Chapter 3 - THE BROTHER NO ONE KNEW EXISTED
Damon's brother had been erased so completely that Tessa began wondering whether Damon had erased him himself.
His name was Adrian Vale.
At least, according to Clara.
Damon refused to speak about him.
They moved to a private conference room while security cleared the ballroom.
Tessa sat across from Damon.
Clara stood by the window.
“You owe me an explanation,” Tessa said.
Damon stared at the table.
“Adrian was my younger brother.”
“Was?”
“I don't know where he is.”
“He was in your hotel.”
“I know.”
“He ran from you.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Damon's silence stretched.
Finally, Clara spoke.
“Because Damon believed Adrian was responsible for Meridian.”
Damon's head snapped toward her.
“Stop.”
“No.”
Clara turned toward Tessa.
“Adrian had access to the engineering files.”
“So did hundreds of employees.”
“He had access to everything.”
Damon leaned forward.
“Adrian was twenty-four.”
“He was brilliant.”
“He was unstable.”
“He was betrayed.”
Tessa looked between them.
“What happened?”
Damon exhaled.
“Adrian discovered the stolen designs.”
“And?”
“He tried to expose them.”
Clara continued.
“And someone framed him.”
Tessa looked at Damon.
“Did you believe him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because the evidence pointed to him.”
“Was it real?”
Damon looked away.
“No.”
That answer landed like a slap.
“You knew?”
“I learned later.”
“When?”
“After Meridian.”
“And what did you do?”
“I tried to find him.”
Clara laughed bitterly.
“You tried to find his body.”
Damon's eyes flashed.
“I spent six years looking for him.”
“After declaring him dead?”
“I had no choice.”
“There is always a choice.”
Tessa stood.
“This is insane.”
She walked to the window.
Below, Chicago glittered.
She had spent years designing buildings.
She believed structures failed for reasons.
Bad calculations.
Bad materials.
Bad decisions.
But people?
People could collapse for reasons no blueprint could explain.
“What does Adrian want?” she asked.
Damon answered.
“Revenge.”
Clara shook her head.
“No.”
“What, then?”
“The truth.”
Tessa turned.
“What's the difference?”
Clara looked at her.
“Revenge wants you to suffer.”
“The truth wants everyone to know why.”
Damon stood.
“Clara, enough.”
She looked at him.
“You've spent six years controlling the narrative.”
“I was protecting the company.”
“You were protecting your name.”
Damon's expression hardened.
“My name kept people alive.”
Clara stared at him.
“Then why did your name appear on the orders?”
Tessa's attention snapped toward them.
“What orders?”
Clara pulled another document from her bag.
Damon walked toward her.
“Where did you get that?”
“From Adrian.”
She handed it to Tessa.
It was an internal authorization.
Damon's signature appeared at the bottom.
Tessa looked up.
“This says you approved the Meridian structural changes.”
“I didn't.”
“But that's your signature.”
“It's forged.”
“Can you prove it?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“The original is in my archive.”
Clara smiled.
“Then let's retrieve it.”
Damon shook his head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because the archive was destroyed.”
Tessa frowned.
“Destroyed when?”
“Six years ago.”
She looked at the document again.
Something bothered her.
The paper.
The formatting.
The approval code.
“Damon.”
“Yes?”
“This isn't six years old.”
Clara stopped smiling.
“What?”
Tessa pointed.
“Your company changed authorization codes after Meridian.”
Damon stared.
“This document uses the new code.”
Silence.
“So whoever forged it,” Tessa continued, “did it recently.”
Damon's eyes darkened.
“Meaning someone is rebuilding the old case.”
Clara nodded.
“Exactly.”
“Why?”
“To destroy you.”
Damon looked at Tessa.
“And you.”
She froze.
“Why me?”
“Because you renovated this hotel.”
“I don't understand.”
Clara moved closer.
“Someone needs access to the Alder Crown's original infrastructure.”
Tessa suddenly remembered the missing foundation report.
The altered plans.
The fake Marcus Bell.
The service corridor.
Her heart pounded.
“There's something underneath the hotel.”
Damon's expression changed.
“What?”
“I don't know.”
Clara whispered,
“Yes, there is.”
Damon looked at her.
“You knew?”
“I found it before I disappeared.”
“What is it?”
Clara reached into her bag.
“A vault.”
Tessa frowned.
“A financial vault?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Clara looked at Damon.
“A record vault.”
Damon went completely still.
“That's impossible.”
“It's underneath the original foundation.”
“Who built it?”
Clara smiled.
“Your father.”
Damon's face lost color.
Tessa stared.
“You never mentioned your father.”
Damon whispered,
“My father died when I was nineteen.”
Clara nodded.
“And he left behind evidence of everything.”
The lights flickered again.
Then every phone in the room received a message.
Tessa's screen lit up.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES TO FIND THE VAULT.
May you like
A second message appeared.
OR THE BUILDING FALLS.
