THE WRONG HEIR'S BRIDE

as. She was certain she had heard him incorrectly. "My father's investigation came from Harrison Kingston?" Lucas nodded slowly. "According to Daniel's voicemail." Amelia looked at Adria

s." Sebastian stepped forward. "You should all get some rest." Richard immediately agreed. "He's right." Amelia studied her uncle. For someone under investigation, he seemed eager to end the conversation. Too eager. As everyone prepared to leave, Sebastian approached her quietly. "Can we speak privately?" Amelia hesitated. Then nodded. A few minutes later, they stood alone inside her father's old study. The room remained exactly as Edward Hart had left it. Leather-bound books lined the shelves. A silver fountain pen still rested neatly on the desk. Amelia had never found the strength to change anything. Sebastian noticed. "You've kept everything." "He deserved that much." Sebastian nodded. "He was a good man." Amelia looked directly at him. "Did you know Harrison investigated my father?" The question landed heavily. Sebastian's expression shifted almost imperceptibly. "Where did you hear that?" "You didn't answer me." He looked away. "Grandfather investigated many people." "Sebastian." His jaw tightened. "I knew there was an investigation." Amelia felt something break inside her. "You knew." "I was twenty-three years old." "So?" "So I had no authority." "You had information." "I had suspicions." Amelia stepped back. "How long have you been keeping secrets from me?" Sebastian remained silent. The answer was enough. "You should leave." "Amelia." "Please leave." For the first time since she had known him, Sebastian looked genuinely defeated. Without another word, he walked away. Amelia remained alone in the study. After several minutes, she opened her father's desk drawer. The flash drive remained hidden exactly where she had left it. Slowly, she inserted it into the laptop on the desk. She had already reviewed every file countless times. Tonight she needed to see them again. Perhaps she had missed something. The familiar folders appeared. Financial Records. Internal Communications. Personal Notes. Audio Files. Amelia froze. Audio files. There had never been an audio folder. Her heartbeat accelerated. Someone had added new files. Impossible. No one knew about the drive. Hands trembling slightly, she opened the folder. Only one recording existed. No title. No date. Amelia pressed play. Static filled the room. Then her father's voice emerged. Weak. Breathless. "Amelia, if you're hearing this, then something has gone terribly wrong." She stopped breathing. Her father had never recorded messages. Never. "Listen carefully. The evidence isn't inside the Kingston company. It's hidden beneath Blackw