Dinner was not what I expected.
Marcus was there.
So was Adrian.
Ethan stood near the fireplace.
I took my seat.
Marcus looked at my wrist.
“The bracelet.”
I instinctively covered it.
“Yes.”
“Where did you get it?”
“My mother.”
His expression changed.
Adrian noticed.
“Father.”
Marcus looked at his son.
“She should know.”
“Not yet.”
Marcus laughed quietly.
“You’ve been saying that for ten years.”
My heart stopped.
I looked at Adrian.
“What does he mean?”
Neither man answered.
“Ten years?”
Marcus stood.
“Ask your husband.”
He left the room.
I turned toward Adrian.
“What was that?”
He looked at the empty doorway.
“Marcus doesn’t know everything.”
“Apparently he knows more than I do.”
“That’s not his story to tell.”
“And whose story is it?”
He looked at me.
“Yours.”
He opened a folder.
Inside were financial documents.
“Carter Trust.”
I recognized the name immediately.
“What about it?”
“Your father established it years ago.”
“I know.”
“It wasn’t simply a family trust.”
He pushed the documents toward me.
“Look at the beneficiary structure.”
I read the names.
Then stopped.
My name was there.
So was Sophia’s.
But there was another name.
A company.
A company I had never heard of.
“What is this?”
“We’re trying to find out.”
“Who owns it?”
“We don’t know.”
“Then why is it connected to my family?”
“That’s the problem.”
I looked at him.
“You’ve been investigating my family.”
“Yes.”
“Since when?”
“Before the wedding.”
The answer hurt.
I leaned back.
“So Daniel was right.”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“About what?”
“You were using me.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“You investigated my family before you proposed.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your family’s collapse wasn’t what it appeared to be.”
I stared at him.
“And you needed me to get access?”
“No.”
“Then what did you need?”
His silence returned.
I hated that silence.
“Adrian.”
He looked at me.
“I needed to know whether you were part of it.”
My heart sank.
“Part of what?”
“The betrayal that destroyed both families.”
I stood.
“You thought I was involved?”
“I didn’t know.”
“And now?”
“I know you weren’t.”
“How?”
“Because I’ve watched you.”
I froze.
“That’s supposed to make me feel better?”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“But it’s the truth.”
I looked at the documents.
For the first time, I understood something.
Adrian hadn’t chosen me because I was helpless.
He had chosen me because he suspected I was connected to a secret.
The question was— which secret?