Chapter 7 - Beneath Charles Whitmore's Roses)
The memorial garden sat behind the east greenhouse.
After Charles died, Ethan had ordered white roses planted around a stone bench bearing his father's name.
Vivian hated the place.
She claimed the roses triggered allergies.
Ethan now wondered whether that excuse had been another lie.
He, Clara, Daniel, Rebecca, and two private security officers entered the garden shortly after sunset.
They did not inform Vivian.
Daniel carried Adrian's old photograph in his jacket.
For ten years, he had kept the same image.
Two brothers standing on a fishing dock.
Daniel was smiling.
Adrian was holding a ridiculous red hat.
"You really think Charles buried evidence out here?" Daniel asked.
Ethan looked at the rows of roses.
"He said beneath the garden."
Clara examined the stone bench.
Something about it bothered her.
"Who installed this?"
Ethan shrugged.
"The estate grounds team."
"When?"
"After the funeral."
"Who chose the location?"
Ethan thought.
"Rosa."
Daniel looked at him.
They examined the bench.
The stone base appeared solid.
One security officer used a flashlight around the edges.
Behind a rose bush, he found a metal plate buried beneath mulch.
It contained a keyhole.
Daniel froze.
"My key."
The key stolen from his apartment.
They had no way to open it.
Then Clara remembered something.
The cake.
The recipe.
Charles's old wooden recipe box in the kitchen.
She had found the recipe because Rosa suggested looking there.
"Rosa knew."
Clara ran back toward the house with Ethan.
The kitchen was empty.
The recipe box sat exactly where Clara had left it.
Inside, beneath the recipe cards, was a small brass key.
Ethan stared.
"Rosa put it here."
They returned to the garden.
The key fit.
A hidden compartment opened beneath the bench.
Inside was a waterproof metal container.
Daniel lifted it carefully.
There were documents.
Photographs.
Three flash drives.
And a handwritten notebook.
Ethan recognized his father's writing.
Clara turned the first page.
Dates.
Payments.
Company names.
Names of board members.
Then one entry.
June 14.
Adrian alive. V insists isolation temporary. I no longer believe her.
Daniel grabbed the notebook.
"Where?"
He flipped pages.
Another entry.
July 2.
Facility moved under Harlow contract. Adrian refuses to surrender copies.
Daniel looked at Ethan.
"Harlow."
Ethan knew the name.
Harlow Security was a private contractor once used by Whitmore Medical Systems.
The company had dissolved eight years ago.
Rebecca turned another page.
August 9.
V says Adrian escaped.
No confirmation.
One page later.
September 1.
Received message. A is alive.
Daniel's knees nearly gave out.
"My brother survived."
Clara touched his arm.
"At least until then."
The notebook continued for another year.
Charles had tried to locate Adrian.
He suspected someone inside Whitmore Medical Systems was helping Vivian hide records.
But one initial appeared repeatedly.
M.
Ethan frowned.
"Martin?"
Rebecca shook her head.
"Martin Kessler disappeared from business long before this."
"Could be Mercer?"
Daniel looked offended.
"My father?"
"No. I'm asking."
Daniel examined the notes.
"Charles usually used full names."
Clara opened one of the document folders.
Inside were copies of payments made to Harlow Security through shell companies.
One shell corporation was registered to a company called Marlowe Holdings.
"M," Clara said.
Daniel stared at the name.
Ethan's phone rang.
Vivian.
He rejected the call.
It rang again.
Clara looked toward the mansion.
"She knows we're out here."
The rear terrace lights suddenly turned on.
Vivian stood at the doors.
She looked directly at the memorial garden.
Then she began walking toward them.
For a woman who claimed she never entered that garden, she knew exactly where to go.
She stopped several feet from the bench.
Her eyes moved to the open compartment.
"You found it."
Ethan stepped between her and the documents.
"Where is Adrian?"
Vivian looked at Daniel.
For the first time, there was something close to pity in her face.
"You still think I took him."
Daniel's voice shook.
"The recordings say you did."
"The recordings say Charles believed I did."
"You said he was somewhere he couldn't damage the family."
"Yes."
"Where?"
Vivian looked at Rebecca.
"You should ask his mother."
Rebecca stepped forward.
"I thought he was dead."
Vivian laughed softly.
"Of course you did."
Clara stared.
"What does that mean?"
Vivian walked to the stone bench and sat.
"Adrian was never the victim your father wanted him to be."
Daniel's face hardened.
"Careful."
"He came to me."
"No."
"He offered a trade."
"What trade?"
"The patient records for ten million dollars."
Rebecca shook her head.
"Adrian would never."
Vivian looked at her.
"You hadn't seen him since infancy. You don't know what he would do."
Daniel stepped closer.
"I knew him."
"Did you?"
Vivian's eyes did not leave his.
"Then tell them why Adrian used the name Marlowe."
Daniel stopped.
Clara looked down at the document.
Marlowe Holdings.
Ethan whispered, "M."
Vivian nodded.
"Charles spent his final years hunting a criminal who was sitting at his own dinner table."
Daniel stared.
"What are you talking about?"
Vivian smiled faintly.
"Your brother wasn't imprisoned."
She looked at the open box beneath the roses.
"He was paid."
Then she turned toward Ethan.
"And if you activate that trust in twelve days, you won't be giving power to Clara."
May you like
She paused.
"You'll be giving it to Adrian."
