Chapter 5 - The Marriage Was a Job
We returned to the manor.
Painkillers dulled my body.
Nothing dulled my mind.
Nathan was in the library with an attorney who had arrived twenty minutes earlier.
The attorney stood when I entered.
Nathan did not.
He looked exhausted.
For once, he also looked small.
I placed a copy of the ledger on the table.
“Who paid you to meet me?”
Nathan stared at it.
His attorney immediately spoke.
“My client will not answer questions without—”
“Get out.”
Nathan looked at him.
The attorney blinked.
“Nathan—”
“I said get out.”
The lawyer hesitated.
Then left.
My father remained by the door.
Evelyn stood beside him.
Nathan picked up the ledger.
His fingers shook.
“Where did you find this?”
“My study.”
“That drawer was locked.”
I almost smiled.
“So now we’re worried about boundaries?”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“Claire.”
“Who paid you?”
“No one paid me to marry you.”
“That is not what I asked.”
He looked at the ledger again.
“That book isn’t mine.”
“It was in your desk.”
“Celeste put things in my desk all the time.”
“Then explain the entries.”
“I can’t.”
“Try.”
Nathan slammed the ledger down.
“I met you at a charity auction.”
“You knocked a glass out of my hand.”
“It was an accident.”
“Was it?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know my name before that night?”
His hesitation lasted less than a second.
It was enough.
I stepped closer.
“You did.”
Nathan looked toward my father.
Then back at me.
“I knew who your father was.”
My chest tightened.
Dad’s expression became dangerous.
“How?”
Nathan laughed bitterly.
“There it is.”
“The great Charles Bennett finally wants answers.”
Dad did not move.
Nathan looked at me.
“I knew your father controlled several investment groups.”
“I did not know the full structure.”
“I did not know how much.”
“But someone told you about me.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Nathan stared at Celeste’s empty chair across the room.
“Her brother.”
I frowned.
“Celeste doesn’t have a brother.”
Nathan’s smile was joyless.
“That’s what she told you.”
Dad stepped forward.
“Name.”
Nathan looked at him.
“Adrian Monroe.”
My father’s face changed.
I saw recognition immediately.
“You know him.”
Dad said nothing.
Nathan laughed.
“Of course you do.”
I turned.
“Dad?”
My father exhaled.
“Adrian Monroe worked for Bennett Sovereign eighteen years ago.”
“What did he do?”
“Risk intelligence.”
“Why did he leave?”
“He was fired.”
Nathan leaned back.
“That is one version.”
Dad ignored him.
“Adrian was caught selling confidential investment data.”
“To whom?”
“We never proved the buyer.”
Nathan tapped the ledger.
“He hated you.”
Dad’s eyes narrowed.
“How did you meet him?”
“He approached me after our second funding round.”
“What did he want?”
Nathan looked at me.
“He told me Charles Bennett had a daughter who knew nothing about the family empire.”
I felt sick.
“He said if I got close to you, I could gain access to circles no ordinary founder would ever reach.”
“Did he pay you?”
“At first.”
My stomach turned.
Nathan looked down.
“Twenty-five thousand dollars.”
I laughed.
The sound came out broken.
“That’s what I was worth?”
“No.”
“Don’t.”
“I stopped taking his money.”
“When?”
“After our third date.”
“Why?”
Nathan looked at me.
“Because I fell in love with you.”
I wanted to slap him.
Instead, I whispered.
“You do not get to use that word.”
His eyes dropped.
“I know.”
“No.”
“You don’t.”
“You found me because someone hired you.”
“You lied through our entire relationship.”
“And then when I stopped being useful, you treated me like an obstacle.”
Nathan stood.
“I never married you for money.”
“Then why did you forge my signature?”
His mouth closed.
“Why did you pledge my trust?”
Silence.
“Why did you let Celeste turn my life into a prison?”
Still nothing.
I pointed toward the foyer.
“Why was there a whip on the floor?”
Nathan looked away.
That answer told me everything.
My father stepped toward him.
“You will give us Adrian Monroe’s location.”
Nathan shook his head.
“I don’t know where he is.”
“When did you last speak to him?”
Nathan hesitated.
“Three years ago.”
Evelyn glanced at her tablet.
“That is not true.”
Nathan looked at her.
She turned the screen around.
A bank transfer appeared.
Two hundred thousand dollars.
Sender.
ASHFORD GLOBAL SPECIAL PROJECTS.
Recipient.
AM CONSULTING GROUP.
Date.
Eight weeks ago.
Nathan’s face went white.
I stared at him.
“You paid him two months ago.”
Nathan looked genuinely confused.
“I didn’t authorize that.”
Evelyn studied him.
For the first time, I believed he might be telling the truth.
Then my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
It showed my father leaving Blackthorn Manor less than ten minutes earlier.
Taken from somewhere beyond the estate fence.
Underneath it was one message.
YOU FINALLY OPENED THE WRONG DOOR, CLAIRE.
May you like
A second message arrived.
ASK CHARLES WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO YOUR MOTHER.
