Chapter 2: The Secret Account
Vanessa stared at her phone like it had become a weapon.
For the first time since I met her, she wasn’t controlling the room.
She wasn’t adjusting her expression.
She wasn’t calculating the perfect response.
She was scared.
And that frightened me more than anything else I had seen that night.
“Who sent that message?”” I asked again.
Vanessa slipped her phone into the pocket of her dress.
“No one important.””
I almost laughed.
No one important.
That was the kind of answer people gave when the truth was too dangerous to say out loud.
“Interesting,” I said.
Her eyes narrowed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?””
“It means you were just accused of tying a woman to a column, threatening her with a lighter, and now you’re receiving mysterious messages about an account.””
Her face hardened.
“You’re twisting things.””
“No. I’m connecting them.””
The sound of Maria quietly crying filled the silence.
I looked over at her.
“Stay here. I’m going to get you untied.””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Don’t.””
I stopped.
Slowly, I turned back.
“Excuse me?””
Her lips tightened.
“I mean… don’t make this bigger than it is.””
“Bigger than it is?””
“Yes.””
She pointed toward Maria.
“She’s a housekeeper, Elijah. She’s not your responsibility.””
The words landed harder than I expected.
Not because they surprised me.
Because they confirmed something I had refused to believe for months.
Vanessa didn’t just have a problem with Maria.
She had a problem with anyone she considered beneath her.
I walked to the fireplace and picked up the small decorative knife sitting beside a candle display.
Vanessa watched me carefully.
“What are you doing?””
“Cutting the rope.””
“You’re really going to do this?””
I looked at her.
“Yes.””
The knife sliced through the rope.
Maria’s arms dropped forward, and she gasped in pain.
I immediately helped her sit down.
“Take your time.””
“I’m sorry, Mr. Mercer,” she whispered.
“For what?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“For causing problems.””
I froze.
“Maria.””
She looked up.
“You didn’t cause this.””
“But Miss Vanessa—”
“Vanessa made a choice.””
Maria lowered her gaze.
“She’s been different lately.””
That caught my attention.
“What do you mean?””
She hesitated.
Vanessa immediately interrupted.
“Don’t.””
Maria looked afraid again.
Not of me.
Of Vanessa.
I noticed.
“Maria,” I said gently, “tell me what you mean.””
The older woman twisted her hands together.
“For the past few months, Miss Vanessa has been asking questions.””
“What kind of questions?””
“About your business.””
My expression changed.
“What questions?””
“She asked how much money you kept in personal accounts. She asked which employees had access to your private office. She asked where your father kept important documents.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
Vanessa crossed her arms.
“This is ridiculous.””
I ignored her.
“Maria, why didn’t you tell me?””
She looked down.
“Because she was going to be your wife.””
The answer hurt more than I expected.
Because Maria had known something I hadn’t.
She had seen the cracks.
I had only seen the painting.
Vanessa walked toward us.
“You’re seriously listening to this?””
I stood.
“Yes.””
Her expression turned angry.
“After everything I’ve done for you?””
I stared at her.
“What have you done for me?””
The question surprised her.
“What?””
“You heard me.””
She laughed bitterly.
“I supported you.””
“You attended events.””
“I stood beside you.””
“You stood beside my name.””
Her face changed.
“You don’t mean that.””
I wanted to say I didn’t.
A year ago, I would have.
A year ago, I would have softened the blow because I hated hurting people.
But tonight had changed something.
I had walked into my own home and found the woman I loved behaving like someone I didn’t recognize.
“I need the truth,” I said.
Vanessa looked away.
“You think I’m some kind of monster.””
“I think I don’t know you.””
That silence was louder than any argument.
Then my phone rang.
Daniel.
I answered immediately.
“Tell me.””
His voice was careful.
“Mr. Mercer, I accessed the security system.””
“And?””
“There’s something you need to see.””
I looked at Vanessa.
“What?””
Daniel paused.
“Before I explain, I need to ask something.””
“What?””
“Are you alone?””
I glanced around the room.
Vanessa.
Maria.
The house we had planned to raise a family in.
“No.””
Another pause.
“Then don’t say anything important over the phone.””
My grip tightened.
“Send it.””
“I already did.””
My phone buzzed.
A video file appeared.
Recorded from one of the cameras inside my home.
The timestamp was two weeks earlier.
I pressed play.
At first, it showed the empty study.
My study.
The room where I kept business documents, contracts, and personal files.
Then the door opened.
Vanessa walked in.
I stopped breathing.
She looked around carefully.
She wasn’t searching for something she had lost.
She was searching for something she wanted.
She opened drawers.
Checked folders.
Unlocked cabinets.
Then she pulled out a small black notebook.
My father’s notebook.
The one I kept locked away.
My jaw tightened.
Vanessa noticed my expression.
“What?””
I turned the phone toward her.
“Explain.””
She looked at the screen.
And for a brief second…
Nothing.
No excuse.
No performance.
Just fear.
Then she recovered.
“You’re spying on me?””
I almost smiled.
That was her defense.
Not denial.
Not confusion.
Anger.
“You were inside my private office.””
“Because I was looking for something.””
“What?””
She looked at Maria.
Then back at me.
“I wanted to know what you were hiding.””
I stared at her.
“What I was hiding?””
“Yes.””
She stepped closer.
“You never tell me anything. You disappear for days. You make decisions worth hundreds of millions of dollars and expect me to just smile beside you.””
“That’s what this is about?””
“Maybe.””
Her voice rose.
“Maybe I wanted to know if I was marrying a man who actually trusted me.””
The words were almost convincing.
Almost.
Then I remembered the rope.
The lighter.
The message.
The account.
“Who is he?””
Her face went still.
“What?””
“The person who texted you.””
“No one.””
“Wrong answer.””
She looked away.
I took out my phone again.
The message was still there.
*He knows about the account.*
“Vanessa.””
No response.
“Who is he?””
Her silence told me everything.
Maria whispered, “Mr. Mercer…”
I turned toward her.
“There’s something else.””
Vanessa’s head snapped around.
“Maria, don’t.””
Maria swallowed.
“I found something.””
“What?””
The older woman reached into the pocket of her apron.
She pulled out a small envelope.
“I found it while cleaning the study.””
Vanessa moved quickly.
Too quickly.
“Give that to me.””
I stepped between them.
“No.””
Her eyes flashed.
“Elaijah, you don’t understand.””
“No.””
I took the envelope.
“I don’t.””
Inside was a printed bank statement.
My name was nowhere on it.
But Vanessa’s was.
I read the first line.
Then the second.
Then the third.
My hands went cold.
Because it wasn’t a normal account.
It was a private investment account.
An account receiving monthly transfers.
From a company I owned.
Mercer Aerospace.
I looked at the dates.
The payments started eleven months ago.
Right after Vanessa moved into my house.
My eyes lifted.
“Why is my company sending money to you?””
Vanessa said nothing.
For the first time all night, she had no answer ready.
I looked at Maria.
“Where did you find this?””
“In the back of the desk drawer.””
My mind raced.
Someone had been moving money.
Someone had access.
Someone knew enough about my company to hide it.
Then I noticed something else.
A signature at the bottom of the statement.
A name.
A name I recognized.
A name I never expected to see connected to Vanessa.
I read it again.
And my entire body went still.
Because the person who approved the transfers…
Wasn’t Vanessa.
It was my closest business partner.
My best friend.
Daniel Cross.
The same man who had just called me.
The same man who had access to everything.
My phone rang again.
Daniel.
This time, I didn’t answer.
I looked at Vanessa.
She looked at the phone.
Then at the document in my hand.
And quietly said something that made my blood run cold.
“Elijah… you need to listen to him.””
I stared at her.
“Why?””
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“Because Daniel isn’t the one who should be afraid of being exposed.””
The phone continued ringing.
May you like
And then Vanessa said the one thing I never expected.
“He’s been trying to warn you about me for months.””
