Chapter 4 - THE KEY BENEATH THE BLUE TILE
Carmine didn't raise his voice.
He didn't need to.
The two men released Nell immediately, their confidence collapsing beneath the weight of his presence.
"Who sent you?" he asked.
Neither answered.
Victor stepped forward and showed them the key.
"Tell your employer the Fontaine estate is no longer unprotected."
The taller man went pale.
Then both men hurried out.
Nell stared at Carmine.
"You followed me?"
"I found your note."
"You shouldn't have come."
"And let two strangers threaten you and your father?"
She looked away.
"You don't understand what this means."
"Then explain it."
For the first time since arriving at the mansion, Nell looked less like a frightened maid and more like someone who had carried a terrible secret alone for too long.
She told Carmine about the fire, the name change, and the years she'd spent hiding from people who believed her family possessed something valuable.
She explained that her mother had died shortly after the bakery burned. Emmett had survived, but grief and a series of medical problems had gradually taken away his memories.
Nell had changed her surname after receiving an anonymous letter warning that anyone bearing the Fontaine name could be in danger.
She'd never known whether the threat was real.
Until now.
Victor admitted that he'd spent years searching for her but had been unable to confirm her identity without exposing her location.
"The trust is protected by a private agreement," he explained. "Your mother and Emmett created it after discovering that someone had been stealing money from the bakery's expansion fund."
"Who?" Nell asked.
Victor looked at Carmine.
"Your father's business partner."
Carmine's jaw tightened.
His father had been involved in the bakery's finances, but he'd never mentioned a dispute.
"Who was the partner?"
Victor swallowed.
"Silas Voss."
Carmine recognized the name instantly.
Silas had been one of the most influential men in New Orleans before disappearing after a violent feud fifteen years earlier.
Everyone believed he was dead.
Victor placed the key in Nell's palm.
"Your mother hid the original records in a safe beneath the bakery's old kitchen. Only a direct descendant can open it."
Nell stared at the key.
"Then why did you bring it here?"
May you like
Victor's face drained of color.
"Because someone has already broken into the bakery."
