“No.”
Victor had known about the original scheme.
But if he wanted money, why leave eleven million untouched?
Why not steal June’s trust?
Adrian looked at the ledger again.
One page was missing.
Cleanly cut out.
“Someone else found this before Margaret.”
June wiped her tears.
“Who?”
Adrian did not answer.
Because for the first time, he was thinking about Carol Carter.
They drove to Peoria that afternoon.
June did not speak for most of the journey.
She sat beside Adrian in the back seat while Rafael drove.
When they reached the small apartment building, June ran upstairs.
Her mother opened the door wearing an oxygen tube.
Carol Carter was sixty-one, thin and pale.
When she saw Adrian behind June, her face collapsed.
“Oh, God.”
June stopped.
That reaction answered everything.
“You knew.”
Carol started crying.
“Baby—”
“You knew!”
June’s voice shattered.
“All these years?”
Carol reached for her.
June stepped away.
“Was Thomas Blackwell my father?”
Carol closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
The word seemed to empty the room of air.
June stared at her mother.
“My whole life was a lie.”
“No.”
“David wasn’t my father.”
“David was your father in every way that mattered.”
“Did he know?”
“Yes.”
June covered her mouth.
Carol sat slowly.
“He loved you before you were born.”
Adrian remained by the door.
Carol finally looked at him.
“You have his eyes.”
Adrian’s expression turned cold.
“You knew about the trust.”
Carol said nothing.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“Then why was she starving?”
June turned.
Her mother began to shake.
“I refused it.”
“What?” June whispered.
Carol looked at her daughter.
“I refused all of it.”
“Why?”
“Because that money wasn’t clean.”
Adrian frowned.
Carol’s gaze moved to him.
“Your father came to me after June was born. He wanted to take care of her. I told him I didn’t want his family anywhere near my child.”
“So he stole from employees instead?”
“I didn’t know that then.”
“When did you learn?”
“Margaret told me.”
June went still.
“Margaret came here?”
Carol nodded.
“She discovered Thomas’s arrangement. She told me the trust existed.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of Victor?”
Carol shook her head.
“Of Margaret.”
Adrian stared.
“What?”
Carol’s voice became barely audible.
“Margaret wasn’t trying to give June the trust.”
A terrible silence followed.
“She was trying to destroy it.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“That’s not true.”
“She said the money belonged to the workers it was stolen from.”
Adrian stopped.
Carol continued.
“She wanted every dollar returned.”
June whispered, “She was right.”
Carol looked at her.
“Yes.”
That was not what Adrian expected.
Carol wiped her eyes.
“Margaret offered me a choice. She could expose everything publicly, including who June was, or we could quietly dissolve the trust and create a restitution fund.”
Adrian’s thoughts accelerated.
“What did you choose?”
“I told her to give it back.”
June began crying again.
“Then why didn’t she?”
Carol looked at Adrian.
“Because she died four days later.”
The room became utterly still.
Adrian felt the grief of the last two years twist into something new.
Margaret had not been protecting stolen money.
She had been trying to return it.
She had not hidden June from him because June was dangerous.
She had hidden June because she wanted to protect her from the Blackwell name.
Then Carol said something that changed everything again.
“She called me the night before she died.”
Adrian looked up.
“What did she say?”
“She said someone had discovered what she was doing.”
“Victor?”
“No.”
“Who?”
Carol stared at him.
“She said, ‘The person I trusted most already knows.’”
Adrian’s mouth went dry.
Victor had been Margaret’s enemy by then.
Not the person she trusted most.
Rafael shifted.
Adrian whispered, “Who did she trust most?”
Carol’s answer came softly.
“You.”
Adrian did not speak during the drive back.
Because the impossible question had already formed.
Had Margaret been afraid of him?
He searched his memory obsessively.
Arguments.
Conversations.
Her last month.
She had been distant.
Secretive.
Once, he had found her crying in the shower.
Another time, he had caught her closing his laptop.
He had assumed she was searching his business dealings.
What if she believed he knew about the payroll theft?
What if she believed Thomas had told him?
But Adrian hadn’t known.
Unless—
He suddenly leaned forward.
“Stop.”
Rafael pulled over.
Adrian got out.
He stood beside the highway, breathing hard.
