Chapter 3 - ADRIAN LET MARTIN WALK INTO THE LIEAdrian made the decision quickly.
He put the papers back into the leather bag.
Not because he trusted Vivica.
Because he wanted to know what Martin would do if he believed the secret was still containable.
“Go to the sitting room,” Adrian told Vivica.
She stared.
“What?”
“You’re going to act like nothing happened.”
“I can’t.”
“You pretended not to remember thirty minutes ago.”
She flinched.
“Use some of that talent.”
Adrian hated the cruelty in his own voice.
He didn’t apologize.
“What about Theo?”
“He stays away from Martin.”
“Martin will ask.”
“Let him.”
Adrian took Vivica’s phone.
Then he placed the bag beneath his desk.
The doorbell rang.
Mrs. Alvarez answered.
Martin’s voice drifted through the foyer.
Adrian walked out.
Martin Whitmore was sixty.
Tall.
Silver hair.
Dark navy overcoat.
The same controlled confidence Adrian had known his entire life.
He smiled.
“There you are.”
“I told you not to come.”
“I was already halfway here.”
A lie.
Adrian had heard traffic when Martin called.
But he had no proof Martin was already headed over.
Martin looked toward the staircase.
“Where’s Theo?”
“Doing homework.”
“And Vivica?”
Adrian watched him carefully.
“Why are you so interested in Vivica?”
Martin smiled.
“I’m not.”
“Then stop asking.”
Something flickered behind his eyes.
Annoyance.
Then concern.
“Adrian, are you all right?”
“Yes.”
“You sounded strange.”
“Long day.”
Martin removed his coat.
Adrian didn’t invite him to stay.
He stayed anyway.
“Coffee?”
“No.”
Martin looked toward the library.
Adrian saw it.
One glance.
Brief.
But deliberate.
“How’s the company audit going?” Adrian asked.
“What audit?”
“Exactly.”
Martin smiled.
“Very funny.”
Adrian hadn’t been joking.
He wanted Martin uncertain.
“Why did you recommend Vivica?”
Martin went still.
“What?”
Adrian had learned that detail only moments earlier from Vivica’s expression and Martin’s involvement.
He was guessing.
Martin’s face confirmed it.
“I didn’t.”
Adrian smiled slightly.
“You’re lying.”
Martin sighed.
“This is ridiculous.”
“Did you know who her mother was?”
Silence.
There.
Martin lowered his voice.
“What has she told you?”
Adrian’s pulse hammered.
He didn’t answer.
Martin stepped closer.
“Adrian.”
“You first.”
Martin stared.
“What happened upstairs?”
“Nothing upstairs.”
“The library, then.”
Adrian felt something cold move through him.
He had never said where the incident occurred.
Neither had Vivica in her text.
She only wrote:
Theo found the file.
“How do you know it happened in the library?”
Martin froze.
One second.
Two.
Then:
“Vivica tutors him there.”
“Sometimes.”
Martin’s jaw tightened.
Adrian continued.
“You know her schedule.”
“I helped place her.”
There.
The lie shifted.
“You just said you didn’t recommend her.”
“I didn’t recommend her professionally. I knew she was applying.”
Adrian stared.
“Why?”
Martin lowered his voice.
“Because her mother worked for your father.”
“Why keep that secret?”
“She asked me to.”
“Why?”
Martin glanced toward the hallway.
“Where is she?”
Adrian blocked his path.
“Talk to me.”
Martin’s expression hardened.
“Evelyn Lane became unstable after Russell died.”
Adrian felt anger.
“Convenient.”
“She became obsessed with conspiracy theories.”
“She wrote that the maintenance report was replaced.”
Martin’s face changed.
Adrian saw it.
He had revealed more than he intended.
Martin whispered:
“You read it.”
Adrian said nothing.
Martin suddenly moved toward the library.
Adrian caught his arm.
“Stop.”
Martin stared at Adrian’s hand.
“Get off me.”
“Why?”
“That woman brought stolen family documents into your home.”
“How do you know what’s in her bag?”
Martin’s silence answered.
Vivica entered from the sitting room.
Martin saw her.
His face changed completely.
Not surprise.
Fury.
“You idiot.”
Vivica stopped.
Adrian stepped between them.
“Don’t speak to her.”
Martin laughed.
“She has been lying to you since the day you hired her.”
“So have you.”
Martin stared.
“About what?”
Adrian pulled Vivica’s phone from his pocket.
Martin’s eyes dropped to it.
The color drained from his face.
Adrian read his message aloud.
“‘Get it back. Do not let him call Adrian until I arrive.’”
Martin looked at Vivica.
“You saved those?”
Vivica whispered:
“I didn’t expect Theo to find the bag.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Adrian’s voice sharpened.
“Look at me.”
Martin did.
“Why were you ordering my son kept quiet?”
“I wasn’t.”
“The message is right here.”
“I meant keep him from spreading things he didn’t understand.”
“He’s ten.”
“Exactly.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Did you cover up Dad’s accident?”
Martin’s eyes hardened.
“No.”
“Did you replace the maintenance report?”
“No.”
“Were you in his garage the night before he died?”
Martin hesitated.
“Yes.”
Adrian’s chest tightened.
“With Caleb Ward?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Business.”
“In a garage.”
“We argued.”
“About what?”
Martin looked at Vivica again.
Then at Adrian.
“Your father was going to destroy the company.”
Adrian froze.
“What?”
Martin exhaled.
“He had discovered financial irregularities.”
Adrian felt cold.
“Yours?”
Martin didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
“How much?”
“Not what you think.”
“What do I think?”
“That I stole from him.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Then explain.”
Martin’s face tightened.
“Russell wanted to take evidence to the board. Caleb and I tried to stop him from acting before we understood the consequences.”
“Why would the family attorney help you?”
“Because he knew your father was emotional.”
Adrian almost laughed.
“Dad was the least emotional businessman I knew.”
Martin stepped closer.
“You were twenty-four. You didn’t know half of what was happening.”
“Then tell me.”
Martin stared at him.
Finally:
“Your father believed someone inside Whitmore Holdings was moving money through shell contractors.”
Adrian’s pulse increased.
“Who?”
“He thought it was me.”
“Was it?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Martin looked toward the library.
“I never found out.”
Adrian didn’t believe him.
Martin continued:
“But Russell was going to the board the next morning.”
“He died before he got there.”
“Yes.”
Silence.
Adrian whispered:
“And you benefited.”
Martin’s face hardened.
“I became interim chairman because someone had to.”
“You controlled the files.”
“Yes.”
“Exactly what Dad warned Evelyn not to let happen.”
Martin stared.
“Evelyn misunderstood.”
“She saw the original service report.”
“No.”
“She said it was replaced.”
“She was wrong.”
“Then show me the original.”
Martin said nothing.
Adrian felt the answer settle.
There was no original anymore.
Then Martin said something unexpected.
“Ask Vivica why she really took this job.”
Adrian turned.
Vivica’s face changed.
Martin smiled without warmth.
“She didn’t come here to tutor Theo.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Why did you come?”
Vivica whispered:
“To search the library.”
“For what?”
She looked toward the shelves.
“My mother left a note saying Russell hid something here before he died.”
Adrian’s heartbeat changed.
“What?”
“I don’t know.”
Martin suddenly laughed.
“You still haven’t found it?”
Vivica stared.
Adrian turned toward his uncle.
“You knew?”
Martin’s smile disappeared.
And that was when Adrian understood.
May you like
Whatever Russell had hidden in the library twelve years ago—
Martin had been searching for it too.
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