Chapter 4 - THE LOCKER AT GRAND CENTRAL
Celeste claimed the recording did not exist.
She claimed Isabelle’s message referred to someone else.
She claimed Lily had invented the conversation because she resented Adrian’s engagement.
Adrian listened without interrupting.
Then he removed the engagement ring from Celeste’s finger.
“You will remain inside this estate until the police arrive.”
Celeste’s composure vanished.
“You cannot detain me.”
“You locked my daughter in a chamber where she nearly suffocated.”
“I was frightened.”
“You were frightened of a seven-year-old girl.”
Celeste glanced toward Marcus.
He remained silent.
Adrian instructed his security chief to separate them.
Before the police arrived, Nora found him in the library.
“Vault 317 may not be a bank vault.”
“What else could it be?”
“Isabelle used Grand Central Terminal whenever she traveled to the foundation office.”
Nora placed an old photograph on the desk.
It showed Isabelle standing beside a row of private luggage lockers.
“Where did you get this?”
“From the box in the attic.”
Adrian frowned.
“What were you doing in the attic?”
Nora met his stare.
“Your wife hired my mother twenty years ago.”
Adrian said nothing.
“My mother was Isabelle’s personal assistant before she became ill.”
“She died six months after Isabelle.”
“She left me letters.”
Nora removed a sealed envelope from her apron.
“Isabelle believed someone inside the Vale Foundation was stealing money from medical charities.”
“She asked my mother to help her collect evidence.”
“Why did you never tell me?”
“Because the last letter said you might be involved.”
The accusation struck Adrian harder than he expected.
Nora placed the letter in front of him.
“I came here as a maid because it was the only position Marcus could not prevent me from getting.”
Adrian read the letter.
Isabelle had written that financial records were being altered using Adrian’s authorization codes.
She did not know whether he had approved the transactions or whether someone had stolen his identity.
At the bottom of the page was another reference to Vault 317.
Adrian looked toward the security monitors.
The police vehicles were approaching the estate.
“We go now.”
“To Grand Central?”
“Before Celeste finds a way to warn whoever is waiting there.”
They left through the garage with two guards.
As the vehicle reached the gates, Nora’s phone vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
“Locker 317 is empty.”
A second message arrived.
“We have the woman who opened it.”
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Attached was a photograph.
It showed Nora’s younger sister, Claire, bound to a chair.
