Chapter 5 - Claire's Name Should Not Have Been on That Recording)
Hadrian did not sleep.
At two in the morning he sat beside Sorrel’s hotel bed while she slept beneath a white blanket with her stuffed rabbit pressed to her chest.
He had bought the rabbit in an airport in Chicago when she was two.
Claire had joked that its ears were too large.
Sorrel had adored it instantly.
Hadrian remembered Claire sitting on their kitchen counter with Sorrel in her arms.
Claire laughing.
Claire coughing.
Claire becoming thinner.
Claire insisting everything would be fine while both of them knew it would not.
Claire had died believing she had protected Sorrel financially.
Perhaps she had unknowingly placed her in someone’s sights.
Hadrian looked at the child’s smartwatch charging on the nightstand.
A soft knock came from the suite door.
Elias entered.
“I found something.”
Hadrian closed Sorrel’s bedroom door behind them.
Elias placed an old document on the living room table.
“Six months before Claire died, she amended Sorrel’s trust.”
“I know.”
“You know the public provisions.”
Hadrian frowned.
“I was executor.”
“You were grieving.”
The sentence hurt because it was true.
Elias opened the document.
“Claire added a protective voting clause.”
Hadrian scanned it.
He remembered the language vaguely.
“What am I looking for?”
“This.”
Elias pointed to a paragraph.
If Hadrian became unavailable, incapacitated, legally disqualified, or lost guardianship, Sorrel’s voting interest would not automatically pass to another family member.
It would be administered by a designated successor.
Hadrian read the name.
Jonathan Reed.
He looked up.
“That’s impossible.”
Jonathan Reed had been Claire’s personal attorney.
He had died in a boating accident almost four years earlier.
“Exactly.”
“What happens if the successor is dead?”
“The trust committee appoints an interim representative.”
Hadrian understood.
“And Vanessa wanted that role.”
“Maybe.”
“She couldn’t simply appoint herself.”
“No. But a legal guardian would have enormous influence.”
Hadrian paced.
“Who drafted the amendment?”
“Jonathan.”
“Who witnessed it?”
“Claire’s accountant and your brother.”
Hadrian stopped.
“Marcus?”
Elias nodded.
Hadrian stared at the page.
Marcus had adored Claire.
At least Hadrian had always believed he had.
“What did the man mean when he said Claire made the same mistake?”
“I don’t know.”
Hadrian took out his phone.
Marcus lived in Boston.
They spoke on birthdays.
At Christmas.
Occasionally about their aunt.
They had once been inseparable.
Then Vale Meridian had divided them.
Hadrian called.
Marcus answered after four rings.
“You know it’s two in the morning?”
“I need to ask you something.”
“That sounds promising.”
“Do you know Vanessa?”
Silence.
Not long.
Half a second.
But Hadrian heard it.
“I’ve met her.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Marcus sighed.
“I know she’s your fiancée.”
“Did you know her before I did?”
“No.”
Hadrian closed his eyes.
“Are you sure?”
“What is this about?”
“Claire.”
Another silence.
Longer.
Marcus’s voice changed.
“What about Claire?”
Hadrian watched Elias.
“Someone mentioned her tonight.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Then why are you calling me?”
“Because you witnessed Claire’s trust amendment.”
Marcus exhaled.
“I witnessed a hundred things during that year.”
“Do you remember the successor clause?”
“I remember Claire was terrified Sorrel would become a weapon in a corporate fight.”
Hadrian felt his pulse quicken.
“She said that?”
“Yes.”
“You never told me.”
“You were sleeping in hospital chairs.”
“That is not an answer.”
Marcus became quiet.
Then he said, “Claire made me promise.”
“Promise what?”
“That I would not tell you unless someone tried to use Sorrel’s shares against you.”
Hadrian gripped the phone.
“It’s happening.”
Marcus did not respond.
Hadrian continued.
“Vanessa put a shackle on Sorrel.”
“What?”
The shock sounded real.
Hadrian told him enough.
Not everything.
The chain.
The rehearsed abandonment statement.
The forged guardianship petition.
The board vote.
Marcus swore.
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“Hadrian.”
“I need answers first.”
“You think I’m involved.”
Hadrian did not deny it.
Marcus’s voice became bitter.
“Of course you do.”
“You knew about the clause.”
“So did several people.”
“The person helping Vanessa mentioned Claire.”
Marcus breathed slowly.
Then he said, “There’s something in Jonathan Reed’s old files.”
Hadrian waited.
“I thought it was destroyed.”
“What?”
“A letter.”
“From Claire?”
“Yes.”
“To whom?”
“To you.”
Hadrian’s anger vanished beneath confusion.
“I never received it.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Jonathan called me the day after Claire died.”
Hadrian sat down.
“What did he say?”
“That Claire had left instructions regarding the trust. He was supposed to deliver a sealed letter if anyone ever attempted to challenge your guardianship of Sorrel.”
Hadrian stared into the dark hotel room.
“Where is it?”
“Jonathan died before the files were transferred.”
“To whom?”
“That’s the problem.”
Marcus paused.
“His law office was purchased by another firm.”
Elias already seemed to know the answer.
He opened his laptop.
Hadrian asked anyway.
“What firm?”
Marcus said, “Hollis and Dane.”
Richard Hollis.
Vanessa’s attorney.
Hadrian slowly lowered the phone.
Elias spoke first.
“That is not a coincidence.”
“No.”
Hadrian called Marcus again before his brother could disconnect.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“Why did Claire believe someone might use Sorrel’s trust against me?”
Marcus hesitated.
May you like
Then gave him an answer Hadrian had not expected.
“Because someone already tried.”
