Chapter 10 The Father Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Marcus could not move.
Rain fell between him and the man standing beside Evelyn.
For six years, Marcus had carried his father's death like a permanent weight.
He had stood beside the grave.
He had watched the coffin disappear beneath the earth.
He had listened to people describe Richard Aldridge as a brilliant businessman whose final years had been ruined by exhaustion and regret.
He had believed every word.
Now the dead man was standing twenty yards away.
Older.
Thinner.
But unmistakable.
Richard.
Marcus's father.
Daniel whispered, "Marcus..."
"I see him."
Richard looked at both sons.
There was no smile on his face now.
Only sadness.
Evelyn walked toward them.
"Marcus, listen to me."
He stepped back.
"No."
"Please."
"You told me he was dead."
"I believed he was."
Marcus stared at Richard.
"You believed?"
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
"Your father disappeared. I was told he had been killed."
Richard finally spoke.
"I wasn't."
Marcus's voice shook.
"You let me bury an empty coffin?"
Richard lowered his gaze.
"I had no choice."
Marcus laughed once, without humor.
"No choice?"
Daniel stepped between them.
"Stop."
Marcus looked at him.
Daniel's face was pale.
"You knew?"
"No."
Richard looked at Daniel.
"I didn't know you were involved."
Daniel's expression hardened.
"Involved?"
"You've been investigating Bellweather."
"Because someone had to."
Richard nodded.
"You were always more suspicious than your brother."
Marcus stared at his father.
"Don't talk about us as if you know us."
Richard flinched.
"I deserve that."
"No."
Marcus's voice became colder.
"You deserve much worse."
Evelyn stepped closer.
"Marcus, your father was trying to protect you."
Marcus turned on her.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
His voice broke.
"Nobody protected me. You lied to me."
Evelyn looked down.
"I know."
Marcus looked back at Richard.
"Why?"
Richard took a slow breath.
"Because someone wanted you dead."
The words silenced everyone.
Marcus stared at him.
"Who?"
Richard looked toward Bellweather.
"The person who controls the investment group."
Daniel stepped forward.
"Samuel said they wanted the ledger."
"They do."
"Then why are they after Emilia?"
Richard's face changed.
"Because Emilia is the legal heir."
Marcus frowned.
"To what?"
"Bellweather."
Marcus looked toward the house.
"Her grandfather's ownership?"
Richard nodded.
"Your grandfather and Henry Foster created a trust."
Daniel looked at him.
"Why?"
"To prevent the property from being taken by outside investors."
Marcus's mind raced.
"Then why did Dad—"
He stopped.
He was staring at himself.
At the photograph.
At the marriage certificate.
At the wedding ring he had kept.
Then everything began connecting.
"The marriage."
Richard nodded.
"The trust required the Foster heir and an Aldridge heir to maintain joint control."
Marcus's face went blank.
"You mean..."
"Your marriage gave Emilia legal protection."
Marcus looked toward Bellweather.
"And you knew?"
"I knew."
"Did Emilia's grandfather know?"
"Yes."
"My father?"
"Yes."
Marcus felt sick.
"Did my mother?"
Evelyn closed her eyes.
"Yes."
He looked at Daniel.
"Did you?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
Marcus turned back to Richard.
"Why didn't anyone tell us?"
Richard's answer was quiet.
"Because the trust had one condition."
"What?"
"If either heir entered the marriage knowing about the arrangement, the agreement could be challenged."
Marcus stared.
"So we had to marry without knowing."
"Yes."
"And if we found out?"
"The trust could collapse."
Marcus looked toward the house.
Emilia was still inside.
The woman he had loved.
The woman he had neglected.
The woman whose life had been tangled in his family's secrets before either of them understood what was happening.
He whispered,
"She deserves to know."
Richard nodded.
"She does."
Marcus turned toward the house.
Then Richard caught his arm.
"Wait."
Marcus looked down at his father's hand.
"Let go."
Richard released him.
"If you go inside now, the people watching Bellweather will know you have discovered the truth."
"I don't care."
"You should."
Marcus stared at him.
"For six years, I thought you were dead."
"I know."
"I grieved you."
"I know."
"I became someone I don't recognize because I thought I had to carry everything you left behind."
Richard's eyes filled.
"I know."
Marcus shook his head.
"You don't get to say that."
Richard accepted the anger.
"I don't."
Daniel stepped between them.
"We can deal with this later."
Marcus looked at him.
"Can we?"
Daniel nodded.
"If Emilia is inside, we get her first."
Marcus looked toward the house.
He nodded.
"You're right."
Inside Bellweather, Emilia heard voices outside.
She pressed herself against the wall.
Samuel stood beside her, watching the broken window.
"Is that Marcus?"
"Yes."
"Then we have to get to him."
Samuel shook his head.
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"There are people between you and the entrance."
"How many?"
"Four that I can see."
Emilia looked around the room.
"Then we find another way."
Samuel gave her a tired smile.
"You really are your grandfather's granddaughter."
"What does that mean?"
"He never accepted the first answer."
She looked at him.
"You said Marcus asked you to protect me."
"Yes."
"Why didn't he tell me?"
"Because he thought you would refuse."
"He was right."
Samuel smiled faintly.
"That's what I told him."
Emilia looked toward the door.
For a moment, she allowed herself to think about Marcus.
The last six years had been complicated.
There had been good days.
Quiet breakfasts.
Long drives.
The rare evenings when he forgot about business and simply talked to her.
But those moments had become fewer.
She had spent too long making excuses for him.
Now she understood that his distance had not come from a lack of feeling.
It had come from a lifetime of believing love was something to manage rather than something to nurture.
That understanding did not erase the pain.
It simply gave the pain a shape.
"Samuel."
"Yes?"
"If Marcus and I had never married, what would have happened?"
Samuel's expression grew serious.
"The trust would have remained dormant."
"And Bellweather?"
"Would have been vulnerable."
"And me?"
"You would still have been a target."
Emilia looked at him.
"Because I'm the heir."
"Yes."
She was silent.
Then she asked,
"Was my marriage really only about Bellweather?"
Samuel shook his head.
"No."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because I watched Marcus choose you."
Emilia looked at him.
"When?"
"The night before your wedding."
She frowned.
"I never saw you."
"You weren't supposed to."
"What happened?"
Samuel looked toward the rain.
"Your grandfather asked Marcus why he wanted to marry you."
Emilia's heart tightened.
"What did he say?"
Samuel smiled.
"He said, 'Because she makes me want to become a better man.'"
Emilia looked away.
That sentence hurt more than she expected.
Because she remembered believing it.
She remembered seeing a future with him.
She had simply never imagined how lonely that future could become.
Samuel spoke gently.
"Whatever brought you together, what happened afterward was yours."
Emilia nodded.
"I know."
A floorboard creaked outside.
Samuel's expression changed.
"Someone's coming."
He pushed the folder beneath a loose floorboard.
"Stay behind me."
The door opened.
A man entered.
He wore a dark coat and carried a flashlight.
He looked around.
"She's here."
Samuel moved.
The man raised his hand.
Before anything happened, another voice came from the hallway.
"Leave them."
The man turned.
Marcus stood at the end of the corridor.
Emilia's heart jumped.
He looked soaked from the rain.
His eyes found hers immediately.
For a moment, the danger around them disappeared.
Marcus crossed the room.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
He stopped in front of her.
His eyes moved over her face.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded.
"I'm sure."
His shoulders relaxed.
Only slightly.
Then he looked at Samuel.
"Where's the ledger?"
Samuel stared at him.
"Safe."
"Where?"
"Not here."
Marcus nodded.
"Good."
Emilia looked between them.
"You knew each other."
Marcus answered.
"Yes."
"How long?"
"Long enough."
She frowned.
"Everyone knows something."
Marcus looked at her.
"I know."
He reached for her hand.
Then stopped.
He waited.
Emilia looked at him.
After a moment, she placed her hand in his.
His fingers closed gently around hers.
No words were needed.
Then a gunshot sounded outside.
Marcus pulled her behind him.
Daniel rushed into the room.
"Move!"
They ran toward the rear corridor.
Samuel grabbed the hidden folder.
Marcus stayed beside Emilia.
"Don't let go."
She looked at him.
"I'm not."
They reached the old staircase.
Then Richard appeared at the bottom.
"Marcus!"
Marcus stopped.
His father looked up at them.
"There's another way out."
Emilia stared at Richard.
She had seen his photograph.
She had heard his name.
But she had never expected to meet the man who had shaped so much of her life without her knowledge.
Richard looked at her.
"I'm sorry."
Emilia's expression hardened.
"For what?"
"For making you part of this."
She shook her head.
"You didn't make me part of it."
She looked at Marcus.
"Apparently, I was born into it."
Richard's face tightened.
"That's why I tried to keep you away."
Marcus looked at him.
"And failed."
Richard nodded.
"Yes."
A sudden crash came from the upper floor.
Everyone looked up.
Daniel whispered,
"They're inside."
Richard pointed toward the western hall.
"Go."
Marcus pulled Emilia with him.
Daniel followed.
Samuel came last.
Richard remained behind.
Marcus stopped.
"What are you doing?"
Richard looked at his son.
"For once, I'm doing what I should have done years ago."
"What?"
"Protecting my family."
He turned toward the approaching footsteps.
Marcus wanted to argue.
But Emilia touched his arm.
"Go."
He looked at her.
She nodded.
They ran.
The western corridor led to an old conservatory.
Broken windows allowed rain to blow across the floor.
Daniel found a narrow door.
"Through here."
They entered a small courtyard.
For the first time, Emilia saw the full Bellweather estate from outside.
The old stone walls rose against the cliffs.
The sea crashed below.
Marcus stood beside her.
"Beautiful."
She looked at him.
"You've never seen it like this?"
"No."
She almost smiled.
"Neither have I."
Then a loud explosion shook the house.
Emilia turned.
"Richard."
Marcus started back.
Daniel grabbed him.
"No."
"He's inside."
"We can't go back."
Marcus struggled against him.
Then a second explosion echoed through Bellweather.
A section of the roof collapsed.
Emilia covered her mouth.
Marcus stared at the burning windows.
His father had disappeared once.
Now he might be gone again.
Daniel put a hand on his shoulder.
"We have to move."
Marcus didn't answer.
Then his phone vibrated.
One message.
From an unknown number.
Your father isn't the person you should be afraid of.
A second message arrived.
Ask Emilia what she found inside the ring.
Marcus looked at Emilia.
She looked confused.
"What?"
He didn't answer.
Because the final message appeared.
The ring was never meant to leave Bellweather.
Marcus reached into his pocket.
He still had Emilia's wedding ring.
He had carried it with him since the night she left.
He looked down at it.
Then he saw something he had never noticed before.
A tiny seam ran around the inside of the band.
Marcus's expression changed.
"Emilia."
She stepped closer.
"What?"
He held up the ring.
"There is something inside this."
Her face went pale.
Before either of them could say another word, the ring split open in his hand.
A tiny strip of film slipped onto his palm.
And printed across it were three words:
THE TRUST IS INVALID.