Chapter 5 - EVELYN WARD FINALLY BLINKED
Sebastian entered his mother’s penthouse at 6:10 the next morning without knocking.
Evelyn was already awake.
She sat at the breakfast table reading financial reports.
She did not look surprised.
“You look terrible.”
Sebastian threw his phone onto the table.
The photograph of the stolen memorandum filled the screen.
Evelyn stopped reading.
For the first time in Sebastian’s memory, his mother’s face lost color.
He saw it.
So did Valerie.
She had insisted on coming.
Evelyn looked at her.
“I see you’re still here.”
Valerie folded her arms.
“I’m starting to think that bothers you.”
“It worries me.”
Sebastian pulled out a chair.
“Sit down, Mother.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“That sounded like an order.”
“It was.”
She slowly removed her reading glasses.
“Be careful.”
“No.”
Sebastian leaned across the table.
“I’ve spent my entire life being careful with this family.”
“Now you’re going to answer me.”
He pointed to the photograph.
“What is that memorandum?”
Evelyn stared at it.
“Where did you get this?”
“Wrong answer.”
“Sebastian.”
“What is it?”
Evelyn looked toward Valerie.
“This is not a discussion she needs to hear.”
Valerie laughed.
“My father’s name is on the document.”
“That doesn’t mean you understand it.”
“Then explain it.”
Evelyn’s jaw tightened.
Sebastian spoke.
“She stays.”
His mother looked at him.
“You’ve known her less than a year.”
“I’ve known you thirty-eight years.”
“And right now I trust her more.”
The words hit.
Evelyn hid it well.
But they hit.
She stood.
“Your father made mistakes.”
Sebastian stared at her.
“What kind?”
“The kind men make when they build companies too quickly.”
“Specifics.”
Evelyn walked toward the windows.
“Charles admired Thomas Bell.”
Valerie’s eyes narrowed.
“My father never said that.”
“Because admiration turned into hatred.”
“Why?”
“Money.”
Valerie shook her head.
“My father didn’t care about money.”
Evelyn looked at her.
“Everyone cares about money when enough of it is involved.”
Sebastian’s patience snapped.
“Stop speaking in riddles.”
Evelyn turned.
“Fine.”
“Thomas Bell owned twenty-two percent of Ward Urban.”
Sebastian’s chest tightened.
Valerie remained silent.
“Then she was telling the truth.”
“I never said she wasn’t.”
“You let me believe Bell attempted fraud.”
“He was accused of fraud.”
“That is not the same thing.”
“No.”
“Who accused him?”
Evelyn did not answer.
Sebastian stepped closer.
“Who?”
“Your uncle Malcolm.”
The room changed.
Sebastian stared at her.
“Adrian’s father?”
“Yes.”
Valerie’s voice was quiet.
“Why?”
Evelyn looked away.
“Because Malcolm discovered that Thomas’s twenty-two percent stake would eventually become worth billions.”
“So he fabricated the accusation?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Evelyn’s expression hardened.
“There was evidence.”
“Real evidence?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I expect you to understand that I was raising two sons while your father’s health was failing and Malcolm controlled most of the corporate records.”
Sebastian went still.
“Two sons?”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
A mistake.
A tiny one.
But Sebastian caught it.
“You said two sons.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“You and Adrian were raised together.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Valerie watched them.
Sebastian’s voice lowered.
“Adrian is Malcolm’s son.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you say you were raising two sons?”
Evelyn stared at him for several seconds.
Then she sat down.
“Because after Malcolm died, Adrian became my responsibility.”
Sebastian relaxed slightly.
But Valerie did not.
She was studying Evelyn.
“When did Malcolm die?”
“Fourteen years ago.”
“My father died eight years ago.”
“Yes.”
“So someone kept threatening him after Malcolm was gone.”
Evelyn’s eyes moved to Valerie.
“What makes you believe he was threatened?”
“The window last night.”
Sebastian answered.
“And the break-in.”
“And the surveillance.”
“And the note telling Valerie her father should have stopped.”
Evelyn’s face changed.
“You never told me about a note.”
“I’m telling you now.”
She immediately reached for her phone.
Sebastian took it away.
“Who are you calling?”
“Security.”
“No.”
“Sebastian.”
“Your security is compromised.”
“My people—”
“Your people sent Valerie an NDA.”
Evelyn stopped.
“You admitted that.”
“I authorized the agreement.”
“You did not authorize surveillance.”
“No.”
“Did you authorize buying Valerie’s apartment building?”
Evelyn frowned.
“What?”
“Adrian did.”
For the first time, genuine confusion crossed her face.
Sebastian saw it.
Valerie saw it too.
Evelyn looked at Sebastian.
“Why would Adrian buy her building?”
“That’s what I’m asking.”
She stood again.
“Call him.”
“I already did.”
“And?”
“He told me not to dig into old graves.”
Evelyn went silent.
Sebastian watched his mother carefully.
Fear.
There it was.
Tiny.
But real.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“Sebastian.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Evelyn walked toward a cabinet.
She poured water.
Her hand shook.
Only slightly.
But Evelyn Ward never shook.
Valerie saw that too.
“Mrs. Ward.”
Evelyn turned.
“What happened to Sebastian’s father?”
Sebastian looked at Valerie.
Then his mother.
Evelyn set down the glass.
“Charles died of a heart attack.”
“I know what his death certificate says.”
Valerie replied.
“I asked what happened.”
Evelyn’s eyes sharpened.
“You are becoming dangerously comfortable asking questions about my family.”
Valerie stepped forward.
“Your family has spent seventeen years destroying mine.”
“Comfort left a long time ago.”
Sebastian moved between them.
“Answer her.”
Evelyn looked at her son.
“Your father discovered discrepancies.”
“What discrepancies?”
“In Ward Urban.”
“After Bell was removed?”
“Yes.”
“Did he believe Malcolm framed Thomas?”
Evelyn’s silence was enough.
Sebastian whispered.
“My God.”
“He didn’t know for certain.”
“Did he investigate?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“He confronted Malcolm.”
“And?”
“Three weeks later, Charles collapsed.”
Valerie stared at her.
“Three weeks?”
“Yes.”
“Was there an autopsy?”
Evelyn’s face closed.
Sebastian understood before she spoke.
“No.”
He stepped backward.
“Why?”
“He had a cardiac history.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“I was his wife.”
“I know what grief does to judgment.”
“You buried him in forty-eight hours.”
Evelyn looked furious.
“How dare you.”
“How dare I?”
Sebastian’s voice rose for the first time.
“You have spent my entire life telling me my father died knowing exactly what happened.”
“You told me Bell was a criminal.”
“You told me Malcolm protected this family.”
“You told me Adrian and I inherited a clean company.”
“And now I discover half of it was built on something you refused to investigate?”
Evelyn’s eyes filled.
Sebastian stopped.
He had not seen his mother cry since his father’s funeral.
She didn’t cry now.
But it came close.
“I was thirty-nine.”
Her voice cracked.
“I had a dead husband.”
“A company collapsing.”
“Thousands of employees whose pensions were tied to Ward stock.”
“And two boys who had already lost enough.”
“You were twenty-one.”
“Adrian was seventeen.”
“Malcolm was dead.”
“The board was panicking.”
“And a lawyer put a document in front of me.”
“What document?”
Sebastian asked.
Evelyn looked at Valerie.
“A settlement.”
“With my father?”
“Yes.”
Valerie’s face changed.
“My father never told me.”
“He refused to sign.”
“How much?”
“Fifty million.”
Valerie laughed in disbelief.
“We lived above a laundromat.”
“I know.”
“He refused fifty million dollars?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Evelyn stared at her.
“Because he wanted his name cleared.”
Valerie’s eyes filled.
She looked away.
Sebastian felt something inside him break.
Thomas Bell had not wanted money.
He had wanted truth.
And Sebastian’s family had spent seventeen years calling that greed.
Evelyn continued.
“He said Charles promised him something before he died.”
“What?”
Valerie asked.
“I don’t know.”
“He wouldn’t tell me.”
“Why not?”
“He said he no longer trusted anyone named Ward.”
Silence.
Then the elevator chimed.
Evelyn turned.
A moment later, Adrian Ward entered.
Thirty-four years old.
Immaculate navy suit.
Calm expression.
Sebastian had trusted him since childhood.
Adrian stopped when he saw Valerie.
“Well.”
“This looks cheerful.”
Sebastian stared at him.
“Why did you buy Valerie’s building?”
Adrian removed his coat.
“That again?”
“Yes.”
“I checked.”
“It was part of a portfolio purchase.”
“Who put the portfolio together?”
“Acquisitions.”
“Name.”
Adrian looked at him.
“Are we seriously doing this?”
“Yes.”
Adrian sighed.
“I’ll send you the file.”
“Send it now.”
“Sebastian.”
“Now.”
Adrian pulled out his phone.
Valerie watched him.
Then her gaze dropped.
She frowned.
Adrian noticed.
“What?”
Valerie stared at his right hand.
A silver signet ring.
Simple.
Old.
Engraved with a circle divided by three narrow lines.
The Bell Systems logo.
Her face went white.
“Where did you get that?”
Adrian followed her gaze.
“This?”
He touched the ring.
“My father’s.”
Sebastian looked at Valerie.
“What?”
She whispered.
“That symbol.”
Adrian glanced at the ring.
“It’s just an old design.”
“No.”
Valerie backed away.
“It belonged to Bell Systems.”
Evelyn stared at Adrian.
Sebastian turned toward him.
Adrian’s expression did not change.
“My father collected antiques.”
“Take it off.”
Sebastian said.
Adrian smiled faintly.
“Excuse me?”
“Take the ring off.”
“Why?”
“Because I asked.”
“No.”
The brothers stared at each other.
Then Adrian slowly removed the ring.
He placed it on the table.
Jonah entered from the elevator behind him.
Adrian looked over.
“Good.”
“Security is here.”
Jonah ignored him.
He picked up the ring using a handkerchief.
Then he examined the inside.
His eyes narrowed.
“There’s a serial number.”
Valerie moved closer.
“What number?”
Jonah read it.
“BS-0417.”
Valerie covered her mouth.
Sebastian turned.
“You know it?”
Tears filled her eyes.
“My father had an inventory notebook.”
“That number belonged to one person.”
Adrian’s face finally changed.
Sebastian stared at Valerie.
“Who?”
May you like
She looked at Adrian.
“Charles Ward.”
