Chapter 5 - The Security Chief Who Wasn't Surprised|
Bennett didn't move when Lily said his name.
That frightened Roman more than anything.
His daughter stood between him and Evie, clutching her stuffed rabbit.
Her voice had grown small.
“Mr. Bennett was there.”
Roman slowly turned toward his security chief.
“You were at the warehouse?”
Bennett's expression remained calm.
“Boss, the child was four. Memories from that age aren't always reliable.”
Roman looked back at Lily.
“Sweetheart, are you sure?”
She nodded.
“He had the silver watch.”
Bennett glanced down at his wrist.
A silver watch sat beneath his cuff.
Roman noticed.
Lily continued.
“He told Mommy to stop asking questions.”
Evie closed her eyes.
She remembered those words.
Not from Lily.
From Grace.
Three nights before the fire, Grace had called Evie in tears.
She said she'd found documents showing shipments that didn't match the company's records.
She said Bennett had warned her to stop looking.
Evie had begged her to go to Roman.
But Grace refused.
She wanted proof first.
Now Roman stared at Bennett.
“Why didn't you tell me you were there?”
Bennett sighed.
“Because I wasn't inside when the fire started.”
“That wasn't my question.”
The security chief's jaw tightened.
“I supervised the evacuation.”
Roman looked toward Evie.
She shook her head.
“No.”
Bennett's eyes narrowed.
Evie continued.
“You weren't helping anyone evacuate.”
Roman turned.
“Then what was he doing?”
She swallowed.
“He was trying to get the documents from Grace.”
The room fell silent.
Bennett laughed bitterly.
“That's a convenient story from a woman who disappeared after the incident.”
Evie looked directly at him.
“I disappeared because somebody tried to kill me.”
Roman stopped breathing.
“What?”
Evie swallowed.
“After I got Lily out, I went back for Grace.”
Her voice broke.
“I found her near the office. She was injured, but conscious.”
Roman stared.
“You saw her alive?”
Evie nodded.
“Yes.”
His eyes filled.
“What happened?”
“Bennett was there.”
She looked toward the security chief.
“He told me to leave.”
Bennett shook his head.
“That's a lie.”
Evie continued.
“I refused. I tried to get Grace toward the exit.”
Her voice trembled.
“Then someone hit me from behind.”
Roman's expression changed.
“When I woke up, I was in a hospital under another name.”
Lily began crying.
Evie immediately turned toward her.
“Sweetheart, it's okay.”
Roman held his daughter.
Then looked toward Bennett.
“Who took Evie to the hospital?”
Bennett shrugged.
“I have no idea.”
Roman stared.
“Who arranged the investigation?”
“My predecessor handled it.”
“Who?”
Bennett hesitated.
“Your father.”
Roman went completely still.
Then Evie spoke quietly.
“Grace had copies of the records.”
Roman turned.
“Where?”
“She hid them somewhere before the fire.”
“What records?”
“Payments. Warehouse transfers. Insurance claims. Something involving a company called Northline Freight.”
Bennett's face changed.
Roman noticed.
Northline Freight was one of his father's oldest businesses.
A company Roman had closed two years after the fire because its finances never made sense.
He looked toward Bennett.
“Leave the room.”
The security chief stared.
“Boss?”
“Now.”
Bennett looked toward Evie.
Then at Lily.
For one second, something cold flashed across his face.
Roman stepped forward.
“Don't make me repeat myself.”
Bennett left.
Roman turned toward Evie.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he looked toward Lily.
“Sweetheart, would you go upstairs with Mrs. Alvarez?”
The little girl hesitated.
“Is Aunt Mercy leaving?”
Evie's heart tightened.
Roman looked at her.
“Not tonight.”
Lily smiled faintly.
Then hugged Evie.
“Promise?”
Evie swallowed.
“I promise I'll tell you before I go anywhere.”
Lily nodded.
When she was gone, Roman turned toward the woman standing beside his fireplace.
For six years, he'd imagined finding Evelyn Mercer.
He'd pictured a coward.
A liar.
Someone who'd abandoned his wife.
Instead, he was looking at a woman his daughter trusted more than almost anyone.
“Why didn't you come to me?” he whispered.
Evie's eyes filled.
“I tried.”
Roman stared.
“What?”
“I called your office. I wrote letters. I went to the estate gates.”
Her voice broke.
“Every time, Bennett stopped me.”
Roman's expression changed.
She continued.
“He told me you wanted me dead.”
Silence.
“I believed him.”
Roman lowered his head.
Then Evie reached into her bag.
She removed a folded photograph.
Grace stood beside Lily, smiling.
On the back was a handwritten message.
Roman recognized his wife's handwriting immediately.
Mercy knows where I put the truth.
Roman stared at the words.
Then slowly looked up.
“What does that mean?”
May you like
Evie swallowed.
“I've spent six years trying to find out.”
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