At two in the morning, Manuel and Rosalie entered Emmett’s private study.
The estate was silent.
Rosalie knew exactly where to look.
Her mother had once told her something strange.
“Your father keeps his most important secrets behind beautiful things.”
Rosalie stood in front of an enormous portrait of Lorelei.
She touched the frame.
Nothing.
Manuel searched the wall.
Then he noticed a tiny indentation beneath the portrait.
He pressed it.
Click.
The entire frame shifted.
Rosalie’s breath caught.
Behind the portrait was a narrow door.
A keyhole sat in the center.
She slowly removed the key from Manuel’s hand.
It fit perfectly.
The lock turned.
Inside was a small room.
No windows.
No furniture except a metal cabinet.
Rosalie opened it.
Inside were dozens of folders.
She pulled out the first.
Her mother’s name was written across it.
LORELEI DURHAM — MEDICAL HISTORY
Rosalie’s hands began shaking.
She opened it.
The first page contained a medical report dated two weeks before her mother’s death.
Rosalie read it aloud.
“Patient reports fear of husband and claims husband has threatened her life.”
Manuel looked at her.
“Your mother knew.”
Rosalie continued.
Another document.
Another.
Then a photograph.
Lorelei was standing beside a doctor Rosalie had never seen before.
On the back of the photograph was a handwritten note.
He knows about the account. If anything happens to me, the evidence is inside the bank box.
Rosalie’s heart stopped.
“The bank box.”
Manuel looked at her.
“Where?”
She turned another page.
And froze.
A copy of a bank document listed the contents of a safety-deposit box.
There was one item:
Original Durham Family Trust Agreement.
Manuel frowned.
“Why would your father hide the trust agreement?”
Rosalie stared at the document.
“Because my mother was the original beneficiary.”
“What does that mean?”
Rosalie’s face went pale.
“It means my father may not own what everyone thinks he owns.”
Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside.
Someone was coming.
Manuel grabbed the folders.
“Hide.”
They stepped behind the cabinet.
The door opened.
Emmett walked into the room.
He was not alone.
A man followed him.
Rosalie recognized him immediately.
Dr. Adrian Vale.
The physician who had signed the documents declaring her mentally unstable.
Emmett closed the door.
“She’s found the key,” he said.
Dr. Vale’s voice was cold.
“Then the marriage must end before she reaches the bank.”
Part 4 — The Man Who Was Supposed to Control Her
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