Chapter 3 - The Name Victoria Feared
Arthur didn’t sleep.
At 1:17 a.m., he sat at the kitchen island with his laptop open and searched the name Maya Whitmore.
At first, nothing meaningful appeared.
Corporate pages.
Old society photographs.
Charity galas.
Obituaries.
Then he searched Noah Whitmore.
Still nothing.
Maya watched from across the room.
“You won’t find us easily.”
Arthur looked up.
“Why?”
“They removed almost everything.”
“Who?”
She didn’t answer.
Noah was asleep on the couch beneath a blanket.
Arthur lowered his voice.
“Victoria’s father?”
Maya nodded.
Arthur leaned back.
Victoria’s father was Charles Vale.
Seventy-one years old.
Founder of Vale Capital.
Owner of luxury hotels, office towers, and development projects across four states.
Arthur had met him only six times during his marriage.
Charles had never raised his voice.
Never needed to.
He entered rooms like he owned the oxygen.
“What does Charles Vale have to do with your family?”
Maya stared at her hands.
“My grandfather trusted him.”
“What was your grandfather’s name?”
“Edmund Whitmore.”
Arthur typed it.
This time, results appeared immediately.
EDMUND WHITMORE, INDUSTRIALIST AND PHILANTHROPIST, DEAD AT 68.
A photograph appeared.
Arthur stopped breathing for a moment.
Edmund Whitmore stood beside Charles Vale at a hospital fundraiser.
The caption called them lifelong business partners.
Arthur scrolled.
Whitmore Aerospace.
Whitmore Medical Systems.
Whitmore Foundation.
Hundreds of millions in assets.
Then another result.
TRAGEDY STRIKES WHITMORE FAMILY: DAUGHTER KILLED IN HIGHWAY CRASH.
Arthur clicked.
The photograph showed a woman in her thirties.
Dark hair.
Gray eyes.
The resemblance to Maya was unmistakable.
“Your mother?”
Maya nodded.
“Elena Whitmore.”
The article said Elena had died eighteen months earlier after losing control of her vehicle on a rural highway.
Her two children had reportedly been placed in the temporary care of family representatives.
No names.
No photographs.
Arthur looked at Maya.
“What happened after your mother died?”
Maya hesitated.
“Mr. Vale came to the hospital.”
“Charles?”
“Yes.”
“He said Mom had named him temporary guardian if anything happened.”
“Did she?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she hated him.”
Arthur stopped typing.
“Why?”
“She said he was stealing from Grandpa.”
Maya swallowed.
“She used to tell me never to trust anybody whose smile got bigger when money was involved.”
Arthur almost smiled.
Then he noticed Maya wasn’t joking.
“What happened at the hospital?”
“They took our phones.”
“Who?”
“Mr. Vale’s people.”
Arthur’s stomach tightened.
“They said reporters might contact us. They moved us to one of his properties.”
“What property?”
“A house outside Briar Glen.”
“Were you allowed to leave?”
“No.”
“School?”
“Private tutors.”
“Friends?”
“No.”
“Calls?”
“No.”
Arthur stared at her.
“Maya, that sounds like captivity.”
“That’s what Mom called it before she died.”
Arthur frowned.
“What?”
Maya looked toward Noah.
Then lowered her voice.
“The week before the accident, Mom told me if anything happened to her, I had to find somebody named Daniel Mercer.”
“Who is that?”
“I don’t know.”
Arthur searched.
Too many results.
“What else did she say?”
“That Grandpa left something for us.”
“Money?”
“I don’t know.”
“She said Charles Vale could never be allowed to get it.”
Arthur felt a chill.
“And Victoria?”
Maya’s expression changed.
“The first time I saw her was at the Briar Glen house.”
Arthur’s fingers stopped over the keyboard.
“She was there?”
“She came three times.”
“Did she see you?”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
Maya closed her eyes.
“She told her father they should send us away before somebody recognized us.”
Arthur felt sick.
His own wife had known.
From the first night.
She had known exactly who those children were.
A knock sounded at the front door.
Maya jumped so violently her chair scraped backward.
Arthur checked the time.
1:43 a.m.
The knock came again.
Three deliberate taps.
Arthur stood.
“Stay here.”
Maya grabbed his arm.
“Don’t open it.”
“I’m not going to.”
He checked the security camera.
A man stood beneath the porch light.
Sixties.
Gray coat.
Silver hair.
No weapon visible.
He held something toward the camera.
An identification card.
Arthur zoomed in.
DANIEL MERCER.
ATTORNEY AT LAW.
Arthur turned slowly.
Maya was staring at the monitor.
Her face had gone completely white.
“That’s him.”
Arthur opened the door with the chain still secured.
“Daniel Mercer?”
The man looked exhausted.
“Arthur Cole?”
“Yes.”
“Are Maya and Noah Whitmore inside?”
Arthur didn’t answer.
Daniel exhaled.
“Good. That means I found them before Charles did.”
Arthur’s grip tightened on the door.
“What do you want?”
“To keep them alive.”
Maya appeared behind Arthur.
Daniel saw her.
His eyes filled instantly.
“Oh, thank God.”
Maya stared.
“My mom told me to find you.”
Daniel nodded.
“I know.”
He reached inside his coat.
Arthur tensed.
Daniel stopped.
“Easy. It’s paperwork.”
He removed a sealed envelope.
On the front was handwriting.
Maya’s eyes widened.
“That’s Mom’s writing.”
Daniel looked at Arthur.
“Elena gave this to me six days before she died.”
Arthur opened the door.
Daniel stepped inside.
The next words he spoke changed everything.
“Elena Whitmore did not die in an accident.”
Maya stopped breathing.
May you like
Daniel placed the envelope on the table.
“She was murdered.”
