Chapter 2 - the billionaire who remembered everything)
Nathan Cole remembered Grace Miller.
He remembered more than anyone knew.
The world knew Nathan as a ruthless investor who purchased failing companies and rebuilt them without sentiment.
Business magazines called him disciplined.
Competitors called him dangerous.
Employees rarely saw him smile.
But Grace remembered a different man.
And somewhere beneath the layers Nathan had built after his father’s death, that man still remembered her too.
Five years earlier, before the mansion, before Victoria, before Nathan became the controlling shareholder of Cole Meridian Group, he had met Grace at a Boston literacy fundraiser.
She had been working for an accounting firm sponsoring the event.
Nathan had been avoiding wealthy donors.
Grace had been hiding behind a decorative wall because she had spilled champagne on her shoes.
He had laughed at her.
She had told him his tie looked ridiculous.
They spent the rest of the night together.
Then several more nights.
Then weeks.
Nathan had intended to return after a business trip to London.
Grace stopped answering.
At least that was what he had been told.
His father showed him an email supposedly written by Grace.
It said she had met someone else.
It said Nathan had been entertaining but exhausting.
It ended with three words Nathan never forgot.
Do not call.
His pride had done the rest.
Years passed.
He eventually met Victoria Hayes at a merger conference in Chicago.
Victoria came from old money, understood the expectations of his world, and never appeared impressed by him.
At first, Nathan admired that.
Recently, he had begun to wonder whether he had mistaken calculation for confidence.
On the Friday Victoria had warned Grace about, Nathan’s jet landed outside Philadelphia shortly after noon.
His driver expected him.
Nathan told the man to take the afternoon off.
He rented a car instead.
He wanted silence.
He also wanted to surprise Victoria.
Their wedding was eleven weeks away, and something about the engagement had begun feeling less like a promise and more like a corporate closing.
During the drive, Nathan checked messages.
One was from Victoria.
Can’t wait until tonight. House is perfect.
Another was from his attorney.
Need to discuss amendment to the marital trust. Call ASAP.
Nathan frowned.
He had not authorized an amendment.
He called immediately.
His attorney, Jonathan Pierce, answered.
“Nathan.”
“What amendment?”
Silence.
“What?”
“You emailed me Wednesday.”
“No, I didn’t.”
Another pause.
Jonathan’s tone changed.
“The request came from your private account.”
“What did it say?”
“That after marriage, Victoria would receive immediate voting control over the residential trust in the event of temporary incapacity.”
Nathan tightened his hand around the steering wheel.
“Cancel it.”
“I already paused it because the signature request seemed unusual.”
“Send everything to me.”
“You think someone accessed your account?”
Nathan stared through the windshield.
“I don’t know.”
He did not mention Victoria.
Not yet.
When he arrived at the estate, Victoria was not there.
The house appeared strangely quiet.
Nathan entered through the front foyer.
A maid named Elena almost dropped a vase when she saw him.
“Mr. Cole.”
“You look terrified.”
“No, sir.”
“Where is Victoria?”
“She went into town.”
Nathan handed her his coat.
“Grace here?”
Elena looked toward the kitchen.
Something passed across her face.
“Yes.”
“Tell her I’d like coffee.”
Elena hesitated.
“Sir, perhaps I should—”
“Is something wrong?”
“No.”
Nathan watched her leave.
Ten minutes passed.
Grace did not appear.
Nathan entered the kitchen.
Another employee froze.
“Where’s Grace?”
“She’s working in the east pantry.”
Nathan crossed toward the pantry.
The door was locked.
He knocked.
“Grace?”
Silence.
He tried again.
The door opened two inches.
Grace looked through the gap.
For several seconds neither spoke.
Nathan had not been this close to her in almost five years.
She looked older.
Not old.
Tired.
There was a faint mark along her wrist.
“Hello, Grace.”
“Mr. Cole.”
The formality hurt more than it should have.
“I was told you worked here, but I didn’t realize it was you.”
Grace’s eyes shifted away.
“I needed work.”
“You could’ve said something.”
She gave him a strange look.
“I tried.”
Nathan frowned.
“What?”
Before Grace could answer, a tiny sound came from behind her.
A child sneezed.
Grace’s face changed instantly.
Nathan looked past her.
“Who’s in there?”
“My niece.”
“I didn’t know you had a niece.”
Grace’s fingers tightened around the door.
“She stays with me sometimes.”
Nathan heard hurried footsteps behind him.
Victoria swept into the kitchen.
“Nathan!”
She kissed him before he could respond.
“You’re early.”
“I finished ahead of schedule.”
Her eyes flicked toward Grace.
Then the locked pantry.
Then back to Nathan.
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“You did.”
Victoria wrapped her arm through his.
“Come upstairs. I have something to show you.”
Nathan looked toward Grace again.
The pantry door had already closed.
That night, Nathan woke shortly after two in the morning.
Victoria slept beside him.
He heard something in the corridor.
A child’s laugh.
Very soft.
Nathan sat up.
The sound came again.
He left the bedroom.
At the far end of the hall, a small figure disappeared around the corner.
Nathan followed.
“Hello?”
No answer.
He reached the staircase.
Nobody.
Then he noticed something lying beside the railing.
A small paper drawing.
Nathan picked it up.
Three people stood beneath a blue sky.
One figure wore a black dress.
One was a tiny girl.
The third was a tall man in a grey suit.
Above them, written in uneven childlike letters, were three words.
MOMMY
ME
DADDY
Nathan stared at the picture for a long time.
May you like
Behind him, Victoria’s voice came from the darkness.
“What are you holding?”
