Daniel called me the next morning.
I almost ignored it.
Then I remembered the transfer.
I answered.
“What?”
“Elena.”
“What do you want?”
“To warn you.”
“About what?”
“Adrian.”
I closed my eyes.
“Again?”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
“I know something is happening.”
“How?”
“Because someone just bought shares in my company using Carter Trust money.”
My blood ran cold.
“You knew?”
“I found out this morning.”
“Did you do it?”
“No.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because if I wanted your family’s money, I wouldn’t have left a trail pointing directly at myself.”
I hated that he had a point.
“What do you know?”
He hesitated.
“Someone has been asking questions about your father.”
“What kind of questions?”
My grip tightened around the phone.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Daniel.”
“I’m telling you what I know.”
“Why help me?”
Silence.
Then:
“Because I still care about you.”
I closed my eyes.
“Don’t.”
“Elena—”
“Don’t say that.”
“I know what I did.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
His voice cracked slightly.
“I know I lost you.”
I didn’t answer.
“Just be careful.”
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Then Adrian entered the room.
He looked at my face.
“Daniel.”
“Yes.”
“What did he want?”
“He says someone is investigating my father.”
Adrian became still.
“What exactly did he say?”
I told him.
“He’s telling the truth.”
I stared at him.
“You know?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I’ve been investigating the same thing.”
I felt betrayed again.
“You could have told me.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“Stop saying that.”
He looked at me.
“Why?”
“Because protection isn’t the same as honesty.”
Silence.
He nodded slowly.
“You’re right.”
Then he walked toward me.
“There is something you need to know.”
“What?”
“Your father’s bankruptcy wasn’t the beginning.”
I waited.
“It was the end.”
“The end of what?”
“Something that started years earlier.”
My heart sank.
“How many years?”
He looked at me.
“Ten.”