Chapter 4 - LAURA'S REAL REASON
I didn't speak for several minutes.
I simply stared at my mother.
“No.”
She cried silently.
“No,” I repeated.
“That can't be true.”
“I wanted to tell you.”
“When?”
“When you were safe.”
“I was never safe!”
My voice cracked.
“You let me marry into the Mercer family knowing all of this?”
“I thought your father had destroyed the evidence.”
“What evidence?”
My mother looked toward the metal box.
“The flash drive.”
I picked it up.
“What's on it?”
“I don't know.”
“You don't know?”
“Your father never showed me.”
Daniel had arranged for a secure laptop.
We inserted the drive.
One folder appeared.
PROJECT ORCHID
Inside were forty-three files.
Most were financial documents.
Several were photographs.
One was a video.
I clicked it.
My father's face appeared.
He looked older than I remembered.
Tired.
Serious.
“Alexandra,” he said, “if you're watching this, then something has happened to make you question everything.”
My throat tightened.
“I wish I could have told you the truth myself.”
He paused.
“The Mercer family believes they own you.”
My blood ran cold.
“They don't.”
He leaned closer to the camera.
“They never did.”
The recording ended.
I stared at the blank screen.
Then Daniel opened another file.
It contained bank transfers.
Millions of dollars.
Payments made over twenty years.
Every payment went to companies connected to Richard Mercer.
But one recipient appeared again and again.
Laura Bennett.
Laura.
Daniel's voice was quiet.
“She's been receiving money from the Mercer family since she was seventeen.”
I felt sick.
“Why?”
“We need to find out.”
Meanwhile, Elijah had become desperate.
He called me thirty-six times.
Sent twenty-seven messages.
Then he came to my mother's house.
I watched him through the upstairs window.
He stood at the gate holding flowers.
Exactly as I had imagined.
The flowers he should have brought five years ago.
He looked tired.
Almost human.
For a second, the woman inside me who had loved him wanted to go downstairs.
Then I remembered the sound of that slap.
I turned away.
My mother touched my shoulder.
“Don't.”
“I know.”
“You still love him.”
I swallowed.
“Maybe.”
“That makes this harder.”
“No.”
I looked at her.
“It makes it clearer.”
Downstairs, Elijah called out.
“Alex! Please!”
I stepped onto the balcony.
He looked up.
His eyes widened.
“Alexandra.”
“You shouldn't be here.”
“I came to apologize.”
“For hitting me?”
“For everything.”
I almost laughed.
“You don't even know what everything is.”
His face changed.
“What does that mean?”
I held up the photograph of Laura's mother.
Elijah froze.
“Where did you get that?”
“You recognize her.”
He didn't answer.
“Who is she?”
“Alex, listen to me.”
“Who is she?”
His jaw tightened.
“My father's old associate.”
“That's not an answer.”
He looked toward my mother.
Then back at me.
“You need to come home.”
“Why?”
“Because you're in danger.”
“From whom?”
He looked genuinely afraid.
“Laura.”
My heart stopped.
“What did she do?”
Elijah stepped closer to the gate.
“She lied to me.”
“How?”
“I thought she loved me.”
“And now?”
“She doesn't.”
I stared at him.
“Then why did you defend her?”
His eyes filled with shame.
“Because I thought you were the threat.”
I said nothing.
He lowered his voice.
“She told me you were trying to destroy my company.”
I almost smiled.
“I couldn't destroy something I never controlled.”
Elijah looked confused.
“What are you talking about?”
I held up the folder.
“Ask your mother.”
His face went pale.
“Alex...”
“I filed for divorce.”
“I know.”
“You'll receive the papers tomorrow.”
“Don't do this.”
“I already did.”
He stepped back.
“Give me one chance.”
I looked at the flowers in his hand.
Then at the man holding them.
“Five years ago, I would have.”
I turned away.
Behind me, he whispered:
“Please.”
I didn't look back.
That night, Daniel called.
“We found something.”
“What?”
“Laura has an offshore account.”
“How much?”
“$18.7 million.”
My stomach tightened.
“Where did she get it?”
“That's the problem.”
He paused.
“The deposits originated from a company that legally doesn't exist.”
“What company?”
Daniel sent me the name.
Orchid Holdings.
My father's secret company.
I stared at the screen.
Then Daniel said:
“Alex, there's one more thing.”
“What?”
“Laura isn't the only person receiving money.”
May you like
“Who else?”
“Elijah.”
