MasukFor several seconds, I couldn’t move.My father’s name stared back at me from the document, typed beneath a line that claimed he had witnessed the original instruction.Thomas Hart.My father had been dead for months before I discovered the secrets he had apparently left behind. Now, every new document seemed determined to turn the man I loved into a stranger.“Tell me that’s a mistake,” I whispered.Damien took the page from my trembling hands, his expression hardening as he studied it.“It could be.”“His name is right there, Damien.”“I can see that.”“He wouldn’t have helped Richard take control of his own company. He wouldn’t have used my money to do it.”Damien set the document down carefully.“Then we find out who put his name there.”I wanted to believe him. I needed to believe him. But the uncertainty was eating through me, leaving nothing solid enough to hold on to.“What if he knew about the transfer?” I asked. “What if he agreed to something and never told me?”“Then we fi
I stared at the scanned agreement, searching for something that would explain why my name appeared beneath a clause I’d never approved.The signature line was blank.That should have reassured me. Instead, the document made my stomach twist.Someone had prepared an agreement granting Blackwood representatives control over my voting rights before I had even walked down the aisle with Adrian.“Damien, look at this.”He took the laptop and examined the page carefully.“This isn’t proof that the agreement was executed,” he said. “But it proves someone prepared it using your name.”“Without telling me.”“Yes.”I pulled the laptop back toward me. “Could this be what Richard meant when he said I might discover things about my father?”“Possibly. But we shouldn’t assume your father was involved simply because Richard is threatening you with his name.”I appreciated that he didn’t try to offer an easy explanation. I needed facts, not another person’s interpretation of my life.I checked the em
I couldn’t stop thinking about Richard’s final words.You may discover things about your father you aren’t prepared to accept.I turned toward Damien. “What do you think he meant?”“Richard knows threatening you won’t make you surrender. He’s trying to make you doubt everything you believe about your father.”I hated how easily he’d found the crack in my confidence.My father wasn’t perfect, but he’d never made me feel as though my future belonged to someone else.“I want those bank records tomorrow,” I said. “And I want an independent lawyer reviewing everything before Richard gets another chance to interfere.”“I’ll ask Bennett to recommend someone with no connection to either family.”“Not Bennett himself?”“He’s already reviewing the voting provisions. A separate lawyer would be better.”His answer eased some of my tension. I didn’t want another person pretending to protect me while deciding what I was allowed to know.“Thank you,” I murmured.Damien studied me. “You don’t have to
I stared at the bank statement until Richard Blackwood’s name blurred before my eyes.Three days before my wedding to Adrian, my mother had transferred money from an account my father created for me to the man who wanted control of Hart Industries.“Tell me why,” I demanded.My mother sat rigidly across from me. “Richard said the money was necessary to prevent the merger from collapsing.”“How much?”She told me.My stomach tightened. The amount was far beyond anything she could have taken without my knowledge.“And you believed him?”“I thought I was protecting the company.”“You protected it by giving my money to the Blackwoods?”“I intended to replace it.”“When?”She looked down.I pushed the statement toward her. “You don’t get to call it protection when you make decisions for me and leave me to discover the consequences.”Her eyes filled with tears, but I couldn’t bring myself to comfort her.“Did Richard ask for the transfer before or after you learned about the voting provisio
My mother’s bank account.The words followed me long after Martin ended the call.I sat across from Damien in my office, my father’s letter resting between us. At eighteen, I had signed dozens of documents for Hart Industries without understanding half of them. My mother had always assured me they were routine.Now I wondered what else she had signed in my name.“Do you know anything about an account my mother opened for me?” I asked Damien.“No. But we can ask her.”“I’m asking her myself.”He nodded. “Then I’ll leave you to it.”I studied him, still getting used to the fact that he was learning to step back instead of taking over.“Thank you.”He rose, but paused beside my desk.“Elena, whatever you discover about your mother, you don’t have to decide what it means immediately.”“I know.”“And you don’t have to protect her from the consequences of her own choices.”That struck a nerve because it was exactly what I had done for years.After he left, I called my mother.She answered o
My father’s handwriting blurred before my eyes.When Damien tells you why.Why what?Why had my father left an envelope in his office? Why had he trusted Damien with something he never explained to me? And why did his final instructions seem determined to pull me closer to a man I was still learning to trust?I slid a finger beneath the envelope’s flap and carefully removed the letter.My dearest Elena,If you’re reading this, something has happened that has prevented me from explaining these things to you myself.I know you. You will want answers immediately, and you will probably blame yourself for not seeing the danger sooner. Don’t.You have spent too much of your life believing that keeping everyone happy is your responsibility. It isn’t. Hart Industries is important, but it is not worth sacrificing your happiness or your freedom.I swallowed hard.My father had always known me better than I wanted to admit.There is something you need to understand about Damien Blackwood. He cam







