Semua Bab The Secret Billionaire I Married: Bab 1 - Bab 10

Samuel Harper lived three hours north. A nursing home with white walls and yellow floors and a smell that reminded me of my mother's last days.Liam drove fast again. I stopped asking him to slow down.The sun was rising when we pulled into the parking lot. Pink and orange streaks across a sky that did not care about anything happening below it."He does not have much time," Liam said, cutting the engine. "The dementia is advanced. Some days he knows where he is. Some days he thinks it is 1995.""What do I say to him?""The truth. You are Margaret's daughter. You need the key."Margaret. My mother's real name. The name she had buried along with everything else.I got out of the car. The air was cold. Too cold for spring. I wrapped my arms around myself and walked toward the entrance.Liam stayed close. His hand hovered near my back. Not touching. Ready.A nurse at the front desk looked up from her computer. Her name tag said Deb. Her eyes said she had seen everything."Visiting hours

The bank opened at nine. We were there at eight fifteen.I could not sleep. Neither could Liam. We sat in the car and watched the sun rise over a town that did not know our names.Weston was small. One traffic light. One coffee shop. One bank with pillars and a flag and a sign that said "Established 1887."The key was in my pocket. I had not let go of it since we found the box."Are you ready?" Liam asked."No.""We can wait.""Waiting does not change anything."He nodded. We got out of the car.The bank lobby was empty. A young woman sat behind a desk. Her nameplate said "Tessa." She smiled when we walked in. The smile did not reach her eyes."How can I help you?""I need to access a safety deposit box. The name is Samuel Harper."Tessa's smile flickered. "Do you have the key?"I held it up."And identification?"I handed her my driver's license. Ellie Morgan. The name did not match the box. The name did not match anything anymore.Tessa looked at the license. Looked at me. Looked at

Maine was cold in a way New York never was. The wind came off the ocean and cut through my jacket like it was made of paper. Liam parked the car outside a small grey house with white trim and a porch swing that creaked in the wind.Doris lived alone. The file said she was seventy two. Widowed. No children. Retired for twelve years."She does not know we are coming," Liam said."Good. She cannot warn anyone."We walked up the path. The steps groaned under our weight. I knocked before I could lose my nerve.The door opened.Doris was shorter than I expected. Her hair was white. Her eyes were sharp. She wore a sweater that had seen better days and slippers that had seen even more."Who are you?" she asked."My name is Ellie. I am Margaret's daughter."Doris went pale. Her hand gripped the doorframe."I have been waiting for you," she said. "For twenty five years.""Then you know why I am here.""Come in. Both of you. Before someone sees."She stepped aside. We walked in.The house was sm

We drove until the sun came up. Liam did not ask where I wanted to go. He just drove. North again. Away from Weston. Away from the empty box. Away from the name my mother had not used in twenty five years.I watched the trees turn from dark to green. The sky turned from black to pink to blue. The world kept moving. I felt stuck in place."We cannot keep driving forever," I said."We can until you figure out what comes next.""What comes next is finding out who signed my mother's name.""Then we start with the people who knew her best.""Everyone who knew her best is dead or dying."Liam glanced at me. His eyes were tired. Darker than usual. He had not slept. Neither had I."Not everyone," he said. "There is one person we have not talked to.""Who?""My mother."The words hung in the air."Your mother? The philanthropist? The one who smiles for cameras and raises money for sick children?""That mother.""She is married to Charles. She lives in his house. She sleeps in his bed.""She al