Chapter 5: The Secret My Mother Kept
Marcus stared at the photograph.
His father stood beside a younger woman wearing a cream-colored coat.
The woman was my mother.
I recognized her immediately.
She had the same dark hair, the same delicate smile, and the same small silver pendant she had worn in nearly every photograph from my childhood.
But I had never seen this picture before.
Marcus turned it over.
"Before everything," he read aloud.
He looked at me.
"Nia, do you know about this?""
I shook my head.
"No.""
Bianca folded her arms.
"Of course she doesn't.""
Richard approached us.
"Where did you get that photograph?""
Bianca slipped it back into her handbag.
"From Father's private office.""
"When?""
"Last month.""
Richard's face tightened.
"That office was sealed.""
"Not to me.""
Marcus stepped forward.
"Give me the photograph.""
"No.""
"Bianca.""
She shook her head.
"You're all treating me like a criminal, but nobody has even asked why Father trusted Nia so much.""
I felt my throat tighten.
"What are you suggesting?""
Bianca looked at me.
"That your mother knew exactly who Richard Hale was.""
I couldn't speak.
My mother had died six years earlier.
She had been a quiet woman who worked as a primary school administrator. She rarely discussed her past, and whenever I asked about her younger years, she would smile and say there wasn't much worth remembering.
I had never heard her mention Richard Hale.
Never.
Richard looked at me.
"Your mother was my father's closest friend.""
I turned toward him.
"What?""
He nodded slowly.
"Before your father came into the picture, your mother worked for Richard Hale Senior.""
Marcus frowned.
"My grandfather?""
"Yes.""
Richard continued.
"She was a financial analyst. One of the first people who helped him establish the original company accounts.""
I stared at him.
"My mother worked in finance?""
"For almost twelve years.""
That was impossible.
My mother had never spoken about a career in finance.
She had always told me she spent her early twenties working in an office before meeting my father.
Richard looked toward the screen.
"Your grandfather trusted her more than anyone. When the company expanded, she discovered irregularities in the accounts. She warned him that someone was stealing money.""
Marcus looked at me.
"Was that the beginning of the fraud?""
Richard nodded.
"Yes. Your mother's investigation uncovered the first fraudulent transactions.""
Bianca laughed.
"Convenient story.""
Richard ignored her.
"Your mother was offered a substantial settlement to remain silent. She refused. Instead, she left the company and took copies of the original financial records.""
My chest tightened.
"Where are those records?""
Richard looked at me.
"That's what your father wanted you to inherit.""
I shook my head.
"My father?""
"Yes.""
Richard explained that my father had been one of the few people my mother trusted with the records.
He had kept them safe for years.
When my father died, Richard had attempted to contact my mother.
But she had already become seriously ill.
By the time he reached her, she had passed away.
I felt tears gathering in my eyes.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?""
Richard lowered his head.
"Your mother asked us not to involve you. She wanted you to have an ordinary life.""
Marcus took my hand.
I could barely feel his fingers.
"My whole life," I whispered, "my mother told me she had no secrets.""
Richard looked at me sadly.
"She wanted you to remember her as your mother, not as someone who spent years fighting powerful people.""
I looked at the photograph again.
My mother was smiling at the camera.
And suddenly, I remembered something.
A wooden box.
It had sat in the bottom drawer of her bedroom dresser for as long as I could remember.
She had always told me never to throw it away.
After her funeral, I'd found it empty except for an old silver pendant and a folded piece of paper.
I had kept the box in my apartment.
But I had never understood why it mattered.
"Richard," I whispered.
"Did my mother leave anything else?""
He looked surprised.
"Possibly. Your father told me she had a personal archive.""
"Where?""
"I don't know.""
I turned toward Marcus.
"There's a box at my apartment.""
He nodded.
"We'll get it.""
But before we could move, Daniel stepped forward.
"This is absurd.""
Marcus turned.
"Not another word.""
Daniel ignored him.
"Even if Nia's mother worked for the company, that doesn't establish ownership of anything.""
Richard looked at him.
"You're forgetting the trust.""
Daniel scoffed.
"The trust was never legally activated.""
"Because you withheld the original documents.""
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"That's an accusation.""
"Yes," Richard replied.
"And one that will be investigated.""
Bianca suddenly stepped toward Daniel.
"Tell them.""
He looked at her.
"Tell them what?"" he asked.
"Tell them about the second agreement.""
The room went silent.
Marcus turned.
"Second agreement?""
Daniel's face changed.
Richard closed his eyes.
"Oh, Bianca.""
She looked at me.
"Your mother didn't just investigate the company. She signed something.""
I felt my stomach drop.
"What did she sign?""
Bianca smiled.
"A settlement agreement.""
Richard shook his head.
"That's not true.""
"Then why did Father keep the original?""
Richard looked toward Marcus.
Because he knew something.
Something he hadn't told us.
Bianca continued.
"Your mother agreed to transfer her rights in the company to the Hale family in exchange for money. That's why Nia has no claim to anything.""
I stared at Richard.
"Is that true?""
He hesitated.
It was the first time since the recordings began that I saw him struggle to answer.
Marcus stepped toward him.
"Richard?""
Richard finally spoke.
"Your mother did sign an agreement.""
My heart sank.
"Then why did you tell me she was supposed to inherit something?""
"Because the agreement was later challenged.""
"By whom?""
"Your father.""
I frowned.
"My father?""
Richard nodded.
"Your father discovered that the document had been altered. The signature was genuine, but the terms weren't.""
Daniel interrupted.
"That is unsubstantiated.""
Richard looked at him.
"Then perhaps you can explain why the original document carries your initials.""
Daniel said nothing.
I felt as though I were standing inside someone else's life.
My mother had been involved in a corporate dispute.
My father had apparently spent years protecting evidence.
And now I was standing in a ballroom wearing a wedding dress that had been deliberately destroyed because of a family secret I hadn't even known existed.
Marcus turned to me.
"We're leaving.""
Bianca laughed.
"Running away? That's what you do when the truth gets uncomfortable?""
Marcus looked at her.
"No. That's what you do when you finally understand the people around you are willing to lie about everything.""
He took my hand.
We started toward the ballroom doors.
But Richard stopped us.
"Wait.""
He held out another envelope.
"This was delivered to me yesterday.""
The envelope was addressed to me.
Not to Marcus.
To Nia.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
I recognized the handwriting.
It was my mother's.
My fingers shook as I unfolded it.
There were only three sentences.
My darling Nia, if you ever find yourself standing among the Hale family, remember that not everyone who smiles at you wants you safe.
The original records are not in the house.
Look beneath the place where your father taught you to count.
I read it twice.
Then a memory surfaced.
My childhood bedroom.
My father's old desk.
The wooden abacus he had given me when I was five.
He used to sit beside me every evening and teach me arithmetic with its little colored beads.
After he died, I had taken that abacus with me.
It was still in my apartment.
Marcus watched my expression.
"What is it?""
I looked at him.
"I know where the records are.""
Richard exhaled.
"Then we need to get them immediately.""
But before anyone could move, the ballroom lights flickered.
A waiter rushed toward the production booth.
"Someone just disconnected the security system.""
Simone turned.
"What?""
The waiter pointed toward the service corridor.
A man in a black coat had been seen entering the building.
And he wasn't alone.
Two more men followed him.
Marcus moved in front of me.
"Who are they?""
Richard looked toward the corridor.
Then he whispered something that made Marcus go pale.
"Daniel's people.""
I turned toward the attorney.
But Daniel was gone.
His briefcase remained on the floor.
May you like
And inside it, beneath the scattered documents, was a photograph of my apartment building.
Someone had been watching my home.
