Chapter 10 - Beneath the LotusThe courtyard looked like a crime scene.
Stone fragments surrounded the fountain.
One of the carved lotus petals had been broken open.
Water spilled unevenly across the basin.
Richard’s face turned red with anger.
“Who did this?”
A security guard shook his head.
“Camera system went down at 3:11 a.m.”
Emily stared at the damage.
Victoria.
It had to be.
She stepped into the shallow basin.
Richard reached for her.
“Careful.”
Emily ignored him.
Look where the lotus never touches water.
She examined the center sculpture.
Water flowed down every carved petal.
Except one.
A rear petal sat above the internal channel.
Always dry.
Emily touched it.
The stone moved slightly.
“There.”
Richard climbed in beside her.
Together they pushed.
A hidden compartment opened.
Empty.
Emily’s stomach dropped.
“She got here first.”
Richard looked inside.
Not completely empty.
A small strip of paper remained.
Emily picked it up.
One word.
BELL.
Margaret stared.
“What does that mean?”
Richard looked toward the castle tower.
“The chapel bell.”
They ran.
The private chapel sat beneath the east tower.
Emily had cleaned it dozens of times.
A small stone building connected to the castle.
No one used it except at Christmas.
Richard unlocked the door.
Inside, dust floated through colored morning light.
Emily looked up.
A thick rope hung from the bell chamber.
“The bell?”
Richard nodded.
They climbed the narrow stairs.
At the top, the bronze bell filled most of the chamber.
Emily searched around the base.
Nothing.
Then she noticed carvings on the bell’s wooden support.
A lotus.
Tiny.
She pressed it.
A panel opened.
Inside was a leather pouch.
Richard stared.
Emily removed it.
Documents.
Microfilm.
Letters.
And one sealed envelope.
RICHARD.
His hands shook as he opened it.
Dear Richard,
If you are reading this, I failed.
Richard stopped.
Emily watched him.
He continued silently.
His face changed.
“What does it say?”
He handed her the letter.
Charles knows Anna is Jonathan’s child.
Emily’s heart jumped.
There was the answer.
Jonathan Hale.
Her grandfather.
She read on.
But that is not the secret he fears most.
Emily’s eyes moved faster.
Charles transferred controlling shares of the Whitmore estate into Anna’s name before she was born.
She stared.
“What?”
Richard looked stunned.
Margaret leaned over her shoulder.
Emily continued.
He did it to hide assets during an investigation.
He intended to reverse the transfer after the danger passed.
But the trust was written irrevocably.
Under the original deed, Anna became the beneficial owner of fifty-one percent of Whitmore Holdings.
Richard sat down.
“That’s impossible.”
Margaret shook her head.
“No.”
Emily looked between them.
“What does it mean?”
Richard stared at her.
“It means…”
His voice failed.
Margaret finished.
“Your mother owned the controlling interest in the Whitmore family estate.”
Emily almost laughed.
“My mother rented a one-bedroom apartment.”
Richard looked at the documents.
“She probably never knew how to claim it.”
Emily read the next line.
If Anna survives me, the ownership passes to her lawful descendants.
Silence.
Emily’s breath caught.
Richard looked at her.
“You.”
Emily shook her head.
“No.”
Margaret whispered, “Emily…”
“No.”
She stepped back.
“This is insane.”
Richard was reading the trust documents.
“The seal is real.”
“You can’t know that.”
“I know my family’s legal instruments.”
Emily stared.
“So you’re saying I own the castle?”
“Not exactly.”
“What exactly?”
“You may control the company that owns the castle.”
Emily laughed once.
It sounded almost hysterical.
Hours ago Victoria had forced her face into a fountain because she was “just a servant.”
Now they were telling her she controlled Whitmore Holdings.
Richard turned another page.
Then his expression changed again.
“What?”
He didn’t answer.
Emily grabbed the paper.
A transfer notice.
Dated six months ago.
Signed by Anna Bennett.
Emily’s mother had activated the trust.
Margaret whispered, “She knew.”
Richard nodded.
Emily read the recipient.
Control transferred upon Anna’s death to:
Emily Rose Bennett.
Her knees weakened.
Then she saw something else.
A second signature line.
Witnessed by:
Victoria Whitmore.
Emily went completely still.
Victoria had known.
May you like
For six months.
She had known exactly who Emily was when she hired her.
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