Chapter 2
I had buried my mother with my own hands trembling against her coffin.
Now someone was telling me her death had been a lie.
I bent down and picked up the white envelope.
Vanessa reached for it.
“Don't!”
I straightened.
“Don't what?”
Her eyes filled with panic.
“Don't open it.”
I studied the envelope.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
My mother always curved the bottom of her capital M.
She had written birthday cards, little notes, and hundreds of letters to me in that same graceful script.
My throat tightened.
“Where did you get this?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“I can't tell you.”
“You can, and you will.”
Nia moved away from her friend.
“Vanessa, what is going on?”
Vanessa shot her a warning look.
“Stay out of this.”
I turned to James.
“Secure the lobby camera footage. Preserve the reservation records. And don't let anyone delete anything.”
James immediately spoke into his radio.
I looked back at Vanessa.
“You're coming upstairs.”
She shook her head.
“I haven't done anything wrong.”
“Then you have nothing to fear from answering questions.”
Nia stepped forward.
“Can I come?”
Vanessa snapped, “No!”
I studied Nia.
“Do you know anything about this reservation?”
She hesitated.
“I thought Vanessa booked it with money from her new boyfriend.”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
I could tell Nia had said something important.
“Boyfriend?” I asked.
Nia nodded.
“She said he was a senior executive. Someone very powerful.”
“Did she give you his name?”
Nia looked at Vanessa.
“No. She wouldn't.”
I turned toward James.
“Have security preserve the woman's belongings without searching them. I want our attorney and compliance officer involved immediately.”
James nodded.
I wasn't going to make the mistake of treating suspicion as proof.
Not when my mother's name was involved.
We entered a private conference room on the thirty-second floor.
The windows overlooked downtown Atlanta.
I had celebrated my twenty-fifth birthday in that room.
My mother had organized the party.
I remembered her laughing when my father accidentally dropped the cake knife.
I remembered her hugging me afterward.
“You'll have all this someday, Marcus,” she whispered. “Just promise you'll never forget ordinary people.”
Now I stood in the same room holding a letter apparently written by her.
Vanessa sat across from me.
Nia remained near the door.
James placed his tablet on the table.
I carefully opened the envelope.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
I unfolded it.
My hands began to shake.
My dearest Marcus,
If this letter has reached you, then someone has already ignored my warnings.
I know you believe I trusted everyone around me.
I didn't.
There is something wrong inside the Bennett Grand.
Someone has been moving money, changing records, and using our family's name to hide it.
I tried to stop it.
I was told to stay quiet.
Please do not trust the person who tells you my death was an accident.
And please find the blue ledger.
It contains everything.
Love always,
Mom.
I read the letter twice.
Then a third time.
James stood motionless beside me.
My mother's death certificate said she had suffered a fatal heart attack after collapsing at our family estate.
The doctors had found no evidence of foul play.
She had been under immense stress during the months before her death.
I remembered asking her why.
She always said she was tired.
I had believed her.
Now I wondered what she had been carrying alone.
I put the letter down.
“James, have you ever heard of a blue ledger?”
His expression changed.
“Your mother kept a small blue accounting notebook.”
My heart jumped.
“Where?”
“She carried it everywhere for a while.”
“What happened to it?”
James looked uncomfortable.
“After her funeral, your uncle ordered several boxes removed from her private office.”
I went still.
“My uncle?”
“Richard Bennett.”
Richard was my father's younger brother.
After my father died, Richard had become the company's chief financial officer.
He had helped me run the business through my mother's illness.
He had hugged me at her funeral.
He had told me everything would be all right.
I looked at Vanessa.
“Is Richard your boyfriend?”
She began crying.
“No.”
“Does he know you?”
She pressed her lips together.
Nia suddenly spoke.
“He does.”
Vanessa swung toward her.
“Nia!”
Nia looked frightened.
“I saw him calling you yesterday. His name came up on your phone.”
My stomach tightened.
Vanessa buried her face in her hands.
“Please. You don't understand.”
“Then help me understand.”
She looked up.
“He told me it was just a favor.”
“What favor?”
“Stay here. Use the reservation. Carry the envelope.”
I stared at her.
“Why?”
“He said someone would come for it.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
I leaned forward.
“Did he tell you who I was?”
She nodded weakly.
“Yes.”
That admission hurt more than I expected.
“You knew I owned this hotel?”
She wiped her cheeks.
“I recognized you after the manager came over.”
“But you insulted me anyway.”
She looked down.
“I was showing off in front of Nia. I didn't think you were important.”
I let the words settle.
Then I asked the question that mattered most.
“Why was my mother's letter in your handbag?”
Vanessa looked toward the door.
“Because Richard said if I didn't bring it here, he would destroy my sister.”
I glanced at Nia.
She looked equally shocked.
“What sister?”
Vanessa's voice broke.
“My younger sister, Chloe.”
She began trembling again.
“She's twenty-two. She works in one of your hotels. Richard told me he had evidence that could send her to prison.”
I felt a surge of anger.
“Evidence of what?”
“Stealing money.”
“Did she?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't know anymore.”
Nia whispered, “Vanessa, why didn't you tell me?”
Vanessa covered her face.
“Because he said he'd ruin her.”
My phone vibrated again.
Another message from the unknown number.
YOUR UNCLE ISN'T THE ONLY ONE.
CHECK WHO SIGNED THE FINAL MEDICAL REPORT.
I looked at the message.
Then at my mother's letter.
Then at James.
“Get me the medical records my family is legally entitled to review. Contact our attorney.”
James nodded and left.
Vanessa suddenly grabbed my wrist.
“Marcus, listen to me.”
I pulled back.
“Don't touch me.”
She looked desperate.
“Richard doesn't know I still have that letter.”
I stared at her.
“What do you mean?”
“He ordered me to destroy it after showing it to someone.”
“Who?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“I never met him.”
“Then why keep it?”
Her tears fell onto the table.
“Because I read it.”
She swallowed.
“And because your mother once saved my family.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
Vanessa looked up.
“She paid for Chloe's surgery when we were children.”
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
I remembered my mother sponsoring medical bills for families who worked at our properties.
She rarely told anyone.
Vanessa continued.
“I didn't know Eleanor Bennett was the same woman until I saw her picture.”
Her voice collapsed.
“I couldn't destroy the last thing she wrote to you.”
I looked at the letter again.
For the first time, I wondered whether Vanessa was simply cruel.
Or whether she was also caught inside something dangerous.
Then the conference-room telephone rang.
James had left it connected to security.
I answered.
“Marcus Bennett.”
A distorted voice spoke.
“You should have left your mother buried.”
I stood very still.
“Who is this?”
The voice ignored my question.
“If you want to know what happened to Eleanor, come to the old hotel archive tonight.”
The line crackled.
May you like
Then the caller said something that made my knees weaken.
“And bring the woman who watched your mother die.”
