Chapter 4 - THE UNCLE WHO CAME WITH FLOWERS
Victor Bellamy walked into the house carrying white orchids.
Maya almost laughed.
Of course.
The family flower.
The same symbol on the ring.
The same one carved into the gates of Bellamy House.
He stopped three feet away.
His eyes filled.
“My God.”
Maya said nothing.
“You look exactly like Celeste.”
“People keep saying that.”
Victor smiled sadly.
“I’ve waited twenty-nine years.”
Maya looked at the men behind him.
“Most people waiting for family don’t bring security.”
His smile changed.
“You’re cautious.”
“I learned young.”
That landed.
Victor looked toward Olivia.
His expression became ice.
“Olivia.”
She stood.
“Victor.”
Richard watched them like a man who had wandered into someone else’s movie.
Victor turned to Maya.
“I understand you were raised under terrible circumstances.”
Maya folded her arms.
“You understand quickly.”
“I want to fix what I can.”
“Can you fix twenty-nine years?”
“No.”
Good answer.
Too good.
Maya became more suspicious.
Victor held out the flowers.
She didn’t take them.
He placed them on the table.
“I’m not your enemy.”
Julian spoke from behind Maya.
“That remains unproven.”
Victor looked at him.
“Sterling.”
“Bellamy.”
The hatred between them was immediate.
Maya noticed.
“You two know each other.”
Victor smiled.
“Manhattan is small at certain levels.”
Julian didn’t smile.
“My mother believed you killed Celeste.”
The room went silent.
Victor’s expression barely changed.
“Your mother was grieving.”
“She wrote it before Celeste died.”
That hit.
Victor looked at Maya.
“May I explain?”
“You have five minutes.”
He sat.
Maya didn’t.
Neither did Julian.
Victor began.
“Celeste and I inherited Bellamy Holdings when our father became ill.”
“How old were you?”
“Twenty-eight.”
“And Celeste?”
“Twenty-six.”
“She discovered fraud.”
“Yes.”
Victor surprised everyone.
Maya frowned.
“You admit it.”
“Because it’s true.”
“Yours?”
“No.”
“Whose?”
“Our father’s chief financial officer.”
“Name?”
Victor looked at Olivia.
She whispered:
“Martin Vale.”
Maya’s pulse changed.
“Where is he?”
“Dead.”
Of course.
Victor continued.
“Celeste believed I was involved.”
“Were you?”
“No.”
“Why did Olivia run from you?”
Victor looked at her.
Olivia’s face tightened.
“Because I made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“I confronted her after Celeste disappeared.”
“Disappeared?”
Maya frowned.
“She died.”
Victor leaned back.
“That’s what you were told.”
The room went cold.
Maya stared.
“What?”
“Celeste’s body was never recovered.”
Julian whispered:
“I knew it.”
Victor nodded.
“The boat burned offshore.”
Maya’s heart hammered.
“My mother could be alive?”
Victor held her gaze.
“I believed so for almost ten years.”
“And after?”
“We received remains.”
Maya stopped.
“Human remains?”
“Partial.”
“DNA?”
“Matched our maternal line.”
“That doesn’t prove Celeste.”
Victor’s eyes sharpened.
“No.”
Maya looked at Olivia.
“You never told me any of this.”
Olivia whispered:
“I didn’t know.”
Maya turned back.
“Why did Celeste run?”
Victor answered:
“Because she discovered someone had changed your trust.”
“My trust?”
“You inherited thirty percent of Bellamy Holdings at birth.”
Richard inhaled.
Maya heard him.
So did everyone.
Victor continued.
“Celeste created the shares the day you were born.”
“Why?”
“To prevent anyone from controlling you through her.”
“Didn’t work very well.”
Victor accepted the insult.
“No.”
Maya asked:
“What changed?”
“Your shares were redirected into a dormant trust after you vanished.”
“Who controls it?”
Victor hesitated.
Maya smiled coldly.
“There it is.”
Victor sighed.
“I do.”
Richard sat down hard.
Thirty percent of a ten-billion-dollar company.
His wife.
The waitress.
Maya almost hated how satisfying his face looked.
“Can you access the money?”
“No.”
“Can you vote the shares?”
“Yes.”
“So my disappearance made you more powerful.”
“Yes.”
Silence.
“Then you had motive.”
Victor nodded.
“I did.”
Another good answer.
Maya hated that too.
“But motive is not proof.”
Julian stepped forward.
“What about the amended documents?”
Victor’s eyes moved to him.
“What documents?”
“The box Celeste stored.”
Victor’s face changed.
For the first time, genuine surprise.
“You opened it?”
Maya said:
“Yes.”
“What was inside?”
“Enough.”
Victor stood.
“Maya, listen carefully.”
“No.”
“If the original trust document is there, you are in danger.”
“I noticed.”
“No.”
His voice hardened.
“More than you understand.”
Then a crash came from upstairs.
Lily screamed.
Maya ran.
“Lily!”
Julian followed.
The officer moved.
They reached the bedroom.
Window open.
Curtain blowing.
Lily stood near the bed, terrified.
A man was halfway through the window.
The officer tackled him.
Julian pulled Lily back.
Maya grabbed her daughter.
The man fought.
Then something fell from his jacket.
A syringe.
Maya went cold.
The officer pinned him.
“Who sent you?”
Nothing.
Victor appeared in the doorway.
Saw the man.
Then stopped.
“You.”
The intruder looked up.
Victor’s face changed completely.
“Who is he?” Maya demanded.
Victor whispered:
“Martin Vale’s son.”
The supposedly dead CFO’s family.
Still active.
The officer searched the intruder.
Found a phone.
One recent text:
Get the ring. Leave the child.
Maya hugged Lily tighter.
The ring.
Not Maya.
Not Lily.
The ring.
Julian looked at Victor.
“What opens?”
Victor’s face went pale.
Maya understood.
“The ring isn’t symbolic.”
Nobody answered.
She stepped closer.
“What does it open?”
Victor finally whispered:
“Your mother’s private vault.”
“Where?”
“Bellamy House.”
Maya stared.
“What’s inside?”
Victor looked at Olivia.
Then Julian.
Then Maya.
“The evidence that could destroy half my family.”
Richard appeared behind them.
“Half your family?”
Everyone turned.
He had his phone out.
Recording.
Maya stared.
“Put it away.”
Richard smiled.
“No.”
Then his gaze dropped to the ring.
And for the first time since Maya left the barbecue, she saw something worse than cruelty in her husband’s eyes.
Greed.
That night, Richard made a decision.
He called Vanessa.
And whispered:
“I know what the ring is worth now.”
Vanessa answered:
“Not what it’s worth.”
A pause.
“What it opens.”
Richard looked toward Maya’s closed bedroom door.
“What do you want?”
Vanessa smiled through the phone.
“The ring.”
“And what do I get?”
“Enough money to never need Maya again.”
Richard smiled.
May you like
He still believed he was negotiating with Vanessa.
He had no idea the person paying her had been watching Maya since before Lily was born.
