Love did not become perfect merely because the person who felt it had died.
But the letter gave me something Daniel had tried to take.
It gave me back my own history.
My phone rang.
The sound startled me.
Daniel’s name appeared on the screen.
Nathan crossed the room.
“Do not answer.”
I watched the phone continue vibrating.
“He knows I’m here.”
“We don’t know that.”
“He called ten minutes after I arrived.”
The ringing stopped.
A message appeared.
We need to talk before Nathan lies to you.
I showed it to Nathan.
His face hardened.
“How did he know?”
Another message arrived.
Your grandfather wasn’t protecting you.
He was using you.
Then a photograph appeared.
It showed me sitting behind my grandfather’s desk.
The picture had been taken through the office windows from somewhere across the avenue.
Someone was watching us.
Nathan immediately contacted security.
The blinds descended over the glass.
The office darkened.
My phone rang again.
This time, the caller was not Daniel.
The screen displayed an unknown number.
Nathan told me not to answer.
I did anyway.
“Hello?”
A man’s voice replied.
“Your grandfather always underestimated how much you wanted a normal life.”
“Victor?”
Nathan froze.
The man laughed softly.
“So he did leave my name behind.”
“What do you want?”
“The same thing I have wanted for thirty years.”
“Hawthorne Tower.”
“No.”
His answer surprised me.
“I want Charles Hawthorne’s lie exposed.”
“What lie?”
“That the tower ever belonged to him.”
Nathan shook his head, warning me not to engage.
Victor continued before I could respond.
“There is a deed inside that building.”
“The original deed.”
“Your grandfather buried it because he knew the tower was built on stolen land.”
“If that were true, you would have gone to court.”
“I tried.”
“And lost?”
“The evidence disappeared.”
“Convenient.”
“You sound like him.”
“I barely knew him.”
“But you inherited his arrogance.”
I stood from the chair.
“You paid my husband to watch me.”
“I paid Daniel to tell me when Charles contacted you.”
“You arranged for him to meet me.”
“I created an opportunity.”
“Daniel made his own decisions.”
“For once, we agree.”
“What did he steal from the office?”
Victor became quiet.
The silence confirmed he knew.
“The trust amendment?” I asked.
“Ask Nathan why Charles amended the trust three months before his death.”
I looked at the attorney.
Nathan’s expression gave nothing away.
“What did the amendment say?”
Victor answered slowly.
“It said Daniel receives control of Hawthorne Tower if anything happens to you before the divorce is final.”
My blood went cold.
“That makes no sense.”
“Doesn’t it?”
“My grandfather knew Daniel was working with you.”
“Eventually.”
“He would never give Daniel the tower.”
“Then perhaps Nathan has not told you the truth about who changed the document.”
The call ended.
I lowered the phone.
Nathan and I stared at each other across the darkened office.
“Is that what the amendment says?” I asked.
“We don’t know.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“We have only a reference to the amendment.”
“The original is missing.”
“Was there a draft?”
“Possibly.”
“Find it.”
Nathan turned toward his laptop.
I stopped him.
“Before you do, answer one question.”
“All right.”
“Who had the legal authority to change my grandfather’s trust during the final months of his life?”
“Your grandfather.”
“And?”
Nathan did not answer.
“And who else?”
“A designated trustee could submit revisions with his written authorization.”
“Who was the trustee?”
His hesitation lasted only a second.
It was enough.
“You were,” I said.
“Yes.”
THE MAN BEHIND THE WILL
I moved away from Nathan.
He remained beside the desk, his hands visible.
“Did you change the trust?”
“No.”
“Did my grandfather sign an amendment giving Daniel control?”
“Not in my presence.”
“That isn’t the same answer.”
“No.”
He spoke more firmly.
“I did not prepare, authorize, or submit an amendment benefiting Daniel.”
“Could someone have forged it?”
“Yes.”
“Could you?”
“Yes.”
The honesty startled me.
Nathan continued.
“My credentials could be used to validate a fraudulent amendment.”
“Who had access to them?”
“My senior paralegal.”
“Your partners.”
“Certain estate administrators.”
“And your grandfather, through his secure account.”
“Anyone else?”
“No one officially.”
“Unofficially?”
“One of our document systems was breached four months ago.”
“Did you report it?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You were not a client then.”
“I was the beneficiary of a thirty-million-dollar estate.”
“At that time, Charles was alive and the trust remained private.”
The explanation sounded reasonable.
That did not make it reassuring.
“What was taken in the breach?”
“We believed no confidential files were removed.”
“You believed?”
“The access logs showed an unsuccessful attempt.”
“Perhaps it wasn’t unsuccessful.”
Nathan nodded.
“That is now a serious possibility.”
My phone vibrated again.
Daniel had sent another message.
Victor is dangerous.
Do not believe him.
I almost threw the phone across the room.
For fourteen years, Daniel had decided which truths I was allowed to know.
Now he wanted to become my protector because the people he conspired with frightened him.
I called him.
Nathan objected.
I raised one hand.
Daniel answered before the first ring ended.
“Emily.”
“Where are you?”
“Are you at the tower?”
“Answer me.”
“I’m at a hotel.”
“Which hotel?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“You want me to trust you after putting divorce papers at my feet?”
“I made a mistake.”
“No.”
“You executed a plan.”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen that way.”
“You keep saying that as if the details changed themselves.”
“Tiffany pushed the porch idea.”
“And you agreed.”
“I was angry.”
“You were paid.”
He stopped breathing for a moment.
“How much do you know?”
“I know about Victor.”
“I know about the payments.”
“I know he approached you before we met.”
Daniel whispered my name.
“Did you ever love me?”
The question left my mouth before I decided to ask it.
For several seconds, I heard only the faint noise of traffic on his end.
“Yes.”
“Before or after he paid you?”
“Emily—”
“Before or after?”
“After.”
My eyes closed.
The answer hurt because it sounded truthful.
“When?”
“I don’t know.”
“You had fourteen years to know.”
“I stopped reporting to him after our daughter was born.”
“The payments continued.”
“He threatened to tell you how we met.”
“So you kept helping him?”
“At first, I gave him harmless information.”
“There was no harmless information about my life.”
“I know that now.”
“No, Daniel.”
“You know you were caught.”
His voice broke.
“He told me your grandfather had ruined his family.”
“He said the tower was built with money stolen from him.”
“I believed him.”
“You accepted six hundred thousand dollars because you believed a sad story?”
“I owed him.”
“You owed me honesty.”
“I was going to tell you.”
“When?”
“After the divorce.”
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“You were going to confess after I signed away my inheritance?”
“The agreement was not supposed to take everything.”
“It converted undisclosed assets into marital property.”
“It gave me leverage.”
“For what?”
“To get out.”
“You could have asked for a divorce.”
“You would have told your grandfather.”
“He was dead.”
“I didn’t know that when we started planning.”
The sentence settled heavily.
“How long were you planning to leave?”
Daniel did not answer.
“How long?”
“Eight months.”
“And Tiffany?”
“She was part of it.”
“Part of the affair or part of Victor’s plan?”
“Both.”
Nathan looked sharply at me.
I put the call on speaker.
Daniel heard the change in sound.
“Is Nathan there?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t trust him.”
“Tell me about the trust amendment.”
“I never saw it.”
“You stole it.”
“No.”
“Someone entered the office with a duplicate of my key.”
“It wasn’t me.”
“Then who?”
“Tiffany.”
My grip tightened around the phone.
“How did she get the key?”
“Victor gave it to her.”
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“You were living with her.”
“She disappeared the night I received the eviction notice.”
That explained why Tiffany had left the house so quickly.
She had not fled because Daniel lost the property.
She had left because the papers failed.
“What did she take?”
“My laptop.”
“My phone records.”
“Copies of the divorce agreement.”
“And a flash drive Victor gave me.”
“What was on it?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“It was encrypted.”
“Victor said it contained proof against your grandfather.”
“Why keep it at the house?”
“He told me to place it in your luggage.”
I stared at the suitcase in my memory.
Daniel had packed it.
He had expected me to leave carrying something for Victor.
“Why?”
“So you would have possession if authorities found it.”
Nathan swore under his breath.
“What kind of proof?” I asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Daniel.”
“I swear.”
“You have lied under oath before.”
“I have never testified under oath.”
“You lied in our vows.”
He became silent.
I continued before he could recover.
“Who was in the sedan outside my house?”
“What sedan?”
“A black car was watching me this morning.”
“Emily, leave the tower.”
“Who was it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Victor called me from a blocked number.”
“Then he knows where you are.”
“Everyone knows where I am.”
“No.”
Daniel’s voice rose sharply.
“He knows which office you entered.”
“What does that mean?”
“There are rooms in that building that aren’t on the public plans.”
Nathan looked toward the bookshelves.
“What rooms?” I asked.
“Your grandfather maintained a private archive.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“Victor believes the original Hawthorne deed is inside it.”……………….
