Chapter 5 - The Pages in Sienna’s Pocket
Sienna backed away from Clara.
“What are you looking at?”
“The paper in your pocket.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Take it out.”
“You don’t get to order me around.”
Clara stepped toward the phone.
“I’ll call security.”
Sienna’s confidence cracked.
She pulled out three folded pages.
The paper was old and covered in August Sterling’s handwriting.
Clara took them.
“Where did you get these?”
“Adrian gave them to me.”
“When?”
“Before we boarded.”
“He told you to bring them onto the ship?”
Sienna nodded reluctantly.
“He said airport scanners might damage them.”
Clara almost admired the stupidity of the excuse.
“What did he say they were?”
“Proof that Grandpa wanted the trust divided.”
Clara opened the first page.
It was not a will.
It was a list of payments made to a company called Vale Strategic Acquisitions.
Adrian’s surname.
The payments began eleven years earlier, shortly after August’s death.
The second page recorded unauthorized attempts to replace Clara as beneficiary.
The third contained one unfinished sentence.
If Richard succeeds in placing Vale inside the family, control will pass beyond recovery unless Clara identifies the silent partner before the final voyage.
Clara looked at Sienna’s engagement ring.
“Adrian didn’t meet you by accident.”
Sienna shook her head.
“He loves me.”
“He targeted our family.”
“You’ve hated him from the beginning.”
“I barely knew him.”
“You hated that he chose me.”
The accusation was so familiar that Clara almost responded defensively.
Instead, she held out the page.
“Read the last sentence.”
Sienna refused.
“Read it.”
Sienna grabbed the paper.
Her eyes moved across the handwriting.
Her face slowly changed.
“Vale could mean someone else.”
“His company received payments from Dad.”
“Adrian doesn’t own a company.”
“Then ask him.”
Sienna pulled out her phone.
Clara caught her wrist.
“Do not warn him.”
“Let go.”
“If Adrian is attempting to access restricted systems, security needs to find him before he knows we understand.”
“You’re trying to turn me against my fiancé.”
“No. I’m trying to keep him from using you.”
Sienna tore her arm free.
“You always do this.”
“Do what?”
“Make me feel stupid.”
Clara stared at her.
“I spent half my life protecting you from feeling anything unpleasant.”
“And reminding everyone how much you sacrificed.”
“I never reminded anyone. That was the problem.”
The words landed harder than either sister expected.
Sienna’s eyes filled, but anger came first.
“You think you’re better than us because Grandpa chose you.”
“I think Grandpa was afraid of Dad.”
“That’s insane.”
“Then why did Dad forge my signature?”
Sienna looked away.
“Why did he tell Adrian to pretend to be my husband?”
No answer.
“Why did Adrian give you stolen pages?”
Sienna’s phone rang.
ADRIAN appeared on the screen.
Clara shook her head.
Sienna answered anyway.
“Where are you?” she asked.
Adrian’s voice was faint but audible.
“Executive deck. I need the compass.”
Sienna looked at Clara’s necklace.
“What compass?”
“Don’t play games. Clara has it.”
Sienna swallowed.
“Why do you need it?”
A pause.
Then Adrian’s voice hardened.
“Because your father has already lost control of the plan.”
Clara took the phone.
“What plan?”
Silence.
“Adrian?”
He laughed softly.
“So the forgotten daughter finally opened the door.”
“You submitted a false marriage certificate.”
“Technically, Richard’s people submitted it.”
“You used my identity.”
“I used a path prepared years ago.”
Clara motioned for the concierge to alert security.
Adrian continued.
“You should ask why your grandfather’s trust requires you to identify a silent partner. Men like August Sterling never built empires alone.”
“Where are you?”
“Close enough to watch your penthouse cameras.”
Clara’s eyes moved toward the ceiling.
The tiny black dome in the corner rotated.
“Captain Moreau believes this ship answers to him,” Adrian said. “Your father believes the trust belongs to him. Sienna believes love makes her important.”
Sienna flinched.
“And what do you believe?” Clara asked.
“That bloodlines are stories rich families tell to keep thieves from recognizing each other.”
The camera light turned red.
Clara tore the power cable from the wall.
Adrian’s voice continued through the phone.
“You have the pendant. I have the missing half of the ledger.”
Clara looked at the three pages.
“These aren’t half.”
“No. They were bait.”
An alarm sounded in the corridor.
The penthouse doors automatically locked.
The lights dimmed.
Captain Moreau’s voice came over the emergency speakers.
“Security lockdown on decks eleven through fourteen.”
Adrian spoke one final sentence.
“Bring the compass to the old navigation room in twenty minutes, or your parents will learn what happens when a financial guarantee disappears in international waters.”
The call ended.
Sienna stared at Clara.
“He threatened Mom and Dad.”
“He threatened all of us.”
“What are you going to do?”
May you like
Clara placed the phone on the table.
“For once, I’m not going to rescue everyone before they tell me the truth.”
