Chapter 12 – A Name Recognized

Jasmine remained bent beside Rafe’s desk in the home office, the single sheet of paper still in her hand. Afternoon light fell across the page, making Victor’s signature stand out clearly at the bottom.

She straightened slowly and looked closer at the transaction listed above it. The amount was large—millions—and the company name printed beside the figures was one she had never heard Rafe mention in any of their evening talks about Ashford Holdings.

She read the name once more, and as she stared at the paper, she couldn't shake off the feeling of unease in the pit of her stomach. The numbers sat neat and official, yet the company itself felt unfamiliar. She had spent so many evenings listening to Rafe talk about the business. Every deal. Every acquisition. But nothing of this.

Jasmine turned the page over, checking for any note or explanation. There was none. Only Victor’s polished signature and the heavy total.

Rafe’s voice carried from the hallway. “Jaz? Are you done in there?”

She called back at once, keeping her tone light. “Almost. I found a loose page under the desk. I am putting everything back now.”

Rafe appeared in the doorway, broad shoulders filling the frame, dark hair still neat from his earlier work, gray eyes warm as they settled on her. “You know you don't have to tidy the whole office. I only needed one folder. And you said you'd only tidy up the edges, this doesn't look like that to me” He teased

Jasmine slipped the page into the thicker folder she had opened earlier and closed it carefully. “I know. But the papers fell, and I couldn't bear to leave things out of place. You work hard enough without searching for lost pages later.”

Rafe crossed the room and rested a hand on her waist. “That is why I ask you to help. You notice what I miss. Come. Ethan will wake soon, and I want a few quiet minutes with you before he does.” He said as he gave her a sheepish smile 

She smiled up at him, the intelligent warmth in her eyes soft and full of love for him. “I would like that. Let me just set this folder where I found it.”

She returned the thicker folder to its place beneath the other stacks, exactly as it had been. The unfamiliar company name stayed in her mind, but she pushed the thought aside for the moment. Rafe needed the summary he had asked for, and the house felt peaceful. There would be time to ask later.

They left the office together. In the sitting room Rafe placed the thin blue folder on the low table and drew Jasmine down beside him on the sofa. His arm settled around her shoulders in the familiar way that always made her feel smaller and safer.

“You have been quiet since you came out of the office,” he said. “Is something on your mind?”

Jasmine leaned into his side. “Only the usual. Numbers and names. I saw a company listed on one of the pages that I do not remember you talking about before.”

Rafe’s gray eyes flicked toward the folder, then back to her. “Which one?”

She kept her voice casual, the way she always did when she did not want to press him after a long day. “I am not certain of the exact name. It was beside a large transfer. Victor had signed it.”

Rafe’s hand moved slowly up and down her arm absently. “Victor handles several side operations for the company. Shell arrangements, investment vehicles, things that keep the main accounts cleaner. It is complicated, but it is normal for a firm our size.”

Jasmine looked at him. “You have never mentioned that particular company to me.”

“Because most of those names change or stay in the background,” Rafe answered. His tone stayed easy, as he kept rubbing her arms while he went through the documents. “Victor manages them. He has done it for years. There is nothing unusual about complicated corporate accounts. The board expects it.”

She studied his face, the steady confidence in his expression. “And you trust those arrangements completely?”

Rafe kissed her temple. “I trust Victor to keep the business structure up and running. He is Chairman. He knows the system better than anyone. You do not need to worry about the fine print, Jasmine. That is why we have him.”

Jasmine rested her head against his broad shoulder. “I only asked because the name was new to me. You share so much of the business with me in the evenings. I thought I knew most of the pieces.”

“You know the important ones,” he said. “The rest is paperwork that keeps the machine running. Victor’s signature means it has already been checked. That is enough for me.”

She accepted the explanation with a small nod, her kind nature making it easy to let the matter rest. Yet the way Rafe spoke of Victor—with such unquestioning trust—stayed with her. She had always known Rafe relied on his uncle. Hearing it now, somehow made her a bit uneasy.

Ethan woke a short time later. His soft cries carried down the hall, and Jasmine rose at once. Rafe followed her upstairs, his hand steady on her back. In the nursery they found their son already reaching toward the side of the crib, brown hair tousled from sleep, wide eyes bright once he saw them.

Rafe lifted Ethan carefully into his arms. “There he is. Did you have a good rest, little man?”

Jasmine smoothed the blanket and smiled. “He always seems to settle faster when he knows you're nearby.”

Rafe held their son close, gray eyes softer than they ever were in the office. “He has your fiesty. I see it more every day.”

“I'm not feisty” Jasmine said with a playful slap on his arm

They spent the next hour together in the nursery. Jasmine prepared Ethan a small bottle while Rafe walked Ethan near the window, pointing out the garden path below.

Conversation flowed easily between them—plans for the weekend, a new book Rafe wanted to read to Ethan, the way the roses had bloomed early that year.

“I still think about the company name from earlier,” Jasmine said quietly while she tested the bottle’s warmth. “Not because I doubt you. Only because it felt strange not to recognize it.”

Rafe glanced over, Ethan resting against his chest. “Put it out of your mind. Victor’s work is thorough. If anything needed my attention, he would bring it to me. That is how we have always operated.”

She nodded and handed him the bottle. “You are right. I trust you. And I know you trust him.”

The words settled between them. Rafe’s unquestioning faith in Victor remained clear in every reply, and Jasmine carried that awareness even as she smiled and focused on their son.

Evening arrived. They ate a simple meal downstairs once Ethan was settled again. Rafe spoke of the board call he still needed to finish, his broad shoulders slightly tense with the remaining work. Jasmine listened, offered quiet comments, and kept the conversation light.

The unfamiliar company and Victor’s signature stayed at the edge of her thoughts, but she did not raise them again.

Later, after Rafe returned to his study to complete the call, Jasmine went upstairs to prepare for bed.

She carried a small stack of her own papers—notes from the household accounts, a list of Ethan’s new clothes, a letter she had started to her cousin Vanessa.

She set them on the writing desk in their bedroom and began to sort them before sleep.

Her fingers moved through the pages. One sheet felt different from the others—thicker, with a formal layout she recognized at once. Jasmine lifted it into the light of the bedside lamp. Her breath caught as she realized what she held.

Jasmine realizes she accidentally placed one of the financial documents among her personal papers.