Chapter 1 - THE MAN MATTHIAS NEVER EXPECTED
Matthias followed my eyes toward the entrance.
For the first time in eleven years, I saw my husband forget to control his face.
A tall man in a dark overcoat had just stepped through the front doors.
Nathan Cole.
Former federal prosecutor.
Current partner at Cole, Barrett & Reeves.
And, more importantly, my attorney.
Matthias looked back at me.
“You brought a lawyer to Christmas?”
“Technically, Nathan brought himself.”
Nathan crossed the marble foyer carrying a slim black briefcase. He greeted Matthias’s father, Conrad Dre, with the kind of polite nod men used when they already knew the conversation ahead would be unpleasant.
Fiona noticed him too.
Her champagne glass stopped halfway to her mouth.
That interested me.
Nathan reached us.
“Serena.”
“Nathan.”
Matthias stared between us.
“What exactly is going on?”
Nathan answered before I could.
“Mrs. Dre asked me to attend as her legal representative.”
Several conversations nearby went quiet.
Matthias lowered his voice.
“This is a family party.”
“Then perhaps your family should stop putting Serena’s name on documents she has never seen.”
Matthias went pale.
I had not told Nathan to say that publicly.
Which meant something had changed.
“When?” I asked.
“Forty minutes ago.”
Nathan opened his briefcase just enough for me to see a photograph of a document.
My signature appeared at the bottom.
It was perfect.
And completely fake.
The document transferred my interest in two Dre family holding companies to Matthias.
Effective tonight.
I looked at my husband.
“Did you know about this?”
“No.”
His answer came too quickly.
Then the lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Across the room, one of the catering staff abruptly stopped walking.
He touched something inside his jacket.
My heart began pounding.
Nathan noticed him too.
“Serena, move away from the windows.”
“What?”
“Now.”
Before I could ask why, Conrad Dre stepped onto the raised landing and tapped a spoon against his glass.
“Everyone, may I have your attention?”
The room quieted.
My unborn daughter kicked hard.
Nathan leaned close to my ear.
“The anonymous envelope wasn’t sent only to you.”
I turned.
“What do you mean?”
He kept his voice low.
“My office received a second package this afternoon.”
“What was inside?”
His expression changed.
“A list of twelve names.”
I swallowed.
“Whose names?”
Nathan looked toward the sixty guests.
“People in this room.”
Then he told me the secret that turned my anger into fear.
“My name was number eleven.”
May you like
He looked directly at Matthias.
“And your husband was number twelve.”
