The Billionaire Vanished With Forty-Seven Dollars to Find a Woman Who Would Love Him Poor, but the Woman He Found Was Hiding a Secret of Her Own
Chapter 5
The next morning, Nathan didn’t go to the produce market.
He went to the bus station.
Bellwood had one small station with three benches and a vending machine.
He sat beneath a flickering light and waited.
At 8:20, Elena arrived.
She looked angry.
“You scared me.”
Nathan looked at her.
“You lied to me.”
“I protected you.”
“You said you didn’t know what the key opened.”
“I don’t.”
“Then why did you tell me about forty-seven?”
“Because David did.”
Nathan held up the key.
“Who is 47B?”
Elena sat.
“I don’t know.”
Nathan stared.
“You know more than you’re telling me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because the truth could get you killed.”
Nathan laughed.
“You think being broke makes me safe?”
“No.”
“Then what does?”
Elena looked at him.
“Being unknown.”
Nathan suddenly understood.
“That was why you didn’t tell me who you were.”
Elena nodded.
“You were hiding too.”
“Yes.”
“From me?”
“From everyone.”
Nathan leaned back.
“Then let’s start over.”
Elena frowned.
“What?”
“Tell me one true thing.”
She looked at him.
“My husband didn’t abandon us.”
Nathan nodded.
“One more.”
“He loved me.”
Another.
“He was afraid.”
Another.
“He believed someone inside your father’s company wanted him dead.”
Nathan’s expression hardened.
“One more.”
Elena looked away.
“I knew your father before I knew you.”
Nathan froze.
“What?”
She swallowed.
“He came to my house.”
“When?”
“Six years ago.”
“That was before David disappeared.”
“Yes.”
“What did he want?”
“To give me something.”
“What?”
“A name.”
Nathan’s heart pounded.
“Whose?”
“Victor Shaw.”
Nathan stood.
“Why?”
“Because your father knew Victor was working for someone dangerous.”
“Who?”
Elena shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Nathan stared.
“That’s not true.”
She looked at him.
“I know the name.”
“What is it?”
“I was never supposed to say it.”
“Say it.”
Elena whispered:
“Thomas Cole.”
Nathan’s face went blank.
His father’s younger brother.
Nathan’s uncle.
Thomas had been dead for twelve years.
“How?”
“He wasn’t.”
Nathan sat back down.
Elena continued.
“Thomas disappeared after a business dispute.”
“My father said he died.”
“He didn’t.”
Nathan felt dizzy.
“You’re telling me my uncle is alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Because David found him.”
Nathan’s hands tightened.
“Where?”
“He called me from a number in Arizona.”
“When?”
“Three months before he disappeared.”
“What did he say?”
Elena looked terrified.
“He said, ‘Edward was right. Nathan is the only one who can stop this.’”
Nathan stared.
“Stop what?”
Elena shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Suddenly her phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Her face drained.
“Who?”
She whispered:
“Victor.”
Nathan stood.
“Answer.”
“No.”
“Answer it.”
She did.
“Hello?”
A man’s voice came through.
“Tell Nathan to stop digging.”
Elena said nothing.
Victor continued.
“You don’t want another body in your house.”
The call ended.
Nathan’s face hardened.
“I’m done running.”
Elena looked at him.
“You don’t understand.”
“No.”
“I do.”
He pulled the wallet from his pocket.
“Forty-seven dollars.”
She frowned.
“What?”
“My father told me once that the smallest number opens the biggest door.”
Nathan placed the five-dollar bill on the bench.
“What if 47B isn’t money?”
Elena stared.
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t know.”
A bus pulled into the station.
Its destination sign read:
PITTSBURGH.
Nathan stood.
“Elena, where did David work before he disappeared?”
“Cole Enterprises.”
“Which office?”
“Pittsburgh.”
Nathan looked at her.
“Then that’s where we’re going.”
Elena shook her head.
“You can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s where David found the first ledger.”
Nathan looked at her.
“And that’s where I think someone has been waiting for you to come back.”
