CHAPTER 11 — THE MEETING THAT WASN’T AN ACCIDENT
Nicholas’s letter contained account numbers, dates, and names.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Thomas Bellamy.
Dominic’s father.
Nicholas had discovered that Samuel Ashcroft and Thomas Bellamy were secretly transferring construction funds into offshore accounts.
After Nicholas died, Thomas used part of that stolen money to build Bellamy Hospitality.
Dominic’s family fortune had been created with money stolen from mine.
I remembered the night Dominic and I met.
A charity auction.
He had bumped into me beside the coat check.
He spilled wine on my sleeve.
He apologized, made me laugh, and asked me to coffee.
I had believed it was fate.
Now I understood.
It had been an introduction planned years in advance.
My father’s investigators searched old emails recovered from Grant’s laptop.
They found a message sent by Eleanor to Dominic three weeks before we met.
Vivienne will attend the Ashcroft Foundation auction alone. Do not mention the hotels. Make her believe you know nothing about her family.
I read it twice.
Then a third time.
Dominic had studied me before he approached me.
My favorite books.
The coffee shop I visited.
The nonprofit where I volunteered.
Even the fact that I hated men who bragged about money.
He had built a personality designed for me.
My entire marriage felt contaminated.
The detective later allowed me to speak with Dominic at the hospital under police supervision.
His wrist was broken. A bandage covered his forehead. One ankle was chained to the bed.
When I entered, he began crying.
“I didn’t know my father was involved in Nicholas’s death.”
“But you knew why you met me.”
He closed his eyes.
“At first.”
The words cut deeper than I expected.
“At first?”
“I was supposed to get close to you and learn about the trust. But then I fell in love.”
“You photographed my miscarriage.”
His face twisted.
“My mother pressured me.”
“You forged my name.”
“I was trying to save the employees.”
“You sold Ryan’s family diamond.”
He had no defense left.
I placed my wedding ring on the table beside his bed.
“I came here for one reason.”
He stared at the ring.
“To forgive me?”
“To tell you that you will never meet my child.”
His breath caught.
“Vivienne, please.”
“You used my grief as evidence. You let your family humiliate me. You tried to steal my brother’s legacy.”
“I’m the baby’s father.”
“You are biologically connected to this child. That does not make you a father.”
I turned to leave.
He called after me.
“Samuel has one more copy of the accounts!”
I stopped.
“Where?”
Dominic looked terrified.
“Inside Bellamy headquarters.”
Then he whispered,
May you like
“And Eleanor ordered the building cleared an hour ago.”
End of Chapter 11…
