Chapter 4 - The Key Around Her Neck
They left the chapel through a side entrance.
The veterans formed a protective perimeter.
Nora walked between David and Julian while Evelyn stayed close behind.
Charles remained inside.
For the first time in Nora's life, she left her father behind.
She didn't look back.
The black SUV was gone.
But David's men found tire tracks leading toward the highway.
Julian opened the door of a dark sedan.
Nora hesitated.
She looked at him.
I don't know if I can trust you.
Julian nodded.
I know.
Then why should I get in?
Because if you stay here, my family will find you before you find the truth.
Nora looked at Evelyn.
Her mother gave a small nod.
They drove.
For nearly twenty minutes, nobody spoke.
Then Nora broke the silence.
What happened between you and my father?
Evelyn looked out the window.
Your father loved me once.
Nora looked surprised.
Charles?
Yes.
He wasn't always cruel.
Then what changed?
Money.
Power.
Fear.
Evelyn looked at her.
Your father believed he could control everything.
When your grandfather died, Charles thought he would inherit the entire empire.
But there was a second heir.
Who?
You.
Nora stared at her.
Me?
Your grandfather changed his will shortly before his death.
Charles wasn't supposed to control the family foundation.
You were.
Nora shook her head.
That doesn't make sense.
You were a child.
Exactly.
Evelyn touched the pendant.
Your grandfather created a trust in your name.
A trust that could not be accessed until you turned thirty.
Nora's heart skipped.
I'm twenty-nine.
Julian looked at her.
Your thirtieth birthday is in three months.
Nora suddenly understood.
That's why today.
Evelyn nodded.
Your father needed to control your marriage before your thirtieth birthday.
Why?
Because if you married Julian, control of certain assets would change.
Nora looked at Julian.
You knew?
Julian shook his head.
Not all of it.
My father left me instructions.
What instructions?
Julian looked down.
He told me never to marry you for the money.
Nora's eyes widened.
So you knew there was money.
I knew there was something.
Then why marry me?
Julian's voice softened.
Because I loved you before I knew any of this.
Nora looked away.
She wasn't ready to hear that.
The car stopped.
They had arrived at an abandoned warehouse.
David got out first.
He looked around.
Too quiet.
Julian opened the warehouse door.
Inside were rows of old storage containers.
They walked to the far end.
Julian stopped at a rusted metal door.
He entered a code.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Nora looked at her pendant.
Maybe it's the key.
Julian stared at her.
He took the pendant gently.
There was a small indentation beneath the lock.
The pendant fit perfectly.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
Inside was a room filled with boxes.
Photographs.
Bank records.
Letters.
Newspapers.
And one enormous wall covered with photographs of Nora.
Every school she attended.
Every apartment she rented.
Every job she had.
Every person she had dated.
Nora stepped backward.
Someone had been watching her.
For twenty-five years.
Then she saw the newest photograph.
It had been taken that morning.
Nora standing at the chapel entrance.
May you like
Underneath it was a handwritten sentence.
She's finally old enough.
