Chapter 4 - THE MESSAGE BEHIND THE WALL
Adrian turned so quickly that Bianca stepped backward.
“Be careful what you say.”
Bianca clutched the flash drive.
“You told my father there would be no heir.”
Charlotte watched them closely.
Adrian’s calm mask was cracking.
Mason placed one hand near the radio on his belt.
Adrian noticed.
“Leave us.”
Mason did not move.
Adrian’s voice hardened.
“That was an order.”
Mason looked at Charlotte.
Then he walked out with the other guards.
Charlotte understood the signal in his eyes.
He would remain close.
Adrian leaned across the table.
“You should have stayed in Europe.”
“My mother should still be alive.”
“Your mother was careless.”
Charlotte’s hands curled into fists.
Bianca looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
Adrian ignored her.
He lifted the fake death certificate.
“This document has been accepted by every court, bank, and government agency that matters.”
Charlotte smiled despite the ache in her ribs.
“Then why are you afraid of me?”
Adrian tore the document in half.
He ordered Bianca to return to the ballroom and prepare for Conrad Vale’s arrival.
Bianca refused.
“You used me.”
Adrian stepped close enough for her to smell his cologne.
“Your family received two hundred million dollars in Solmere contracts.”
His voice became quiet.
“Do not pretend you are innocent because you dislike the consequences.”
Bianca’s eyes filled with anger, but she left.
Adrian followed her into the corridor.
The lock clicked behind them.
Charlotte waited.
Thirty seconds later, the ceiling vent rattled.
A screwdriver dropped onto the table.
Nora Bell’s face appeared behind the metal grate.
Nora had been the Solmere’s executive housekeeper since Charlotte was a child.
“You always did choose dramatic homecomings,” Nora whispered.
Charlotte nearly laughed.
Nora removed the grate and lowered a ring of master keys.
“Mason told me where they put you.”
Charlotte unlocked the door.
“Do you know where my mother kept her private records?”
Nora nodded.
“Suite 1801.”
“That suite was sealed after she died.”
“Not everything inside it was hers.”
They used the service stairs to reach the eighteenth floor.
Suite 1801 smelled faintly of lavender.
Eleanor Vale’s books still rested on the shelves.
Her reading glasses lay beside the bed.
Charlotte stood in the doorway, unable to move.
Nora gently touched her shoulder.
“Your mother knew she was being watched.”
They crossed to a painting of the original Solmere Hotel.
Behind it was a narrow compartment.
Charlotte inserted her mother’s ring into a hidden lock.
A small screen illuminated.
Eleanor Vale appeared on the wall.
Her recorded face was tired.
Her voice trembled.
“Charlotte, if you are watching this, Conrad has already taken control.”
Charlotte held her breath.
“Do not trust the board.”
The image flickered.
“Do not trust the police report.”
May you like
Eleanor looked directly into the camera.
“And whatever happens, do not let Conrad open the vault beneath the ballroom.”
