Chapter 1 - THE DEED UNDER THE FLOOR
The pounding on my apartment door became louder.
“Lena!”
Vivian's voice shook the hallway.
“Open this door!”
My father shouted behind her.
“Lena, listen to me!”
I stood in the darkness with one hand gripping my phone.
The transfer confirmation was still open on the screen.
TRANSFER FILED.
OWNERSHIP CONFIRMED.
Twenty-four million dollars.
The Whitmore Crown Hotel.
My mother's hotel.
My inheritance.
Everything Vivian believed she had already taken from me had legally returned to my name.
But Dad's last words kept echoing in my head.
“Someone found what your mother hid in the original deed.”
I walked toward the door.
“Dad?”
Silence.
Then his voice came through the wood.
“Don't open it.”
I stopped.
“What?”
“Vivian doesn't know I'm here to warn you.”
Vivian immediately screamed.
“Edward! What are you doing?”
Dad lowered his voice.
“She brought someone.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
A man's voice came from farther down the hallway.
Calm.
Professional.
“Ms. Whitmore, we need to speak with you.”
I stepped away from the door.
“Who are you?”
“I'm with the Whitmore estate counsel.”
I frowned.
My family had estate counsel.
Marcus Reed was my attorney.
Nobody else had authority to represent me.
“Give me your name.”
Silence.
Then Vivian said:
“Lena, stop being difficult. This is about the transfer you made tonight.”
I smiled bitterly.
“So you know.”
“Of course I know!”
Her voice cracked.
“You had no right.”
I looked at the confirmation again.
“I had every right.”
“No, you didn't.”
Dad suddenly interrupted.
“Vivian, stop.”
She went quiet.
Then Dad said something that changed everything.
“The transfer wasn't the surprise.”
My heart began racing.
“What do you mean?”
“The deed.”
I waited.
“Your mother didn't just leave you the hotel.”
“What else did she leave?”
Dad didn't answer.
I heard footsteps.
Then the hallway became strangely quiet.
“Dad?”
Nothing.
I rushed to the door and looked through the peephole.
My father was standing there.
Alone.
Vivian was gone.
The mysterious man was gone.
I unlocked the door.
Dad grabbed my wrist.
“Get your shoes.”
“What happened?”
“We're leaving.”
“Why?”
“Because someone is coming for the deed.”
I stared at him.
“What is so important about it?”
He looked older than he had three hours earlier.
“Your mother knew she was going to die.”
I froze.
“She prepared for it.”
“She had cancer.”
“I know.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“She didn't die from cancer.”
My blood ran cold.
“What?”
Dad looked over his shoulder.
Then whispered:
“Your mother was poisoned.”
The hallway seemed to tilt.
“What are you talking about?”
“She discovered what Vivian and I had been doing.”
I stared at him.
“You?”
Dad closed his eyes.
“I never wanted this.”
“You allowed her to throw me out of my own hotel.”
“I know.”
“You watched her humiliate me.”
“I know.”
“And now you're telling me Mom was murdered?”
He looked directly into my eyes.
“She was murdered because she found the money.”
“What money?”
Dad swallowed.
“The money that disappeared from the hotel for twenty years.”
I couldn't breathe.
“How much?”
He whispered:
“Thirty-eight million dollars.”
Before I could answer, the elevator doors opened.
Vivian stepped out.
Beside her stood the same unknown man.
And behind them were two police officers.
Vivian smiled.
“Lena.”
She held up a document.
“We need to talk about your fraudulent transfer.”
I looked at Dad.
He whispered:
“Don't sign anything.”
Vivian's smile disappeared.
Because she realized something.
May you like
My father had finally chosen a side.
And for the first time in twenty years, it wasn't hers.
