Chapter thirteen.

CHLOE'S POV

"Victor Hale has been entering this mansion?"

Damian's voice was dangerously quiet.

Ethan nodded.

"According to the security records, he visited three times within the last month. Each visit was authorised using an old guest pass registered under your grandmother's name."

Everyone turned towards Margaret.

She looked horrified.

"That's impossible. I haven't invited Victor here."

Damian placed Isabella's letter on the table.

"Then someone has been using your identity."

Margaret shook her head.

"I don't understand. Victor was your father's business partner, but they stopped speaking years ago."

"Apparently, he never stopped visiting."

Damian picked up his phone.

"Ethan, I want the complete visitor records. Also, find out who authorised those entries."

"Yes, sir."

Margaret sat down, visibly shaken.

"Damian, I would never betray your father."

He approached her.

"I know, Grandma."

But I noticed something.

Although Damian said he believed her, his eyes remained fixed on the photograph of Victor Hale.

Something about the situation troubled him.

And I couldn't blame him.

Isabella had specifically warned Edward not to trust Victor. Yet Victor had been entering the house where Edward's family lived.

Someone was helping him.

The question was who.

---

THE ROURKE STUDY

Damian and I examined Edward's old documents while Ethan searched through the security records.

The letter from Isabella lay between us.

I read it again.

There is someone inside your family helping him.

"Do you think Isabella meant Margaret?" I asked.

Damian immediately shook his head.

"No."

"Then who?"

He leaned back in his chair.

"My father had a small family. Margaret, a few distant relatives and me. But he trusted people easily."

"Could it have been someone working in the mansion?"

"Possibly."

I picked up another document.

"Look at this."

It was an old photograph of Edward standing with several people at a business event.

I recognised Victor Hale immediately.

But there was another familiar face.

"Damian, who is that woman?"

He leaned closer.

The woman stood beside Victor, wearing a black dress and a silver necklace.

Damian's expression changed.

"That's my father's former secretary."

"What was her name?"

"Caroline Reed."

"Do you know where she is now?"

He shook his head.

"She resigned shortly after my father's death."

I looked at the photograph again.

"Perhaps she knows something."

Damian picked up his phone.

"Ethan, find Caroline Reed."

---

SUMMERS ESTATE

Pearl sat in front of her dressing mirror, examining a new necklace.

She smiled when her phone rang.

"Hello?"

A man's voice came through.

"Have you spoken to your sister?"

Pearl's smile disappeared.

"No. Why?"

"Because she's getting too close."

Pearl stood and walked towards the window.

"Chloe doesn't know anything."

"She knows enough to become a problem."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Keep her occupied. Find out what she has discovered about Victor."

Pearl hesitated.

"Why should I help you?"

The man laughed softly.

"Because I know how you became A-Star."

Pearl went still.

"Don't threaten me."

"I'm not threatening you, Pearl. I'm reminding you that your little artistic reputation was built on someone else's work."

Her fingers tightened around the phone.

"Leave me alone."

"Then make sure your sister stops investigating."

The call ended.

Pearl stared at her reflection.

For years, she had convinced herself that Chloe would never reclaim what belonged to her.

But now Chloe was getting closer to the truth.

And Pearl was beginning to fear that everything she had stolen would soon be taken away.

---

ROURKE MANSION — EVENING

Ethan returned with an update.

"Sir, we've located Caroline Reed."

Damian stood.

"Where?"

"She currently lives outside the city. However, she has refused to speak with our investigators."

"Why?"

"She said she has nothing to do with Edward Rourke's death."

Damian exchanged a look with me.

"Arrange a meeting."

Ethan nodded.

"There's something else. We reviewed the visitor records. Victor Hale's visits were authorised using a temporary access code."

"Who created the code?"

"An employee in the household administration department. The employee claims the request came from someone inside the family."

Damian's expression hardened.

"Name?"

Ethan looked uncomfortable.

"Margaret Rourke."

Margaret, who had just entered the room, stopped walking.

"What?"

Ethan immediately explained.

"The authorisation bears your name, ma'am. But we haven't confirmed whether you personally approved it."

Margaret shook her head.

"I never authorised anything."

Damian looked at Ethan.

"Find out who submitted the request. Until then, nobody gets access to the private wing without my approval."

"Understood."

Margaret sat down.

"Someone is using my name to destroy this family."

I looked at her.

"Perhaps someone wants us to suspect you."

She turned towards me.

"That's exactly what I believe."

Damian took her hand.

"We'll find out who did it."

---

CHLOE'S POV — LATER THAT NIGHT

I was walking through the garden when my phone vibrated.

An unknown number.

You're investigating the wrong person.

I stared at the message.

Another followed.

Victor Hale isn't the only person who wanted Edward dead.

My heartbeat quickened.

I typed a reply.

Who are you?

The response came almost immediately.

Someone who knew Isabella.

Then another message appeared.

Meet me tomorrow at the old Ashford Club. Come alone if you want to know what really happened.

I frowned.

The Ashford Club.

The place where Isabella had disappeared.

I took a screenshot and sent it to Victoria.

Her reply came seconds later.

Absolutely not. This could be a trap.

I knew she was right.

Still, I couldn't ignore the possibility that the sender knew something important.

I walked back into the mansion.

Damian was in the library, speaking to Ethan.

I waited until Ethan left.

"Damian, someone contacted me."

He immediately looked up.

"Who?"

"I don't know. They claim they knew Isabella."

I showed him the messages.

He read them twice.

"You're not going."

"I knew you would say that."

"Chloe, this person specifically instructed you to come alone. That's enough reason to suspect a trap."

"What if they know what happened?"

"Then we'll find another way to get the information."

I folded my arms.

"Damian, I won't let someone use fear to control me."

He stepped closer.

"And I won't let someone use your curiosity to hurt you."

We stared at each other.

Finally, I sighed.

"Fine. I won't go alone."

He nodded.

"Good."

But as I turned away, I had already made another decision.

I needed to know who had sent that message.

---

THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON

The old Ashford Club looked almost abandoned.

Its once-grand entrance was covered with dust, and several windows had been boarded up.

I stood across the street with Damian and Ethan.

"Stay close," Damian instructed.

I nodded.

We approached the entrance.

A security guard recognised Damian's name and allowed us inside after checking his identification.

The building smelled of damp wood and old furniture.

A woman stood near the reception desk.

She was in her late fifties, with short grey hair and a nervous expression.

"Miss Summers?"

I nodded.

"I'm Caroline Reed."

Damian stepped forward.

"You worked for my father."

She looked at him.

"Yes. I did."

"Why did you contact Chloe?"

Caroline frowned.

"I didn't."

I showed her the messages.

She examined them, then shook her head.

"Whoever sent those messages is lying."

My stomach tightened.

"Then why did you agree to meet us?"

"Because I received a message this morning telling me that someone had found Isabella's letter."

Damian took a step closer.

"What letter?"

Caroline glanced around nervously.

"Isabella gave me something before she disappeared. I kept it because I was afraid."

"Where is it?"

She opened her handbag and removed a small envelope.

"I've carried it for years."

Damian took the envelope.

His fingers trembled slightly as he examined the handwriting.

It was Isabella's.

He opened it carefully.

Inside was a single photograph.

Edward Rourke stood beside Victor Hale.

Behind them was a third man.

Damian stared at the image.

"Who is that?"

Caroline swallowed.

"Your father's closest friend."

Damian's expression changed.

"His name?"

She looked directly at him.

"Jonathan Pierce."

Damian went completely still.

I recognised the name.

Jonathan Pierce was one of the most powerful men in the city. He had attended Damian's father's funeral and had remained close to the Rourke family ever since.

"Why would Isabella have this photograph?" I asked.

Caroline looked towards the entrance.

"Because she discovered that Jonathan was secretly working with Victor."

Damian's jaw tightened.

"Working together to do what?"

Caroline opened her mouth.

Before she could answer, the lights went out.

A loud crash echoed through the building.

"Chloe!" Damian shouted.

I felt someone grab my wrist.

I screamed.

Then I heard a gunshot.

The lights flickered back on.

Damian was standing several feet away, holding a bleeding hand against his side.

Ethan rushed towards him.

"Sir!"

I pulled free and ran to Damian.

"You're hurt!"

"It's nothing," he muttered.

But the photograph was gone.

Caroline was nowhere to be seen.

The entrance doors stood wide open.

I looked around desperately.

"Where is she?"

Ethan rushed towards the doorway.

"She's gone!"

Damian caught my arm.

"Chloe, listen to me. We need to leave."

I looked down at his bleeding hand.

"You're not going anywhere until someone treats that wound."

He tried to protest, but I refused to move.

As Ethan called for assistance, my phone vibrated.

A new message appeared.

It contained a photograph.

My breath caught.

It showed Caroline Reed tied to a chair in a dark room.

Beneath it was a message.

You wanted the truth about Isabella. Now come and collect it.

Another message arrived.

This time, it contained only six words.

Ask Damian who killed his father.

I slowly raised my eyes towards him.

He was watching me.

And for the first time since I had met him, I wondered whether Damian Rourke was hiding a secret of his own.

To be continued...