ging in the air. Her hand tightened on the doorframe, torn betwee

oftened into something more vulnerable, and despite her better ju

ing the door behind him. The tension in the room was palpable, and Elena

m. "There are things about my father, about this estat

orm in her throat.

ou this fortune because of some random connection, Elena. He had plans-plans that involve you.

ing her thoughts. "Protect wha

re's something hidden on this estate. Something that's worth far more than a

hroat. "Killed? I thought your

y. Too healthy to just drop dead like that. He knew something was coming, something dangerou

d Hartman hadn't died of natural causes, what did that mean for he

her voice barely a whis

y father kept me in the dark about a lot of things. But I do know that whatever it is, people are

e letter she'd found in Edward's office. "Trust no

ly morphing into anger. "You've been hostile since the moment I go

all I knew, you could have been part of whatever scheme killed my father. And honestl

st. "A pawn? I didn't ask for any of this! I didn

But that doesn't change the fact that you're in the middle o

ordinary woman, barely scraping by before Edward Hartman's will had thrust her into this wor

she asked, her

t even Olivia. My father didn't trust his closest advisors, and he didn't trust me with everything either. There are too many people who stand

had seemed so helpful, so calm in the face of everything. But now,

is feet and holding out his hand. "But you have to promi

w if she could trust Daniel either, but she had no choice. She h

she said, tak

eak and groan of the old house. They passed by rooms she had never noticed before, their doors locked an

of a long corridor. He pulled a key from his pocket, glancing around to make s

caught as she

ps that covered every inch of the walls. A large table sat in the center, covered with papers, old books,

oice barely above a whisper. "He kept it hidden from everyone, even from me, un

were in languages she couldn't understand, while others seemed to reference locations she had never heard

this?" Elena asked, her voic

he thought he was protecting me, or maybe he didn't trust me. But now, I thi

oud noise echoed through the

, and he quickly moved to shut

s. Who was after them? What exactly had Edward been hiding? And mo

steps grew louder, and a shadowy figu

amiliar voic

heart poundin

as O

didn't l