has been lying to you for years!”
“Maybe.”
He looked at her.
“But at least she never sprayed me with a hose.”
Victoria went silent.
Daniel walked to the door.
“Don't come back here.”
She stared at him.
“Are you ending our engagement?”
Daniel opened the door.
“I don't know.”
Then he looked back.
“But I know one thing.”
“What?”
“If you lied about my mother, I will find out.”
May you like
Victoria's tears stopped.
Because the woman she had been preparing to marry had suddenly become the one person she could no longer control.
