Chapter 3 - The First crack

Chapter 3: The First Crack

Arabella barely slept that night.

By morning, the questions she’d tried to ignore had multiplied. What financial obligations had Adrian been talking about? Why had her father looked frightened? And why had Sebastian reacted as though the subject was familiar to him?

A message from Sebastian appeared on her phone.

Good morning, beautiful. I have a few meetings today, but I’ll call you later. Don’t let last night bother you. Your father will explain everything when he’s ready.

Arabella read it twice before setting her phone facedown. She wasn’t a child who needed everyone deciding what she was allowed to know. If her family was in trouble, she deserved the truth.

After showering and dressing, she headed downstairs. Sunlight poured through the tall windows of the Montgomery residence, illuminating the polished marble floors and expensive artwork.

Her father sat in the breakfast room, reading something on his tablet. A cup of untouched coffee rested beside him.

“Dad, we need to talk.”

“Good morning to you too,” Richard replied.

“Good morning. Now, can we talk?”

He sighed and gestured toward the chair opposite him. Arabella sat.

“What’s happening with Montgomery Holdings?”

His expression hardened slightly. “Why are you asking me that?”

“Because Adrian Knight seems to know more about our finances than I do.”

Richard set the tablet down. “Adrian Knight has always enjoyed making himself a nuisance.”

“That isn’t an answer.”

“It’s the only one I have for you this morning.”

“Then give me a better one,” she insisted. “You’ve been distracted for weeks. You’re always taking calls, and every time I ask what’s wrong, you tell me not to worry.”

For a moment, she saw exhaustion beneath his familiar authority.

“The company is facing some difficulties,” he admitted. “We’re working through them.”

“What kind of difficulties?”

“Financial ones.”

Her stomach tightened. “How serious?”

“Serious enough that I need you to remain calm while we handle the situation.”

“You’ve just told me our company has financial problems and expect me to remain calm?”

“I expect you to trust me.”

“And I expect you to stop treating me like a child.”

Silence settled between them. Finally, Richard reached across the table and took her hand.

“I am trying to protect you.”

“From what?”

He opened his mouth, but no answer came. That frightened her more than anything he’d said.

His phone rang. He glanced at the screen and immediately stood.

“I have to take this.”

“Of course you do.”

At the doorway, he paused. “Arabella, whatever you hear over the next few days, don’t make any decisions without speaking to me first.”

She frowned. “What am I likely to hear?”

But he had already walked away.

By midday, Arabella had made a decision. If her father wouldn’t give her answers, she’d find them herself.

She drove to Montgomery Holdings, the glass-and-steel headquarters that dominated one of Westhaven’s busiest business districts. She’d grown up visiting the building, but she’d never seen so many anxious faces on the executive floor.

Conversations stopped when she entered. A receptionist who usually greeted her warmly suddenly became fascinated by her computer screen.

“Is my father in his office?” Arabella asked.

“Mr Montgomery is in a meeting, ma’am.”

“With whom?”

“I’m sorry. I don’t have that information.”

Arabella headed toward her father’s office anyway. She was almost there when a familiar voice stopped her.

“Looking for someone?”

She turned. Adrian Knight stood near the conference room, one hand tucked into his trouser pocket. He looked entirely too comfortable in a place where everyone else seemed nervous.

“Do you make a habit of appearing wherever I’m trying to have a private conversation?”

“Only when the conversation looks interesting.”

“Then find another hobby.”

She tried to walk past him.

“Your father won’t tell you anything,” he said.

Arabella stopped. “And you know that because?”

“Because he’s been avoiding the same questions for weeks.”

She faced him fully. “What do you want from my family, Adrian?”

For once, his usual amusement disappeared.

“The truth.”

“About what?”

“Ask your father what happened to the Knight family’s investment twenty years ago.”

Arabella went still. “The Knight family?”

“Yes.”

“What does something that happened twenty years ago have to do with my father’s company now?”

Adrian’s jaw tightened. “That’s what your father should have explained to you a long time ago.”

“You’re accusing my father of stealing from your family?”

“I’m telling you to ask him what happened. If you’re certain he has nothing to hide, the question shouldn’t frighten you.”

“You don’t get to walk into my life and imply my father is a criminal.”

“And you don’t get to demand answers from me while refusing to consider that your family might not be as innocent as you believe.”

His words stung, but Arabella lifted her chin. “You know nothing about me.”

“Perhaps not,” Adrian said. “But I know what happened to my family.”

He stepped aside, leaving the corridor open.

“Ask him, Arabella.”

She watched him walk away, her thoughts racing. Twenty years ago. The Knight family. Her father’s silence.

Suddenly, the financial crisis no longer felt like an isolated problem. It felt like the beginning of something that had been waiting years to happen.

She pulled out her phone and typed a message to her father.

Dad, I need you to tell me what happened between you and the Knight family twenty years ago. Adrian says I should ask you.

His reply came less than a minute later.

Do not discuss this with Adrian. Come home. We need to talk.

Arabella read it again.

Her father hadn’t denied anything.

And for the first time, that silence felt like an answer.