Chapter 4: The Secret Our Fathers Buried
For several seconds, I couldn't understand the words on the page.
My father's name sat beneath a date from fifteen years before I had ever met Malik.
Beneath it was another name.
*Elias Hayes.*
Malik's father.
My hands went numb.
“That can't be right.””
Malik looked at the report again.
“Your father met mine in 2009.””
“My father died in 2008.””
Malik's eyes lifted.
The attorney went completely still.
Harold's face changed.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
I noticed.
“You knew.””
She didn't answer.
“Harold,” I said, barely able to get the words out.
“You knew my father?””
She looked at me.
“Yes.””
The answer hit harder than a slap.
Malik stared at her.
“You knew Ava's father?””
Harold nodded.
“How?””
She drew a slow breath.
“Because your father and hers were business partners.””
Malik shook his head.
“My father didn't have any business partners.””
“That is what the records said.””
“And what really happened?””
Harold looked toward the hotel.
“Your fathers were building something together.””
I turned to the attorney.
“What?””
He opened the investigator's report.
“There are references to a company called Northbridge Development.””
I had never heard the name.
But Malik had.
His face tightened.
“That company belonged to my father.””
“Partially,” the attorney said.
“And who owned the rest?””
He looked at me.
“Your father.””
The world seemed to tilt.
I thought of my childhood.
The tiny house.
My mother's secondhand furniture.
The years she worked double shifts after Dad died.
The bills that arrived in red envelopes.
We had never been rich.
Not even close.
Yet according to this report, my father had once controlled a major development company with Malik's father.
“That makes no sense,” I whispered.
Malik rubbed the back of his neck.
“What happened to it?””
Harold answered.
“A lawsuit.””
“Against whom?””
“Both of them.””
“Why?””
She looked down.
“They were accused of moving money through a series of private accounts.””
Malik stared at her.
“Did they?””
“No.””
The attorney placed another sheet on the hood of the SUV.
“The accusation was false.””
I read the next line.
My father's name appeared again.
*Daniel Bennett — deceased.*
Underneath:
*Elias Hayes — deceased.*
Then a third name.
*Victor Raines.*
Malik's face went pale.
I saw it immediately.
“You know him.””
He shook his head too quickly.
“No.””
“Malik.””
“I know the name.””
“How?””
He looked at the report.
“He's one of my largest creditors.””
My stomach dropped.
“The man you're in debt to?””
He nodded.
“What does he have to do with our fathers?””
The attorney closed the folder.
“That is the question Mrs. Hayes has been trying to answer for seventeen years.””
I turned toward Harold.
“Seventeen years?””
She nodded.
“After your father died, I promised Elias I would find out who destroyed their company.””
“And you never told me?””
“You were a child.””
“I was eighteen.””
“You were grieving.””
“I deserved the truth.””
Harold flinched.
“Yes.””
The word came out quietly.
“Yes, you did.””
Malik looked between us.
“Then why bring it up today?””
Harold took a step toward me.
“Because Victor Raines came back.””
The wind seemed to disappear.
I stared at her.
“What do you mean?””
“He approached Malik's company eight months ago.””
Malik looked confused.
“He offered financing.””
Harold nodded.
“You accepted.””
Malik's jaw tightened.
“I needed capital.””
“You needed protection,” Harold corrected.
“From what?””
“From the same man who ruined your father.””
Malik stared at her.
Then he looked at the report.
“Victor Raines?””
“Yes.””
He laughed bitterly.
“You're telling me the person keeping my company alive is the person who destroyed Dad?””
Harold didn't answer.
Malik stepped toward her.
“How much did he lend me?””
She said nothing.
“How much?””
“Eight hundred thousand.””
I looked at Malik.
The exact amount he'd admitted owing.
The pieces began locking together.
His business debt.
The mysterious investor.
The trust.
The wedding.
My father's company.
I felt suddenly sick.
“You knew he was involved,” I said.
Malik's voice dropped.
“I didn't know.””
“But you took his money.””
“I had no choice.””
“There is always a choice.””
“I was trying to save my employees.””
“And you were going to use the trust to pay him back.””
He didn't answer.
Harold closed her eyes.
That was answer enough.
I stepped away from Malik.
He followed.
“Ava, please.””
“Don't.””
“I didn't know what was happening.””
“You knew enough to hide it.””
“I was scared.””
I looked at him.
“Were you scared of losing your company?””
“Yes.””
“Or losing me?””
His eyes filled.
“Both.””
“Then why did you humiliate your mother?””
He stopped.
The question landed somewhere none of us expected.
He looked toward Harold.
“I…”
His voice broke.
Harold didn't move.
“You were ashamed of me,” she said.
“No.””
“You were ashamed because she came.””
“No.””
“You were afraid your wealthy guests would see the mother you grew up with.””
Malik looked down.
She continued.
“And you wanted Ava to believe you built all of this alone.””
He whispered, “Mom, stop.””
“No.””
She stepped closer.
“I have protected you for years.””
Her voice trembled, but it wasn't weak anymore.
“I paid your debts quietly. I purchased property in your name. I bought back your father's shares when creditors came. I saved the company you nearly destroyed.””
Malik stared at her.
“You did all that?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because I was your mother.””
He covered his face with one hand.
For the first time since I had known him, Malik looked small.
Not powerful.
Not confident.
Just lost.
The attorney spoke.
“There is one more matter.””
We all turned.
He handed me a photograph.
It was older than the first one.
My father stood beside Elias Hayes.
Behind them was a construction site.
On a piece of fencing was the Northbridge logo.
I looked at my father's face.
He was smiling.
I had almost no photographs of him smiling.
Then I noticed someone else standing at the far edge of the image.
A younger Harold.
And beside her—
Victor Raines.
My blood ran cold.
“Why is he there?””
Harold took the photograph.
Her expression darkened.
“That was the last day I saw your father alive.””
I stared at her.
“What happened?””
She turned the photograph over.
There was handwriting on the back.
*If anything happens to us, don't trust the man with the red tie.*
I looked up.
“Who wore a red tie?””
Harold's eyes met mine.
“Victor.””
Silence.
Malik slowly reached for the photograph.
“My father knew.””
“Yes.””
“He knew Victor was dangerous?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did he work with him?””
“Because Victor wasn't dangerous yet.””
The attorney checked his watch.
“We need to leave.””
Malik frowned.
“Why?””
“Because someone knows we're here.””
A chill moved through me.
“What does that mean?””
The attorney's phone vibrated.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“Mrs. Hayes.””
Harold took the phone.
“What happened?””
The lawyer turned the screen toward her.
There was a photograph.
A black sedan parked across the street.
The license plate was blurred in the picture, but the message beneath it was clear.
*Someone has been watching the hotel since noon.*
Malik stepped toward the curb.
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
“Then let's find out.””
The attorney grabbed his arm.
“No.””
Malik pulled free.
“I'm not running.””
“This isn't about courage.””
“Then what is it about?””
The lawyer lowered his voice.
“Your mother received a second message ten minutes ago.””
Harold looked at him.
“What did it say?””
He hesitated.
Then handed her the phone.
She read it.
Her face went pale.
“What?””
Malik moved closer.
“Mom?””
She didn't answer.
I took the phone from her.
There was only one sentence.
*You should have killed the trust before the wedding. Now the bride knows too much.*
My fingers went cold.
Malik read it over my shoulder.
His face twisted with shock.
“They know about Ava?””
Harold nodded.
“Apparently.””
The attorney turned toward me.
“Which means the question is no longer whether your families were connected.””
He looked toward the road.
“It is why someone is willing to threaten you over what happened seventeen years ago.””
A car engine roared from across the street.
The black sedan suddenly pulled away.
Malik ran toward the curb.
“Wait!””
He stopped as the car disappeared around the corner.
Then I heard something hit the pavement behind us.
A small metallic object.
Harold bent down and picked it up.
It was a key.
A brass key.
Stamped into the metal were two letters.
*D.B.*
My father's initials.
Harold stared at it.
Then she looked at me.
“This isn't from the safety deposit box.””
I swallowed.
“What is it for?””
She closed her fingers around the key.
May you like
Her voice was barely audible.
“It opens the room where your father died.””
