CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SIX
Adrian's Bargain
By morning, Willa had stopped believing in coincidences.
The photograph.
The key.
The amendment.
Her mother's messages.
Nathan's letter.
And now the knowledge that Adrian had been shot because he tried to reach her.
Nothing was accidental anymore.
Someone had been moving pieces around her for years.
And she had finally become one of those pieces.
Willa sat in the back of Daniel's car while rain struck the windshield.
Daniel drove with both hands on the wheel.
Neither of them spoke.
After twenty minutes, Willa broke the silence.
“Where are we going?”
“To see Adrian.”
“He's in the hospital.”
“Not anymore.”
Willa looked at him.
“What?”
“He checked himself out.”
“He was shot.”
“He knows.”
“Then why would he leave?”
“Because Celeste knows.”
Willa's stomach tightened.
“Knows what?”
“That he helped your mother.”
Willa looked out the window.
“Helped her do what?”
Daniel glanced at her.
“Hide the money.”
“What money?”
“The money Miriam took out of the Rowe empire.”
Willa turned toward him.
“How much?”
“Enough to bankrupt Celeste.”
Willa frowned.
“I thought Celeste had eight hundred million in debt.”
“She does.”
“And Miriam took money from her?”
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Miriam moved assets before Celeste could touch them.”
“Into the trust?”
“Not all of them.”
“Where?”
Daniel didn't answer.
“Daniel.”
He sighed.
“Offshore accounts.”
Willa stared at him.
“How much?”
“About two hundred and thirty million.”
Her mouth went dry.
“And Adrian helped?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he loved Miriam.”
Willa blinked.
“What?”
“Not like that.”
Daniel gave her a tired look.
“Adrian was seventeen when he first met Miriam.”
“She was already married.”
“Yes.”
“To Calder.”
“Yes.”
“Then what did he do?”
“Worked for her.”
“Doing what?”
“Accounting.”
Willa frowned.
“Adrian was an accountant?”
“Before he became Celeste's husband.”
Willa sat back.
The pieces shifted.
Adrian had never seemed like a businessman.
At Rowe events, he stood beside Celeste.
Quiet.
Polite.
Invisible.
Almost deliberately invisible.
Willa suddenly understood.
“He knew everything.”
“Not everything.”
“Enough.”
“Yes.”
“Then why marry Celeste?”
Daniel's expression darkened.
“That is the part we don't know.”
Adrian was waiting in an abandoned townhouse three streets from the hospital.
The building belonged to a company that had gone bankrupt years ago.
No security.
No cameras.
No staff.
Willa entered first.
Adrian stood beside a window.
His arm was still in a sling.
There was a bandage above his eyebrow.
He looked older than he had the night before.
“You came.”
Willa closed the door.
“You asked for me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Adrian looked at Daniel.
“Alone.”
“No.”
“Willa—”
“If he stays, I stay.”
Adrian nodded.
“Fair.”
Daniel remained near the door.
Adrian looked at Willa.
“I owe you the truth.”
“You owe me more than that.”
“I know.”
“Did you help my mother?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I moved money.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“That's not an answer.”
“Two hundred and thirty million.”
Willa stared.
“Where did it go?”
“Different trusts.”
“Whose names?”
“People Miriam trusted.”
“Why?”
“To keep it away from Calder.”
“But Calder was dead.”
“Officially.”
Willa shook her head.
“Everyone in this family is officially dead.”
Adrian almost smiled.
Almost.
Then his face hardened.
“Miriam knew Calder was alive.”
“Did my mother?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Before she disappeared.”
“Did they meet?”
“Several times.”
“Where?”
“Mostly through me.”
Willa's eyes narrowed.
“You were their messenger.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Miriam didn't trust telephones.”
“Neither did my mother.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Calder had people inside the telephone company.”
Willa stared.
“That's insane.”
“It sounds insane.”
“But?”
“But it was true.”
Adrian moved toward a desk.
He opened a drawer.
Inside was a small black notebook.
He placed it on the table.
“This belonged to Miriam.”
Willa opened it.
Most of the pages contained numbers.
Account numbers.
Dates.
Names.
Property addresses.
Then she saw one name repeated again and again.
C. Rowe.
Celeste.
Next to it were amounts.
Millions.
Willa looked up.
“She was stealing.”
Adrian nodded.
“From Miriam's assets.”
“How?”
“Celeste had access to the family holding companies.”
“And Miriam?”
“Miriam knew.”
“So she moved the money.”
“Yes.”
“And you helped.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't Celeste know?”
“She did.”
Willa stared.
“What?”
“She knew money was missing.”
“But she didn't know where.”
Adrian shook his head.
“She knew someone was moving it.”
“Did she suspect you?”
“Eventually.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
Willa looked at him.
“That's when she married you.”
Adrian didn't answer.
Willa's eyes widened.
“You married her after she suspected you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To stay close.”
“To Celeste?”
“To the accounts.”
Willa stepped back.
“So you used your marriage too.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Like Nathan.”
“No.”
“What's the difference?”
Adrian's voice became quiet.
“I knew I was using Celeste.”
Willa stared.
“Nathan didn't?”
“I don't know.”
Adrian closed the notebook.
“But I know this.”
“What?”
“Celeste didn't marry me because she loved me.”
“Why did she?”
“Because she needed someone she could control.”
“And you let her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To protect Miriam's money.”
Willa looked at the notebook.
“And now?”
“Now Miriam's money is gone.”
“Who took it?”
Adrian hesitated.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“No.”
“You know.”
Adrian looked toward the window.
“I know who has access.”
“Who?”
“Celeste.”
Willa's expression hardened.
“She took it?”
“Not all of it.”
“How much?”
“Twenty-eight million.”
Willa stared.
“Twenty-eight million?”
“Gone.”
“Where?”
“Debt.”
“Her debt?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't she use the rest?”
“Because she can't.”
“Why?”
“Because the rest is protected.”
“By whom?”
Adrian looked at her.
“By you.”
Willa froze.
“My trust.”
“Yes.”
“That's why she pushed me.”
Adrian's eyes met hers.
“She didn't push you because she was angry.”
He stepped closer.
“She pushed you because she was desperate.”
Willa felt the words settle into her.
Not anger.
Not jealousy.
Desperation.
Celeste hadn't lost control.
She had made a decision.
A brutal one.
A financial decision.
“She wanted me dead.”
Adrian didn't deny it.
“She wanted you unconscious.”
Willa stared.
“What?”
“She didn't necessarily intend to kill you.”
“She shoved me down a glass staircase.”
“I know.”
“There was blood.”
“I know.”
“My baby could have died.”
“I know.”
“Then don't tell me she didn't intend to kill me.”
Adrian looked away.
“She wanted to stop the trust from activating.”
“How?”
“By proving you were mentally or physically incapable of inheriting.”
Willa frowned.
“What?”
“The trust has a condition.”
“What condition?”
“If the beneficiary is permanently incapacitated, control passes to the secondary trustee.”
“Who?”
“Celeste.”
Willa felt sick.
“She needed me incapacitated.”
“Yes.”
“And if I died?”
“The same.”
Willa stared at him.
“So the fall was meant to destroy my claim.”
“Yes.”
“Not just kill me.”
“Yes.”
Willa's hands began trembling.
“Who told her about the condition?”
Adrian looked at her.
“I did.”
Silence.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought I could control the damage.”
Willa laughed bitterly.
“You helped her.”
“I gave her information.”
“That is helping.”
“I know.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because she threatened me.”
“With what?”
“My daughter.”
Willa stopped.
“You have a daughter?”
Adrian nodded.
“She lives in London.”
“Celeste knows?”
“Yes.”
“She threatened her?”
“She didn't have to.”
Adrian's voice cracked.
“She only had to show me the photographs.”
Willa's expression softened.
“What photographs?”
“School.”
“Of your daughter?”
“Yes.”
“Then she was watching her.”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Two years.”
Willa sat down.
“And you stayed with Celeste.”
“Yes.”
“Even after you knew what she was doing?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because every time I tried to leave, something happened to someone I cared about.”
Willa looked at him.
“Who else?”
Adrian's eyes darkened.
“Miriam.”
Willa's breath caught.
“What did Celeste do to Miriam?”
“Nothing.”
“You just said—”
“I said someone happened to her.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You do.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
“Celeste wasn't the person who ordered Miriam's death.”
“Then who?”
Adrian whispered:
“Her father.”
Willa froze.
“Calder.”
“Yes.”
“But Calder was dead.”
“Officially.”
Willa looked at Daniel.
He didn't contradict him.
“Then where is he?”
Adrian didn't answer.
“Where?”
“He's gone.”
“Gone where?”
“Europe.”
“Which country?”
Adrian shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Willa slammed her hand against the table.
“Everyone knows something!”
Her voice broke.
“My mother is alive or dead. My grandfather is alive or dead. My father is alive or dead. Nathan knows everything and tells me nothing. Celeste is trying to destroy me. And now you're telling me two hundred million dollars has been hidden from me.”
She stood.
“I'm done.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Done with what?”
“Being the last person to know what is happening to my own life.”
She walked toward the door.
Adrian called after her.
“Willa.”
She stopped.
“There is one thing you don't know.”
She turned.
“What?”
“Your mother didn't hide the money for herself.”
“Then for whom?”
Adrian looked at her.
“For your child.”
Willa went still.
“My baby?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Miriam knew the Rowe empire would eventually collapse.”
“When?”
“She calculated twenty years ago.”
“Why?”
“Because Calder built it on debt.”
Willa stared.
“And my child inherits?”
“No.”
Adrian shook his head.
“Your child is the reason you inherit.”
Willa didn't understand.
“Explain.”
“The trust isn't about you.”
“Then what is it about?”
“It's about succession.”
He opened the notebook.
“There is a clause.”
“What clause?”
“The Rowe bloodline cannot be sold.”
Willa looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
“If you die before your child is born, the assets transfer to the child.”
“And if the child dies?”
“Then the trust dissolves.”
Willa felt cold.
“So that's why—”
“Yes.”
“Someone wants my baby dead.”
Adrian nodded.
“And that's why Celeste panicked.”
Willa's hand went to her stomach.
Her face went pale.
“Does Celeste know I'm pregnant?”
“She knew before the gala.”
“How?”
“Medical records.”
Willa's eyes narrowed.
“Who gave them to her?”
Adrian didn't answer.
“Who?”
“Someone at the hospital.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“We need to leave.”
Adrian nodded.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded document.
“Take this.”
Willa opened it.
It was a bank transfer.
The recipient name was hidden.
But the sending account was visible.
Miriam Alexandra Rowe Trust.
The date was from three months ago.
Willa looked up.
“My mother moved money three months ago.”
“Yes.”
“She was alive.”
Adrian shook his head.
“Not necessarily.”
“What do you mean?”
“Someone had access to the trust.”
“Who?”
Adrian looked at her.
“Your husband.”
Willa's blood ran cold.
“Nathan?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“I saw his signature.”
“Where?”
“On the transfer.”
Willa stared at the document.
“Why would he take the money?”
“He didn't.”
“Then who did?”
Adrian looked at Daniel.
Daniel's face changed.
“You don't know?”
“No.”
“Then tell me.”
Adrian lowered his voice.
“The account was opened under a name.”
“What name?”
He looked directly at Willa.
“Your mother's.”
Willa stared at him.
“Miriam.”
“Yes.”
“But she's dead.”
“That's the problem.”
Celeste sat alone in the penthouse.
The city glittered beneath her.
She held a glass of wine but didn't drink.
Her phone lay on the table.
A message appeared.
ADRIAN LEFT THE HOSPITAL.
Celeste read it.
Then another.
HE MET WILLA.
Her hand tightened around the glass.
She called Adrian.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
She threw the phone onto the sofa.
Then the elevator doors opened.
Nathan stepped out.
Celeste looked at him.
“You shouldn't be here.”
“I know.”
“What do you want?”
“The truth.”
Celeste laughed.
“Which truth?”
“About Willa.”
Celeste's smile disappeared.
“What about her?”
“You knew about the trust.”
“Of course.”
“You knew about the incapacity clause.”
Silence.
“You knew she was pregnant.”
Celeste looked away.
“And you knew the amendment would activate when the child was born.”
She said nothing.
Nathan stepped closer.
“You pushed her because of the trust.”
Celeste's eyes hardened.
“I pushed her because she attacked me.”
“That's not what happened.”
“You weren't there.”
“I was.”
“You saw nothing.”
“I saw enough.”
Celeste looked at him.
“You have no idea what you're protecting.”
“Willa.”
“No.”
Celeste's voice cracked.
“I'm protecting this family.”
“You're protecting yourself.”
“You think I want any of this?”
“Yes.”
Celeste laughed bitterly.
“You have no idea.”
She walked toward the window.
“My father left us a collapsing empire.”
“My father didn't.”
“Your father built it.”
“Your father destroyed it.”
Celeste turned.
“And Miriam stole the only thing that could save it.”
“The money?”
“The control.”
Nathan stared.
Celeste whispered:
“She left it to Willa.”
“Yes.”
“And once Willa gives birth, the trust becomes permanent.”
“Yes.”
“I have thirty days.”
“For what?”
“To save Rowe Development.”
“How?”
“By taking Willa's shares.”
Nathan shook his head.
“You can't.”
“I already tried.”
“And failed.”
Celeste looked at him.
“I didn't fail.”
Nathan froze.
“What did you do?”
“I bought the hospital.”
Silence.
Nathan's face changed.
“What?”
“The hospital where Willa is being treated.”
“You're lying.”
“Ask the board.”
Celeste smiled.
“The neonatal wing is owned by Rowe Development.”
Nathan stared at her.
“You wouldn't.”
“I already did.”
“You could kill her.”
“I don't want her dead.”
“Then what do you want?”
Celeste's eyes filled with tears.
“I want her to sign.”
“She'll never sign.”
“Then she will lose everything.”
Nathan stepped toward her.
“And if she doesn't?”
Celeste looked at him.
“Then her child will.”
Willa returned to Daniel's house after midnight.
She couldn't sleep.
Adrian's words kept repeating in her head.
Your mother didn't hide the money for herself.
She hid it for your child.
Willa opened the document again.
The bank transfer was dated three months ago.
Three months.
That was impossible.
Unless Miriam was alive.
Or someone was impersonating her.
She opened her laptop.
She searched the account number.
Nothing.
She searched the trust.
Nothing.
Then she searched the transfer reference.
One result appeared.
A property.
Rowe Estate — Blackwood Lane.
Willa frowned.
She knew the name.
Her mother had mentioned it once.
A house in the country.
A house Willa had never been allowed to visit.
She called Daniel.
“Wake up.”
“What?”
“I know where the money went.”
Silence.
“Where?”
“Blackwood Lane.”
Daniel sat up.
“Don't go there.”
“Why?”
“Because Miriam told me never to let you near that house.”
“Why?”
“Because that's where she kept the first amendment.”
Willa's heart raced.
“The original.”
“Yes.”
“And the money?”
Daniel was silent.
“Daniel?”
“We need Nathan.”
“No.”
“Willa.”
“No.”
“I think you misunderstand.”
“I don't trust him.”
“You don't have to.”
“Then why do we need him?”
“Because Blackwood Lane belonged to his father.”
Willa froze.
Her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
She opened the message.
There was only one sentence.
Adrian betrayed Celeste.
A second message arrived.
Nathan betrayed you.
A third.
Your mother betrayed everyone.
Willa stared.
Then a final message appeared.
Ask them what happened to the child.
Her breath stopped.
The child.
What child?
She turned toward Daniel.
“There's something else.”
“What?”
“My mother had another secret.”
Daniel's face went pale.
“What secret?”
“I don't know.”
Her phone vibrated again.
This time there was a photograph.
A hospital nursery.
A newborn baby.
The date was eleven years ago.
Willa stared.
Then she saw the name written beneath the photograph.
MIRIAM ROWE MATERNITY RECORD — CONFIDENTIAL
The baby's name had been blacked out.
But the mother's name was visible.
Willa's mother.
Willa's hands began shaking.
Her mother had given birth.
Eleven years ago.
Three years before she was officially declared dead.
And beneath the photograph, someone had written:
The child survived.
Willa looked at Daniel.
“Who is that baby?”
Daniel didn't answer.
Her phone rang.
She answered.
A man's voice whispered:
“Now you understand why Adrian was afraid.”
“Who are you?”
The caller laughed softly.
“You've been searching for the wrong child.”
The line went dead.
Willa stared at the nursery photograph.
Then slowly turned it over.
There was a handwritten note on the back.
Four words.
Nathan knows where he is.
May you like
Willa looked toward the door.
And for the first time that night, she realized Nathan's lie might be much bigger than she had imagined.
