THE SECRETS WE KEEP

ing metropolis of gleaming sk

ere a blur of people and cars, th

ious investigative journalist wi

r thoughts consumed by the un

years: her fa

red-bricked house tucked away in

study, now a sanctuary of dust

ped inside, a wave of nostalgi

with the scent of old books an

et to work. She combed through

tracing the lines of her fathe

inclair-Harrington feud, a gener

ts and betraya

hen Emma stumbled upon a leath

en hidden away in a drawer,

d it, her eyes scanning the fir

—precise and deliberate, each

's investigation into the Sincl

dowy figures. Emma's pulse q

rmation, clues that could unr

d the pages, each entry pulling

pped her cold. It mentioned

h ties to the feud. According t

ion that could e

Emma closed the journal and lef

Vanessa and uncover what she kn

ainst her face as she made her

re

as a small, unassuming shop

d weathered, read "Hart's Rar

he stepped inside. The air was t

lined with ancient

a Hart, a woman with piercing b

r a moment, the world seeme

eyes, a connection that E

oice was soft, yet there was

ntly o

Emma began, her voice stea

n feud. I believe

flicker of recognition crossing

good

oat. "He believed you had infor

rd

ickering with uncertainty. "Yo

t the closer we got, the

mination unyielding. "Please,

notes led

lumping slightly. "There are th

a narrow hallway to a small, d

inet and retrieved a bundle o

them out o

feud," Vanessa explained. "Hid

. Your father was gettin

xamined the documents. There

er father's obsession with th

at stretched far deepe

photograph caught her eye. It wa

up of people. Among them was a

filled with a

ed, her voice barely audible.

"He uncovered something that

A truth so explosive th

nded in her ches

the door to the room burst op

Emma's spine. He was tall an

ulat

alk," he said, his voi

ot now, Adrian. I'm in t

Emma, his expression un

d unwittingly stepped into a

han she had e

. "Yes, this is Emma Car

us glint in his gaze. "I think it

—once you know, the

looked between Vanessa and A

ut she was determined to

, the truth hovered just out of

lay ahead, knowing that her q

gu

were about to be exposed, and

ai