Chapter 4 - THE NAME MY MOTHER BURIED
My grandfather had been dead for thirty years.
At least, that was what I'd been told.
His name was Arthur Whitmore.
He founded the hotel.
He built the first wing.
He created the Whitmore family fortune.
And according to my father, he was also the man behind Project Lantern.
“What was it?” I asked.
Dad stared at the floor.
“I don't know everything.”
“Then tell me what you do know.”
“Arthur secretly financed research.”
“What kind?”
“Medical.”
I frowned.
“What does that have to do with the hotel?”
“Everything.”
Eleanor placed an old envelope on the table.
“Your mother gave this to me.”
I opened it.
Inside was a photograph of Arthur.
Behind him stood several doctors.
And a younger woman.
My mother.
On the back, my mother had written:
Arthur didn't build the hotel to make money.
He built it to hide the money.
I looked at Marcus.
“What does that mean?”
He read the next document.
The Whitmore Crown had been used as a financial vehicle.
Money flowed through hotel accounts, then into medical research.
Some of it was legitimate.
Some wasn't.
The project had been investigating a rare neurological disease.
Patients were being treated privately.
Their identities were hidden.
I felt uneasy.
“Was it illegal?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Some parts were.”
“Which parts?”
“Experimental treatments.”
I looked at Eleanor.
“Did my mother know?”
“She discovered the research had changed.”
“How?”
“Your grandfather died.”
“And then?”
“Vivian took control of the foundation.”
I felt cold.
“What did she do?”
“She stopped funding treatment.”
“Why?”
“Because she found a more profitable use for the money.”
I understood.
She stole it.
But why thirty-eight million?
Where had it gone?
Marcus found another document.
A list of patient names.
One name made my blood freeze.
Lena Whitmore.
I stared.
“No.”
Eleanor reached for my hand.
“You were a patient.”
I pulled away.
“I've never been sick.”
“You were six years old.”
I couldn't breathe.
“What happened?”
“Your mother discovered you had been enrolled in Project Lantern without her permission.”
“Why?”
“Because Arthur believed you carried a genetic marker.”
“For what?”
Eleanor whispered:
“The disease they were researching.”
I shook my head.
“That can't be true.”
“It was never confirmed.”
“Then why hide it?”
“Because your grandfather wanted to protect you.”
Marcus looked through the records.
“There are no current medical records.”
“Why?”
“Someone destroyed them.”
“Who?”
Eleanor looked at Dad.
He finally spoke.
“Vivian.”
My entire body went cold.
“Why would she destroy my records?”
Dad whispered:
“Because the records proved Arthur had transferred ownership of the hotel to you.”
I stared.
“What?”
“The medical trust and the hotel trust were connected.”
“How?”
“If you were confirmed to carry the genetic marker, you would receive the hotel immediately.”
I laughed bitterly.
“So Vivian wanted me gone because of a medical record?”
“No.”
Dad looked at me.
“She wanted you gone because she knew the hotel would never belong to her son.”
I remembered the gala.
Vivian had told me I didn't belong.
She had been lying.
She knew I was the rightful owner.
She had simply hoped I would never discover it.
Then Marcus opened another document.
“This is from your mother's personal journal.”
I read the entry.
Vivian knows about Lena.
She knows about the trust.
If anything happens to me, Edward must protect our daughter.
But if Edward fails, Lena must know one thing.
Never trust the man who says he can restore what was stolen.
I frowned.
“Who is that?”
Dad went pale.
Marcus looked at him.
“You know.”
Dad didn't answer.
Then the office lights went out.
Eleanor screamed.
Something crashed in the hallway.
Marcus grabbed his phone.
“Everyone stay here.”
A shadow passed beneath the door.
Then the handle began turning.
Dad whispered:
“He found us.”
The door opened.
A man stood in the darkness.
I recognized him immediately.
Thomas Vale.
The banker.
The man who had financed the hotel.
He smiled.
“Lena.”
Then he raised a folder.
“Your mother left something else.”
May you like
He looked at Dad.
“And your father knows exactly where it is.”
