My Ex-Girlfriend’s Older Sister Got Stood Up At An Art Gallery… So I Asked, “Can I Sit with You ?
Chapter 5
I didn’t sleep.
Sophie had told me the truth.
Or at least part of it.
She had left me because she believed staying with her could get me killed.
I had spent five years thinking she stopped loving me.
Now I discovered she had been trying to protect me.
And Amelia had known.
She sat beside me in the kitchen the next morning.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why?”
“I knew.”
“You knew why Sophie left?”
“Not everything.”
“But enough.”
She nodded.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because my mother told me she’d already lost one person she loved.”
“Your father.”
“Yes.”
“And she was afraid you’d be next.”
I looked at Amelia.
“What about Lucas?”
“He was investigating Victor.”
“Then why stand me up?”
“He wasn’t.”
“Who stopped him?”
“We don’t know.”
I stood.
“We need to find the ledger.”
Amelia nodded.
“The winery.”
“Your father’s property?”
“Yes.”
We drove there.
The vineyard was beautiful.
Rows of grapevines stretched across the hills.
The main house was locked.
Amelia had a key from her father’s office.
Inside, we found old furniture.
Books.
Photographs.
Nothing obvious.
Then I noticed a painting.
An old landscape.
Something felt wrong.
I lifted it.
A safe was hidden behind it.
Amelia entered a code.
The safe opened.
Inside was a notebook.
A memory card.
And a letter.
The letter was addressed to me.
I couldn’t breathe.
Daniel,
If you are reading this, then Amelia has finally decided to trust you.
I looked at her.
She started crying.
I continued.
Your father and I discovered a financial network that had been stealing from both families.
We tried to expose it.
We failed.
Then came the sentence that made my hands shake.
I am sorry I used my daughter to protect your son.
Amelia covered her mouth.
Her father had manipulated her life.
But he had also tried to protect me.
The letter continued.
If Victor Grant returns, do not fight him through the company.
Fight him through the truth.
At the bottom was an address.
A private bank.
And one word:
BLACKWATER.
Amelia looked at me.
“What is Blackwater?”
“I don’t know.”
We drove there.
The bank was private.
Almost secretive.
A lawyer met us.
He recognized Amelia immediately.
“Ms. Carter.”
She showed him the letter.
His face changed.
“Where did you get this?”
“From my father.”
The lawyer sighed.
“I’ve been waiting years.”
“For what?”
“For you.”
He opened a vault.
Inside was a box.
The box contained account records.
Stock certificates.
Property deeds.
And a photograph.
Three men.
Her father.
My father.
Victor Grant.
All standing together.
On the back:
The three founders.
Amelia stared.
“My father founded the company with Victor?”
“Yes,” the lawyer said.
“My father too?”
“Yes.”
I looked at the documents.
The company didn’t belong to Victor.
It never had.
He had stolen control.
Then Amelia found one final page.
A transfer agreement.
The shares were supposed to pass to Amelia.
And to me.
She looked at me.
“We were both heirs.”
“That’s why they wanted us apart.”
She nodded.
Before we could say more, the bank alarm sounded.
Someone had triggered the security system.
The lawyer looked terrified.
“They found you.”
“Who?”
He whispered,
“Victor.”
