Chapter 13 - The Groom Behind the Groom
Jason was released without charges twelve hours later.
The prosecutor claimed the recording suggested conspiracy but lacked enough context for immediate detention. Dr. Cole disappeared before police reached his clinic. Meline's father surrendered a wiped laptop.
The system moved slowly.
Rookwell did not.
Meridian Crest's lenders accelerated debt. A court filing sought bankruptcy protection. Someone leaked confidential employee pension information, causing panic across the company.
Meline spent two days meeting workers.
She walked through warehouses her father had rarely visited. She spoke to drivers, analysts, mechanics, and dispatchers. Many expected arrogance from the granddaughter who suddenly owned everything.
Instead, Meline asked what would happen if the company closed.
A mechanic named Luis showed her a photograph of his daughter in a graduation gown.
A dispatcher named Asha said three generations of her family had worked there.
A warehouse manager admitted safety repairs had been delayed because Victor diverted funds.
The company stopped being numbers.
It became lives.
Meline authorized emergency repairs, protected payroll, and opened internal records to investigators.
Her father's supporters called it weakness.
Employees called it the first honest week in years.
On the fifth day, a package arrived at Meridian Crest headquarters.
Inside was the stolen red mitten.
It had been washed.
Pinned to it was a note.
THE BRIDE MUST WEAR RED.
No fingerprints were found.
That night, Clara managed to partially decrypt the hard drive using a print lifted from Rebecca's old medical records.
The drive opened to a video archive.
Thomas Vale appeared in the most recent file.
He was old, white-haired, and unmistakably related to Meline's father. His eyes were pale and steady.
"If this message is being watched," he said, "then Eleanor is dead and the inheritance has moved."
He described Meline by name.
Not as a granddaughter.
As a successor candidate.
"There are two surviving lines," Thomas continued. "One through my daughter. One through Rebecca. The company passes to the one who proves capable of protecting Black Harbor."
Meline looked at Clara.
"This is a contest."
Clara shook her head. "It was."
The next file showed Jason sitting across from Thomas.
The date was three years earlier.
Before Jason met Meline.
Thomas said, "Approach Sydney first. She is hungry enough to cooperate. If she lacks discipline, use Meline."
Jason asked, "And marriage?"
"Whichever one controls the inheritance."
Meline felt sick.
Jason had not been assigned to Sydney.
He had been assigned to the money.
Then another man entered the frame.
Meline recognized him from company photographs.
Daniel Cross.
Evelyn's younger brother.
Evelyn went still.
Daniel had died in a car accident eight years earlier.
On the recording, he sat beside Thomas and said, "Evelyn will protect Eleanor's choice. We need someone closer."
Meline turned toward her attorney.
"Your brother worked for them."
Evelyn's face had emptied.
"I did not know."
The video continued.
Thomas placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Meline at twenty-two, standing outside a university library beside a young man whose face had been scratched away.
"She already trusts him," Thomas said. "Use that."
Meline stepped closer to the screen.
She remembered the photograph.
The man beside her had been her first love.
Noah Grant.
He vanished from her life after graduation, leaving only a message that said he had never loved her.
Meline had spent years believing the rejection was personal.
Evelyn opened another file.
May you like
A guest confirmation for the wedding appeared.
Noah Grant had accepted.
