Chapter 2 - THE SECRET IN THE STUDYArthur did not sleep.
Neither did Claire.
They remained downstairs until sunrise, with Noah sleeping between them in his bassinet.
The photograph lay on the table.
Arthur kept looking at it.
His father.
The unknown woman.
And the message.
Your father did not die naturally.
For three years, Arthur had believed his father had died from a sudden heart attack.
There had been doctors.
Funeral arrangements.
A death certificate.
A grieving family.
But now everything seemed different.
At seven in the morning, Arthur called his father's former attorney.
The man answered after several rings.
“Arthur?”
“I need to ask you something.”
“Of course.”
“Did my father change his will before he died?”
There was a long silence.
“Yes.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Your father instructed me not to.”
“Why?”
“Because he believed the information could put you in danger.”
Arthur looked at Claire.
“What information?”
The attorney lowered his voice.
“Arthur, you need to come to my office.”
“Tell me now.”
“I can't.”
“You knew my father was afraid.”
“Yes.”
“Afraid of my mother?”
Another silence.
Then:
“Yes.”
Arthur stood.
“I'm coming.”
The attorney gave him an address.
Before Arthur could leave, Claire grabbed his arm.
“I'm coming with you.”
“No.”
“Arthur.”
“I don't want you exposed to this.”
She stared at him.
“I was attacked in our nursery last night because I was already exposed.”
Arthur looked away.
Claire continued.
“I’m your wife. If someone is threatening our family, I have the right to know.”
Arthur finally nodded.
They left Noah with a trusted nurse and drove across town.
The attorney's office was on the top floor of an old brick building.
His name was Samuel Grant.
He was seventy years old and looked exhausted.
When Arthur entered, Samuel locked the door behind them.
“You shouldn't have come here.”
Arthur frowned.
“You told me to.”
“I didn't realize Margaret would still be watching.”
Claire looked toward the windows.
“Watching?”
Samuel nodded.
“Your father believed she had people following him.”
Arthur's stomach tightened.
“How long?”
“Months.”
“Why?”
Samuel opened a locked cabinet.
“Because your father discovered financial irregularities.”
Arthur stepped closer.
“What kind?”
“Millions of dollars.”
He placed several documents on the desk.
Arthur read them.
Payments.
Transfers.
Offshore accounts.
Companies he didn't recognize.
Then one name appeared repeatedly.
M.V. Holdings.
Margaret Vance.
Arthur stared.
“My mother.”
Samuel nodded.
“She was transferring money from one of your father's private accounts.”
“How much?”
“Enough to bankrupt the company if it had continued.”
Claire covered her mouth.
Arthur felt sick.
“Why didn't Dad stop her?”
“He tried.”
Samuel opened another file.
“That's when things became dangerous.”
Inside was a copy of a letter.
Arthur read it.
Margaret had threatened to expose private information about Richard unless he gave her control of several accounts.
Arthur's hands tightened.
“She blackmailed him.”
“Yes.”
“What did Dad know about her?”
Samuel looked at Claire.
“Your father believed Margaret was involved with another man.”
Arthur frowned.
“Who?”
Samuel hesitated.
“Victor Hale.”
Arthur knew the name.
Victor was a powerful attorney who had handled several Vance family matters.
“He represented my father.”
“And your mother.”
Arthur stared.
“How could the same attorney represent both?”
“He shouldn't have.”
Samuel closed the file.
“Your father discovered that Victor had been helping Margaret move money.”
Arthur's voice became quiet.
“Did Dad confront him?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Samuel's eyes dropped.
“Three days later, your father died.”
Silence filled the office.
Claire reached for Arthur's hand.
Arthur stared at Samuel.
“You think my father was murdered.”
“I think someone wanted him dead.”
“Who?”
Samuel shook his head.
“That's the part I never discovered.”
Arthur placed the photograph on the desk.
“Do you know this woman?”
Samuel looked at it.
His face immediately changed.
“Where did you get this?”
“My father's study.”
Samuel sat down.
“Her name is Evelyn Reed.”
“Who is she?”
“She worked for your father twenty-five years ago.”
“Worked how?”
“As his personal assistant.”
Arthur frowned.
“Why is she in this photograph?”
Samuel looked toward the door.
“Because she knew something Margaret desperately wanted hidden.”
“What?”
Samuel stood.
“I think you should leave.”
“Samuel.”
“You don't understand. If Margaret knows you have this photograph, she will come after you.”
“She already came after my wife.”
Samuel froze.
“What?”
Arthur told him about the nursery.
Samuel looked horrified.
“Then you need to disappear.”
“Not until I know the truth.”
Samuel opened another drawer.
Inside was a small key.
“Your father gave me this.”
Arthur took it.
“What does it open?”
“The lower drawer in his old study.”
Arthur stared.
“I already searched it.”
“Not properly.”
Samuel pointed to the key.
“There is a false bottom.”
Arthur returned home.
He went directly into his father's study.
Claire followed.
Arthur pulled out the old desk.
He found the lower drawer.
Inserted the key.
Nothing happened.
He pushed harder.
A hidden compartment opened beneath the drawer.
Inside was a black notebook.
Arthur picked it up.
The first page contained his father's handwriting.
If Arthur finds this, Margaret knows everything.
Claire whispered,
“Oh my God.”
Arthur continued reading.
The notebook contained dates.
Meetings.
Payments.
Names.
Then, near the end, one sentence had been underlined three times.
The child is the key.
Arthur frowned.
“What child?”
Claire stared at the page.
“Noah?”
Arthur turned the page.
A name appeared.
Thomas.
Arthur looked confused.
“Who is Thomas?”
Claire shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Arthur continued reading.
Thomas Vance.
Born June 14.
Mother: Margaret Vance.
Father: Richard Vance.
Arthur's face went white.
“That's impossible.”
Claire looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because I'm their only child.”
Arthur turned another page.
There was a hospital record.
A birth certificate.
And a photograph of a newborn baby.
The baby was not Arthur.
It was Thomas.
Then came the final line.
Margaret told everyone he died. He did not.
Arthur dropped the notebook.
Claire stared at him.
“Arthur…”
He could barely breathe.
“My father had another son.”
And somewhere in the city, an elderly woman named Evelyn Reed received a phone call.
A man's voice said,
“Arthur found the notebook.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
May you like
“Then it's begun.”
===
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