Chapter 3: The Secret Behind the Carter Name
I stared at the message on my phone until the words stopped looking real.
*You should have left when I warned you.*
The picture beneath it was worse.
Marcus and I leaving the clinic.
My hand holding his.
My pregnant belly visible beneath my coat.
Someone had been watching us.
Someone had followed us.
And they wanted me to know.
"Emma?""
Marcus noticed my expression immediately.
"What happened?""
I didn't answer.
I simply handed him the phone.
The second he saw the photo, his face changed.
Not confusion.
Not disbelief.
Recognition.
That scared me more than the message itself.
"You know who sent this.""
It wasn't a question.
Marcus looked away.
"Marcus.""
He ran a hand through his hair.
"I don't know.""
"Don't lie to me.""
The words came out sharper than I intended.
But I was tired.
Tired of secrets.
Tired of walking into situations where everyone knew the truth except me.
He looked at me.
And I saw the guilt in his eyes.
"I have a suspicion.""
"Who?""
He didn't answer.
That was my answer.
"Eleanor.""
Marcus sat down slowly.
"I don't want to believe that.""
"But you do.""
He looked at the floor.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
The apartment felt different.
This place had always been our safe place.
Our little escape from the Carter mansion.
A place where we cooked cheap pasta on Sundays and laughed about our future.
Now even here, I felt watched.
"I need to tell you everything," Marcus finally said.
I sat across from him.
"Yes.""
He nodded.
"My mother wasn't always like this.""
I almost interrupted.
Almost.
But I stayed quiet.
Because I wanted the truth.
"When I was a kid, Eleanor was different. She was strict, but she loved us. At least I thought she did.""
He looked at the letter on the table.
"Then my father started changing.""
"Because of the company?""
"Because of what he discovered.""
My eyes narrowed.
"What did he discover?""
Marcus took a deep breath.
"My father found out money had been disappearing.""
The room went silent.
"From Carter Holdings?""
He nodded.
"Small amounts at first. So small nobody noticed.""
"Except him.""
"Except him.""
Marcus picked up the letter but didn't open it again.
"My father spent months investigating. He believed someone inside the family was taking money.""
I felt a chill.
"And he thought it was your mother?""
Marcus looked at me.
"I don't know.""
But his face said he did.
"Marcus.""
He closed his eyes.
"When I was twenty-four, my father and I had a huge fight.""
"About the company?""
"No.""
He hesitated.
"About my mother.""
I waited.
"He told me Eleanor was not the woman I thought she was.""
The words settled between us.
"What did he mean?""
Marcus looked at the photo again.
"I never found out.""
"Why?""
"Because the next day, he changed his mind.""
"Just like that?""
"No.""
Marcus's voice became quiet.
"He was afraid.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Your father was afraid of your mother?""
Marcus nodded slowly.
"He told me to stop asking questions.""
The next morning, I woke up before sunrise.
I hadn't slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the soup hitting me.
I saw Eleanor's face.
Not angry.
Not guilty.
Cold.
Like hurting me had been a decision.
Marcus was asleep beside me.
For a moment, I watched him.
The man I loved.
The man who had spent the night protecting me.
But also the man who had carried these secrets for years.
I gently got out of bed.
I needed answers.
Not from Marcus.
From the person who started all of this.
Richard Carter.
I picked up the letter again.
There was something about the way he wrote.
Something desperate.
Like he knew time was running out.
I turned the page over.
Nothing.
Then I noticed something.
A small mark at the bottom corner.
A number.
*317.*
I stared at it.
What was that?
A room number?
A code?
A clue?
Before I could think further, Marcus walked into the room.
"You didn't sleep.""
I looked up.
"Neither did you.""
He sat beside me.
"What are you thinking?""
I held up the letter.
"Your father left a clue.""
His expression changed.
"What kind of clue?""
I showed him the number.
"317.""
He frowned.
"I've seen that before.""
My heart jumped.
"Where?""
He stood up suddenly.
"The mansion.""
"What?""
"The old study.""
I followed him with my eyes.
"My father had a safe room there. A private office.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I thought it was empty.""
"Did you check?""
He hesitated.
"No.""
That hesitation told me everything.
"You knew something was there.""
Marcus looked frustrated.
"I knew my father hid things. I didn't know what.""
I stood up.
"Then we're going there.""
His eyes widened.
"No.""
The answer came too quickly.
I froze.
"Why not?""
"Because if my mother is involved, we don't know what she'll do.""
I stepped closer.
"She already threw boiling soup at me.""
Marcus went silent.
I lowered my voice.
"I'm done being scared of her.""
We arrived at the Carter mansion an hour later.
The gates opened before we even reached them.
Which meant someone knew we were coming.
Marcus noticed too.
"Stay close to me.""
I looked at him.
"You're worried.""
"Yes.""
The honesty surprised me.
Inside, everything looked exactly the same.
The polished floors.
The expensive furniture.
The family portraits.
A perfect house hiding an ugly truth.
Eleanor was waiting in the foyer.
Of course she was.
She stood there wearing a cream-colored dress, holding a cup of coffee.
Like she hadn't attacked me.
Like she hadn't threatened me.
"Marcus.""
Her voice softened.
Then her eyes moved to me.
The softness disappeared.
"Emma.""
I said nothing.
Marcus stepped forward.
"We need to talk.""
Eleanor smiled.
"About what?""
"The study.""
For the first time, her expression changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
Fear.
"You don't need to go in there.""
Marcus stared at her.
"Why?""
"Because your father is gone.""
Her voice became colder.
"Digging through his old things won't bring him back.""
Marcus didn't move.
"What are you hiding?""
Eleanor laughed quietly.
"Is that what she told you?""
I stepped forward.
"Nobody told him anything.""
Her eyes moved to mine.
"You always were more dangerous than you looked.""
I felt Marcus tense beside me.
"What does that mean?""
Eleanor ignored him.
She looked at my stomach.
"You think having that baby makes you untouchable.""
My hand instinctively moved over my belly.
"No.""
I looked directly at her.
"I think it makes you afraid.""
Her face darkened.
"You have no idea what you're involved in.""
"Then tell me.""
She didn't.
Instead, she turned away.
"Go home, Marcus.""
"No.""
The word echoed.
Eleanor stopped.
"Excuse me?""
"I said no.""
Her son had never spoken to her like that.
I could tell.
She could tell.
"I am your mother.""
"And she's my wife.""
The silence afterward was deafening.
For the first time, Eleanor looked like she had lost control.
Marcus took my hand.
"We're going to the study.""
She didn't stop us.
That scared me.
The old study was at the end of the east hallway.
A room nobody used anymore.
The door was locked.
Marcus pulled out a key from his wallet.
I looked at him.
"You had the key?""
"My father gave it to me.""
"When?""
"Two days before our wedding.""
My eyes widened.
"And you never opened it?""
He shook his head.
"I thought he wanted me to wait.""
The lock clicked.
The door opened slowly.
Dust covered everything.
Old books.
Documents.
A desk facing the window.
Marcus walked inside.
I followed.
For several minutes, we searched.
Nothing.
No safe.
No hidden files.
No answers.
Then I noticed something.
A photograph on the wall.
A family photo.
Richard.
Eleanor.
Marcus.
But someone had been removed.
There was a torn space beside Marcus.
"Marcus.""
He looked.
His face changed.
"That's impossible.""
"What?""
He touched the empty space.
"My sister.""
I turned toward him.
"Sister?""
He looked confused.
"Emma... I never told you about her because...""
He stopped.
"Because what?""
Before he could answer, a sound came from behind us.
The door closed.
Slowly.
Then locked.
I grabbed Marcus's arm.
"Someone's here.""
A voice came from the other side.
Eleanor.
"Some secrets should have stayed buried.""
My blood ran cold.
Marcus rushed to the door.
"Mom!""
Her voice was calm.
Almost gentle.
"You're finally asking the right questions.""
A pause.
Then she said something that made Marcus freeze.
Something that made my entire body go cold.
"Your sister didn't disappear, Marcus.""
Silence.
May you like
Then Eleanor whispered:
"She was the reason your father changed his will in the first place.""
