Chương 3 - The Secret at the End of Fifth Street
Rose had always believed her father was a businessman who occasionally made terrible decisions.
She knew about the gambling.
She knew about the unpaid bills.
She knew his charming public personality disappeared whenever someone questioned his authority.
But she had never imagined that he had deliberately built an empire from stolen money.
Evelyn Porter placed a steaming mug of tea before her.
"Your father wasn't always wealthy," she began.
Rose pulled the blanket tighter.
"I know."
"No, sweetheart. I mean he wasn't wealthy when your grandfather died. In fact, he was nearly bankrupt."
Rose frowned.
"My grandfather left him Whitmore Shipping."
"He left him half."
"Half?"
"The other half was supposed to belong to your mother."
Rose stared.
"That's impossible."
Evelyn stood and retrieved a thick folder from a locked cabinet.
She placed several yellowing documents on the table.
"Your grandfather established a family trust. Richard was given management authority, but Margaret retained ownership rights in forty-nine percent of the business. Those rights were supposed to transfer into a protected trust for you when you turned twenty-five."
Rose looked down.
Her twenty-fifth birthday had been six weeks earlier.
"I never knew."
"Richard made certain you wouldn't."
Evelyn opened another folder.
"Five years ago, he began using the company to move funds through unauthorized freight arrangements. At first, it was relatively small. Then he started gambling with company money."
"How much?"
"Millions."
Rose stared at her untouched tea.
"Then why arrange my marriage to Gabriel?"
"Because your father needed someone powerful enough to protect what he'd done."
"But Gabriel is the person he owes money to."
"Exactly."
Evelyn leaned forward.
"Your father doesn't intend to give Gabriel control of a healthy shipping company, Rose. He intends to hand him a financial disaster buried beneath falsified records."
Rose shook her head.
"Gabriel must know. Men like him have accountants. Lawyers. Investigators."
"He knows about the gambling debts. But Richard has hidden the worst transactions through companies Gabriel doesn't officially control."
A horrible possibility entered Rose's mind.
"And I'm supposed to make sure Gabriel doesn't look too closely?"
"You're supposed to make the partnership permanent. If Gabriel discovers the extent of the fraud after the marriage, your father hopes he'll protect the family name to avoid damaging his own investments."
Rose looked toward the dark window.
All those elegant dinners.
All those polite smiles.
Her father repeatedly reminding her to be agreeable.
She suddenly understood why Richard had insisted that she never question Gabriel about business.
Evelyn reached across the table.
"There's more."
Rose swallowed.
"Of course there is."
"Your mother found the original trust documents."
"Where?"
"She gave them to me."
Evelyn produced a small blue envelope.
Rose recognized her mother's handwriting immediately.
For Rose. When she is finally somewhere she can choose for herself.
Her fingers trembled as she opened it.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
My beautiful girl,
I have failed you in more ways than I can count.
I convinced myself that keeping quiet would protect you. Every time your father made another terrible decision, I told myself I could fix things tomorrow.
Then tomorrow became years.
You are not responsible for his debts. You are not a bargaining chip. And you do not owe any man your future.
If you have reached Evelyn, please listen to her.
There is something about your father's business you must know before anyone finds out where you are.
Love, Mom.
Rose pressed the letter against her chest.
A tear slipped down her cheek.
"Why didn't she just tell me?"
"Because Richard monitors nearly everything she does."
Rose looked up.
"Then she's still at the wedding."
Evelyn nodded.
A cold sensation spread through Rose's stomach.
"My father will know she helped me."
"Perhaps."
"Then we have to get her."
"We need to be careful."
Rose pushed her chair back.
"No. I've spent my entire life being careful. That's how we ended up here."
She stood.
And nearly collapsed when pain shot through her injured knee.
Evelyn caught her arm.
"Sit down."
"I'm fine."
"You are barefoot, freezing, and bleeding through an extraordinarily expensive wedding dress. You're allowed to be temporarily less than fine."
Despite everything, Rose gave a shaky laugh.
Then a sudden noise came from downstairs.
Three hard knocks.
Both women froze.
Evelyn's expression changed.
"Stay here."
"Who is it?"
"I don't know."
She walked toward the staircase.
Another knock.
Louder.
"Miss Porter?"
A man's voice.
"This is Gabriel Moretti."
Rose stopped breathing.
Gabriel stood beneath the narrow rear awning.
His black suit had collected a fine coating of rain.
Cole stood several feet behind him, his hands visible, his expression alert.
Gabriel had ordered Marco and Elias to move away from the building.
He had come personally.
The door opened.
Evelyn Porter stared at him.
"You're not welcome here."
"Good evening, Miss Porter."
"I assume you want your bride."
"I'd like to know whether she's safe."
"She's safer than she was in your house."
Gabriel accepted the accusation without reacting.
"May I speak with her?"
"No."
"Then tell her I'm not here to take her back."
Evelyn studied him.
"Why should I believe you?"
"Because if I'd wanted Rose brought back against her will, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
The older woman looked deeply unimpressed.
"That's not particularly reassuring."
For a moment, Gabriel almost smiled.
Then a voice came from behind her.
"Let him in."
Rose stood at the top of the narrow staircase, wrapped in a blanket.
Her once-perfect bridal hairstyle had collapsed into loose blonde strands. Her ruined dress was stained with rainwater and city grime.
Gabriel looked at her.
Something tightened unexpectedly beneath his ribs.
She looked exhausted.
And furious.
"Hello, Rose."
She descended carefully.
"Did you enjoy watching me fall?"
Gabriel's expression barely changed.
"So you know."
"Your cameras aren't exactly invisible."
"I was concerned when you slipped."
"You could have stopped me."
"You were trying to escape. I thought stopping you might defeat the purpose."
Rose stared at him.
She had expected anger.
Threats.
Perhaps an order to return immediately.
His calmness unsettled her more than shouting would have.
"How did you find me?"
"Your father has several interesting financial records associated with this address."
Evelyn stiffened.
Gabriel noticed.
"Which brings me to why I'm here."
Rose crossed her arms.
"I'm not going back."
"I haven't asked you to."
"I'm not marrying you."
"I heard that too."
"And I'm not responsible for my father's debt."
Gabriel's expression hardened.
"No. You're not."
Rose blinked.
Those three words disarmed her completely.
"What?"
"Your father's obligations are his. The financial agreement does not give him ownership of you."
"Then why did you agree to marry me?"
Gabriel glanced toward Evelyn.
"Because I believed Richard when he told me you wanted the arrangement."
Rose laughed bitterly.
"You didn't think to ask me?"
"I did."
"At dinners where my father sat three feet away?"
Gabriel said nothing.
She shook her head.
"That's what I thought."
A quiet pause filled the hallway.
Finally, Gabriel lowered his voice.
"I was wrong."
Rose studied him.
Gabriel Moretti did not look like a man who apologized often.
The admission seemed to cost him something.
But before she could answer, his phone vibrated.
Cole approached.
"Boss. We have a problem."
Gabriel glanced at the screen.
A photograph had arrived from the estate.
Richard Whitmore was leaving through a private entrance.
With Margaret.
And two unfamiliar men.
Cole spoke quietly.
"Your future father-in-law just ordered a private vehicle. He says he's taking his wife home."
Rose saw the photograph.
Her face drained of color.
"That's not our driver."
Gabriel looked at her.
"What?"
"The man beside my mother. I've seen him before."
"Where?"
Rose struggled to remember.
Then it came back.
A dinner at her father's office.
A conversation that had stopped the moment she entered.
Her father's unusual fear.
"His name is Victor Hale," she whispered.
Evelyn made a sharp, frightened sound.
Gabriel turned toward her.
"You know him?"
Evelyn gripped the edge of the staircase.
"Victor used to work with Richard."
"Doing what?"
The older woman looked from Gabriel to Rose.
"Making inconvenient financial records disappear."
Gabriel immediately called Cole closer.
"Find that vehicle."
Rose stepped toward him.
"My mother is inside."
"I know."
"I'm coming."
"No."
Her expression hardened.
"You don't get to make that decision."
Gabriel looked at her for a long moment.
Then he stepped aside.
"Then get your coat."
Rose stared.
"I don't have one."
Gabriel removed his own dark overcoat and held it out.
She hesitated before accepting it.
The fabric was warm.
It smelled faintly of cedar and expensive cologne.
As she slipped her arms into the sleeves, Gabriel looked directly at Cole.
"Find Richard. Quietly."
"And if he refuses to cooperate?"
Gabriel's eyes darkened.
"Then remind him that his daughter isn't the only person who's discovered his secrets tonight."
But several miles away, Richard Whitmore was already making a telephone call.
"Victor," he said nervously, watching Margaret sit silently beside him.
"Rose found Evelyn."
May you like
The voice on the other end was cold.
"Then we have a bigger problem than a canceled wedding."
