Chapter 10 - The Brother No One Claimed
Lucas Vale was thirty-one, worked as a marine mechanic in Everett, and had no idea that his father was Thomas Vale.
He also had no idea that Adrian existed until Adrian showed up at his workshop with Olivia and Claire.
“This is a joke,” Lucas said.
“I wish it were,” Adrian replied.
Lucas wiped grease from his hands. He had the same gray eyes as Adrian, though his were warmer and more openly suspicious.
Claire explained the past. She had been pregnant when Thomas died. Graham had threatened her, so she arranged for Lucas to be adopted by a family in Oregon. The ledger had been hidden inside a metal case beneath the false bottom of Lucas’s childhood toy chest, which Claire had sent away with him.
“You’re telling me I’ve been carrying a fortune in stolen paperwork?” Lucas asked.
“Not stolen,” Olivia said. “Preserved.”
“That is a very expensive distinction.”
Adrian watched his brother carefully. “You don’t have to help us.”
Lucas laughed without humor. “You came to my shop and told me I’m related to a billionaire. I think I’m already involved.”
They found the toy chest in Lucas’s garage beneath fishing equipment. The false bottom opened with a pressure latch. Inside lay a metal case, a ledger wrapped in oilcloth, and a second cassette tape.
The ledger was handwritten, filled with names, dates, transfers, and signatures. At the back were the promised ownership shares, each one witnessed by Thomas Vale and Claire Parker.
Olivia ran her finger over the page marked Parker Family Grocers.
“My father didn’t abandon us,” she said.
Claire shook her head. “His name was Daniel Parker. He tried to confront Graham. Graham told him Claire and you would be harmed if he continued. Daniel left to gather evidence.”
“And then?”
“He died in a car accident outside Spokane.”
Olivia gripped the ledger. “You told me he left.”
“I wanted you to hate him instead of searching for him.”
“You made me believe I was unwanted.”
Claire’s face crumpled. “I was trying to keep you from wanting the wrong answers.”
Adrian stepped toward Olivia, then stopped before touching her. She noticed the restraint and appreciated it.
“The ledger can stop the project,” Lucas said. “Why haven’t you taken it to the police?”
“Because Graham has spent twenty-five years controlling the records, the board, and several elected officials,” Adrian said. “We need a chain of evidence that cannot be dismissed.”
Olivia looked at the ledger. “We need someone outside his control.”
“A federal investigator,” Lucas suggested.
“And a public plan,” Olivia said. “If we release the ledger alone, Graham will call it forged. We need to show what the current project would do to the families listed here.”
Adrian studied her. “You want to build a case through Northline.”
“I want to build it through the work I was hired to do.”
“Your promotion is still suspended.”
“Then I’ll earn it back.”
When Olivia returned to Northline, Elaine Brooks called her into the conference room. Jake sat beside her.
“Why is he here?” Olivia asked.
“He claims he found evidence that you accessed restricted Harbor files for personal reasons,” Elaine said.
Jake slid printed emails across the table. They appeared to show Olivia sending confidential documents to Adrian.
Olivia read the timestamps. Every email had been sent from her account during the hours she had been at Aurelia or in the secure archive.
“These are fabricated.”
Jake leaned back. “You’ve been sleeping with a client’s competitor and passing information.”
“Vale Meridian is not Northline’s competitor.”
“Then why did you meet him privately?”
“That is none of your business.”
Elaine raised a hand. “Until this is resolved, I have to place you on administrative leave.”
Olivia stood. “No.”
“Olivia—”
“I am not accepting blame for evidence someone forged.”
She gathered the emails and walked out. Her phone rang before she reached the elevator.
May you like
It was Adrian.
“The ledger is gone,” he said.
