Chapter 3: The Secret Behind the Luxury
For several seconds, I couldn't hear anything except Lily's breathing.
The lobby seemed to tilt around me.
My husband's death.
The one subject I had spent six months trying not to think about.
James stood in front of me, holding the folder.
"Claire, I didn't want to tell you this in the middle of the lobby.""
I stared at him.
"Then why did you?""
"Because I don't think we can afford to wait.""
Richard stepped forward.
"This is completely inappropriate. Whatever financial disagreement you have with the company has nothing to do with me.""
James turned toward him.
"Sit down, Richard.""
"I'm the general manager of this hotel.""
"Not for much longer.""
Richard's face tightened.
Victoria tried to interrupt.
"Mr. Carter, perhaps we should all calm down. I think Claire and I can resolve our personal disagreement.""
I looked at her.
"There's nothing personal to resolve.""
She swallowed.
"But I didn't know who you were.""
I held Lily closer.
"Would it have mattered if you did?""
Victoria didn't answer.
I continued.
"You slapped a woman holding a newborn because you thought she wasn't wealthy enough to deserve basic respect.""
Her eyes dropped.
James closed the folder.
"Margaret, please take Claire and the baby to the private lounge. I want everyone involved in this incident separated.""
Richard immediately objected.
"James, you can't suspend me without a formal review.""
James looked at him.
"Watch me.""
Margaret led me through a quiet corridor into a private lounge overlooking the hotel's garden.
The room smelled of fresh coffee and white roses.
A nurse from the hotel's family services team brought a bottle of water and a soft blanket for Lily.
I sat on a velvet sofa.
My hands were shaking.
Margaret crouched beside me.
"Claire, I'm so sorry.""
I looked at her.
"Did you know about the payments?""
She hesitated.
"Not all of them. I noticed some unusual complimentary reservations, but Richard approved them personally.""
"How many?""
"At least seventeen in the past year.""
I stared at her.
"Seventeen?""
"Some were for Mrs. Whitmore. Others were for people connected to her.""
"Why?""
Margaret glanced toward the closed door.
"I don't know yet.""
I looked down at Lily.
Her tiny fingers curled around the edge of my sweater.
Daniel would have loved her.
He had spent months preparing the nursery, assembling a white wooden crib, and arguing with me over whether we needed three different kinds of baby monitors.
He never got to hold her.
I pressed my lips together.
"Margaret, tell me exactly what you know about Daniel's final business dealings.""
She sat opposite me.
"Before he passed away, he was investigating discrepancies in several properties.""
"What kind of discrepancies?""
"Payments to outside consulting companies. Fake maintenance invoices. Unauthorized transfers.""
I felt cold.
"Did he tell anyone?""
"He spoke with James. And he mentioned something to me once, but he wouldn't go into details.""
"Did he name anyone?""
Margaret looked uncomfortable.
"Richard.""
I stared at her.
"Richard Collins?""
She nodded.
"Daniel suspected that Richard was approving expenses that never existed.""
I remembered a conversation with Daniel two weeks before his death.
He had been sitting at our kitchen island, staring at his laptop.
When I asked what was wrong, he had closed it immediately.
"Nothing, sweetheart. Just work.""
I had believed him.
Now I wished I hadn't.
The lounge door opened.
James entered with two security officers.
He placed the folder on the coffee table.
"Claire, we found something.""
I looked up.
"What?""
He opened the folder to a printed email.
It was dated four days before Daniel's death.
The sender was Daniel's private company account.
The recipient was Richard Collins.
The subject line read:
*Final Warning — Unauthorized Transfers.*
I read the message twice.
Daniel had written:
I know about the payments. I know who authorized them. If the money isn't returned by Friday, I will take the evidence directly to the board.
My throat tightened.
"Did Richard respond?""
James nodded.
He turned to the next page.
Richard's reply was only one sentence.
You should think carefully about what happens when you make enemies in places you don't understand.
I looked up.
"Was this reported to the police?""
"Not yet," James replied.
"We discovered the email this morning while auditing the hotel's records. We were preparing to involve the authorities.""
I leaned forward.
"Then we do it now.""
James nodded.
"That's what I recommend.""
Margaret looked at the door.
"There's something else.""
James turned toward her.
"What?""
She hesitated.
"Richard has been trying to access Daniel's old executive archive for weeks.""
I frowned.
"Why?""
"According to the access logs, he attempted to retrieve a restricted file called Project Lighthouse.""
James went still.
I noticed immediately.
"James?""
He looked at me.
"Daniel created Project Lighthouse shortly before his death.""
"What was it?""
James took a slow breath.
"It was a confidential acquisition plan. Your husband was preparing to transfer several hotel properties into a new trust.""
I looked down at the folder.
"Why wasn't I told?""
"Because Daniel wanted the documents finalized before announcing anything. He said he would explain everything to you after Lily was born.""
My eyes filled.
Daniel had planned a future he never got to see.
James continued.
"The trust was designed to protect your ownership and prevent anyone from selling the properties without your approval.""
"Then why is Richard trying to access it?""
James looked toward Margaret.
She answered quietly.
"Because someone has been trying to sell the Grand Windsor.""
My stomach dropped.
"Who?""
James turned the final page toward me.
It was a preliminary sale agreement.
The buyer's name was hidden behind a holding company.
But the signature authorizing the transaction was clear.
Richard Collins.
I stared at it.
"He can't sell something he doesn't own.""
"Exactly," James replied.
"Then why is he trying?""
James hesitated.
"Because the buyer believes they have a legitimate agreement. And someone appears to have forged your husband's authorization.""
I felt Lily move against my chest.
A cold realization settled over me.
"This isn't just about stolen hotel money.""
"No," James said.
"It isn't.""
He placed another document on the table.
"This was recovered from Richard's office computer.""
It was a scanned photograph of a handwritten note.
Daniel's handwriting.
I recognized it immediately.
The message was short.
If anything happens to me, Claire must never sign the final transfer.
My fingers went numb.
"Where did you find this?""
"Inside an encrypted folder.""
I stared at the note.
Daniel had known something was coming.
And he had tried to protect me.
James lowered his voice.
"Claire, there's one more thing you need to see.""
He opened a video file on his tablet.
The screen showed the hotel's underground parking garage.
A timestamp appeared in the corner.
Six months earlier.
Four days before Daniel died.
A man walked toward a black sedan.
Richard Collins.
He looked around, opened the driver's door, and handed a thick envelope to someone sitting inside.
The camera angle shifted.
The person in the car stepped into view.
My breath caught.
I knew that face.
I had seen it at Daniel's funeral.
I had hugged that person while crying.
I had trusted that person with my husband's final business affairs.
James paused the video.
"Claire, do you recognize him?""
I couldn't speak.
May you like
Because the man sitting inside that car was my own brother.
And he was holding the same leather briefcase Daniel had taken with him on the night he died.
