Chapter 7
I barely slept.
Every sound in the mansion made me sit up.
Every time Lily stirred, I checked her breathing and adjusted her blanket.
I knew security was outside.
I knew my father was downstairs.
But fear doesn't disappear simply because someone tells you you're safe.
At six in the morning, I found Dad in the kitchen.
He was making coffee.
He looked surprised.
"You're up early."
I sat at the counter.
"I want to find Mom's journal."
He put down his cup.
"Nia, we don't have to do this alone."
"I know."
I looked at him.
"But she said I'd know where to look."
Dad nodded slowly.
"Your mother loved hiding little surprises for you."
I remembered.
Birthday presents inside cereal boxes.
Notes beneath my pillow.
Candy tucked into books.
She always said the best surprises were the ones you discovered yourself.
Then I remembered something else.
When I was little, Mom used to take me into the garden.
There was a wooden bench beneath a large magnolia tree.
She called it our secret place.
Whenever I was upset, we'd sit there together.
And she'd tell me stories.
I looked at Dad.
"The magnolia tree."
His expression changed.
"What?"
"Mom's bench."
We went outside.
The morning air was cool.
I carried Lily securely against my chest in her wrap while Dad walked beside me.
The garden was quiet.
Birds moved through the branches.
The magnolia tree stood near the back fence.
The bench beneath it was older than I remembered.
Its paint had faded.
One leg was slightly crooked.
I touched the wood.
Memories rushed back.
My mother brushing my hair away from my face.
My mother laughing.
My mother telling me that no matter how old I became, I'd always be her little girl.
I swallowed.
Then I noticed something.
A small brass plate on the backrest.
I remembered seeing it as a child.
But I'd never paid attention to the words.
FOR NIA — WHERE TRUTH GROWS.
I stared at the inscription.
"Dad."
He stepped closer.
"What?"
"Mom chose those words."
He nodded.
"Yes."
I ran my fingers along the plate.
It was held by four small screws.
One had become loose.
I looked at Dad.
"Do you have a screwdriver?"
His eyes widened.
Twenty minutes later, we were in the garden with a small toolbox.
Dad carefully removed the plate.
Behind it was a narrow compartment carved into the wood.
Inside sat a waterproof pouch.
My breath caught.
I reached in.
The pouch was dusty but intact.
Inside was a small journal.
Dark green leather.
My mother's initials embossed on the cover.
L.B.
I started crying before I even opened it.
Dad put his arm around me.
"She knew you'd find it."
I wiped my face.
"Let's go inside."
We sat at the dining table.
Lily slept peacefully in her bassinet beside us.
I opened the journal.
The first pages were ordinary.
Notes about the garden.
Ideas for hotel renovations.
Little reminders.
Then the entries changed.
My mother's handwriting became more hurried.
She wrote about missing payments.
False invoices.
Meetings with Victoria.
And suspicions about Daniel.
One entry stopped me.
Victoria knows more than she's admitting. Daniel keeps insisting that Richard should stay out of it. I don't trust either of them anymore.
I looked at Dad.
His face was pale.
I turned the page.
The next entry was dated two weeks before Mom entered the hospital for the final time.
I have discovered something that could destroy their entire arrangement.
Below that sentence was a list of account numbers.
Company names.
Dates.
And one unfamiliar name.
ALICIA MORGAN.
I frowned.
"Who is Alicia Morgan?"
Dad shook his head.
"I don't know."
I searched the journal.
Alicia appeared several times.
Mom described her as a junior accountant who'd noticed irregular transfers.
She also wrote that Alicia feared losing her job if she spoke openly.
Then I reached the final entry.
My mother had written only three sentences.
Alicia has agreed to tell the truth.
If anything happens to these records, Nia must know that I tried.
Richard must never blame himself.
I closed the journal.
Tears blurred my vision.
Dad sat silently beside me.
Then he whispered, "She was protecting us until the end."
I took his hand.
"Now we protect what she left."
We contacted Eleanor's legal team and the investigators.
They arranged to preserve the journal properly and examine its contents.
The account numbers helped identify additional transactions.
Some matched Harold's records.
Others were new.
Most importantly, the name Alicia Morgan led investigators to a former Bennett Hospitality employee living in North Carolina.
She had left the company shortly after my mother's death.
Evelyn helped us locate her through lawful channels.
Alicia agreed to speak.
When she arrived two days later, she looked frightened.
She was in her forties, with short natural hair and nervous eyes.
She sat across from me.
"I remember your mother."
My throat tightened.
"Was she kind to you?"
Alicia nodded.
"Very."
She looked down.
"She believed me when nobody else did."
I leaned forward.
"What happened?"
Alicia took a shaky breath.
"I found payments that didn't belong to legitimate contractors."
"Victoria and Daniel?"
She nodded.
"I brought the records to Lorraine."
I swallowed.
"And then?"
"She told me she'd handle it."
Alicia's eyes filled.
"But after she got sick, Daniel ordered me to stop asking questions."
Dad gripped the table.
"Did he threaten you?"
"He said I would never work in hospitality again."
I felt anger rising.
"Why didn't you report him?"
She wiped her face.
"I was twenty-three. I had two younger siblings depending on me. I was terrified."
I reached across the table.
"You were trying to survive."
She looked at me gratefully.
Then she opened her handbag.
"I kept copies."
She placed a small folder in front of us.
Inside were records connecting Victoria's consulting company to accounts controlled by Daniel.
There were also emails.
One made my heart stop.
Victoria had written:
Lorraine is asking too many questions. We need the matter contained before Richard gets involved.
Daniel replied:
I will handle Richard. You handle the records.
I stared at the screen.
Then I noticed the date.
Two days before my mother entered the hospital.
My hands shook.
Alicia looked at me.
"There's something else."
I lifted my eyes.
"What?"
She swallowed.
"Your mother told me she'd discovered who had been taking money from the hotel for years."
I waited.
Alicia's voice dropped.
"She said Victoria wasn't the person in charge."
My stomach tightened.
"Then who was?"
Alicia looked at my father.
"Daniel."
Dad closed his eyes.
May you like
Then Alicia whispered something even worse.
"And she believed he had arranged for someone to intercept her private correspondence before it ever reached your father."
