Chapter 2 - The Lawyer Who Knew Too MuchThe ballroom exploded into chaos.
Someone shouted for a doctor.
Guests crowded around Mr. Cross while Adrian stood frozen beside the broken wedding ring.
Victoria tried to move toward him.
He stepped away.
“Don't.”
One word.
That was all.
But it stopped her.
Clara had moved behind Adrian's legs.
She was still holding baby Mia.
The baby's eyes were closed.
She looked completely peaceful despite the storm around her.
Adrian looked down at them.
The little girl had the same gray-green eyes he saw every morning in the mirror.
He had noticed it instantly.
Now he couldn't stop noticing.
The shape of Clara's nose.
The tiny crease beneath her left eye.
Even the way she tilted her head when she was frightened.
He had no proof.
Yet some buried part of him already knew.
Mr. Cross was taken into a private sitting room.
Adrian followed.
Victoria tried to come after him.
“Stay here.”
She stopped.
His voice had changed.
No longer the voice of a groom.
It was the voice of a man who had just discovered his entire life might have been built on a lie.
Inside the room, Mr. Cross lay on a sofa.
A doctor checked his pulse.
“I'll be fine,” the old lawyer muttered.
“You collapsed.”
“I needed to sit down.”
“You need a hospital.”
“Later.”
Mr. Cross looked at Adrian.
“Close the door.”
Adrian did.
Then locked it.
“Start talking.”
Mr. Cross stared at the photograph.
“That picture was taken the night your family stopped existing.”
“What does that mean?”
“The fire.”
Adrian frowned.
“You mean the fire at Vale House?”
Mr. Cross nodded.
“Your father said your mother died that night.”
“My mother did die.”
“No.”
The word struck harder than Adrian expected.
Mr. Cross sat up.
“Your father told the police she was dead.”
“You're saying she survived?”
“Yes.”
Adrian stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because your mother wasn't the one who started the fire.”
“Who did?”
Mr. Cross hesitated.
“That is the question I spent twenty-two years avoiding.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“Victoria said Mother was unstable. She said she stole money. She said she threatened my father.”
“She was framed.”
“By whom?”
Mr. Cross looked toward the locked door.
“I was afraid to say the name.”
Adrian's voice dropped.
“Say it.”
The lawyer closed his eyes.
“Victoria's father.”
Silence.
Adrian felt the blood drain from his face.
“Daniel Mercer?”
“He was involved in the Vale family accounts. Your father trusted him.”
“And?”
“And Daniel discovered your father planned to remove him.”
“So he retaliated.”
“It was worse than that.”
Mr. Cross reached beneath a cushion.
He pulled out an old envelope.
Adrian recognized the handwriting.
His mother's.
He ripped it open.
Inside was a single page.
Adrian,
If anything happens to me, remember this.
Never trust the person who tells you I left willingly.
Adrian read the sentence twice.
His hands started shaking.
At the bottom was another line.
Protect Evelyn and the children.
Children.
Plural.
Adrian looked up.
“You knew.”
“I knew your mother had escaped the fire.”
“What about Evelyn?”
“She was helping her.”
“And the children?”
Mr. Cross swallowed.
“That is where the story becomes dangerous.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Were Clara and Mia born before or after the fire?”
“After.”
“Then why did nobody tell me about them?”
“Because you were not supposed to remember.”
Adrian went still.
“What?”
Mr. Cross looked at him.
“You suffered a head injury three days after the fire.”
“I was twenty-two.”
“Yes.”
“I remember everything.”
“No.”
Mr. Cross's voice was soft.
“You remember what they allowed you to remember.”
Adrian stared at him.
A strange pressure had started behind his eyes.
A memory.
A hallway.
Rain hitting glass.
A woman crying.
Someone shouting.
Then darkness.
He pressed his fingers against his temple.
“I don't understand.”
Mr. Cross leaned forward.
“Your father believed your memories of Evelyn were dangerous.”
“Why?”
“Because you witnessed something.”
“What?”
Before the lawyer could answer, the doorknob moved.
Adrian turned.
Someone tried the handle.
Victoria.
“Adrian?”
He didn't answer.
“Open the door.”
Mr. Cross whispered, “Do not let her in.”
Adrian looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because she knows about the children.”
A loud knock came.
“Adrian, please!”
Then another voice spoke from the hallway.
Calm.
Cold.
Male.
“Mr. Vale.”
Adrian recognized it.
His new father-in-law.
Daniel Mercer.
“I think it's time we discussed what happened twenty-two years ago.”
Adrian unlocked the door.
Daniel stood there.
But he wasn't alone.
Two men stood behind him.
And one of them was holding Clara.
The little girl screamed.
“Daddy!”
Adrian's entire body went rigid.
May you like
Daniel smiled faintly.
“Now you understand why this wedding couldn't be allowed to continue.”
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