Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN BEHIND THE FAMILY NAME
Adrian had spent six hours reviewing records that should never have existed.
The second hospital report was real.
It had been filed under a different patient identification number and sealed by a private physician employed by the Vale family.
The patient was Thomas Harper.
Mia's father.
The report stated that he had survived the warehouse fire and had been transferred to a private facility under an assumed name.
The date of his transfer was three days after Adrian's shooting.
Adrian read it twice.
Then he looked at the photograph attached to the file.
Thomas Harper was older than he remembered from Mia's stories, but unmistakable.
“Why was this hidden?” Adrian asked.
Marcus stood beside the desk.
“Your mother authorized the transfer.”
Adrian's eyes lifted.
“My mother?”
“Yes, sir.”
He stood so quickly his chair struck the wall.
“Where is she?”
“Her residence.”
“Get the car.”
Eleanor Vale lived in a mansion overlooking Lake Michigan, surrounded by antique furniture, expensive paintings, and people who feared disappointing her.
She greeted Adrian with a glass of wine.
“You look terrible.”
“Where is Thomas Harper?”
Her expression barely changed.
“Who?”
“Don't insult me.”
Eleanor placed the glass down.
“I see you've been looking through old files.”
“You hid a patient from me.”
“I protected this family.”
“From what?”
“From a man who knew too much.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“What did Thomas know?”
Eleanor sighed.
“Your father was betrayed by men he trusted. Thomas Harper was one of them.”
“My father died twenty years ago.”
“And some debts outlive the people who create them.”
Adrian stared at her.
“Did you arrange my shooting?”
For the first time, Eleanor looked genuinely offended.
“Don't be ridiculous.”
“Then explain why the original security report was altered.”
She turned toward the window.
“You were dying. Mia saved you. I thought the best thing you could do was marry the woman who had sacrificed everything for you.”
Adrian's voice dropped.
“You thought?”
“I made a decision.”
“You made a decision about my marriage?”
“I made a decision about the future of this family.”
He looked at her for a long moment.
“Did you know she was pregnant?”
Eleanor's expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Adrian noticed.
“How did you know?”
“I didn't.”
“You looked at me before I finished speaking.”
She recovered quickly.
“Congratulations, Adrian. Your wife is carrying an heir.”
He hated the way she said it.
An heir.
Not a child.
Not a baby.
A piece of property.
“I want the location of Thomas Harper.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“You don't understand what you're asking.”
“Then help me understand.”
She stepped closer.
“Your wife has always been dangerous.”
Adrian laughed once without humor.
“Mia?”
“She has the ability to make you forget what you are.”
“Perhaps that's not a bad thing.”
Eleanor's face hardened.
“Your father made that mistake. He chose love over loyalty, and it destroyed him.”
Adrian turned away.
“I'm done listening.”
“Then hear this before you leave.”
He stopped.
“Celeste is the least of your problems.”
Adrian looked over his shoulder.
“What does Celeste have to do with this?”
Eleanor's silence answered before her words did.
“She came to me months ago,” his mother said. “She wanted your marriage ended.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
“Because she believes she belongs beside you.”
“And you encouraged her?”
“I encouraged her to secure this family's future.”
He understood.
The marriage had never been only about gratitude.
His mother had been arranging pieces around him for years.
And Mia had been one of them.
His phone rang.
Marcus.
“Sir, we located the medical facility where Thomas Harper was transferred.”
“Where?”
“Closed two years ago.”
“Find out where he went.”
A pause.
“There's a problem.”
“What?”
“The records say he was discharged six months ago.”
Adrian gripped the phone.
“Discharged to whom?”
Marcus swallowed.
“Mrs. Celeste Rowan.”
Adrian's blood turned cold.
At that exact moment, Celeste entered the mansion through the front door.
She was carrying a leather folder.
May you like
And when she saw Adrian, she smiled.
“I think we need to talk about your wife.”
