Chapter 1 - The Name I Buried
The moment I said my father's name, Reid stopped breathing.
Not metaphorically.
Actually stopped.
For four years, I had watched my husband remain calm through hostile takeovers, lawsuits, shareholder rebellions, and even the death of his grandfather.
I had never seen fear on his face.
Until that moment.
“Warren Bellamy?” Marjorie whispered.
I turned my head toward her.
She looked as though someone had pulled the floor out from underneath her.
Tessa's expression was different.
She was confused.
“Who is Warren Bellamy?” she asked.
Reid looked at her.
Then at me.
“You lied to me.”
My ribs screamed when I laughed.
“You should probably be more specific.”
“You told me your father was dead.”
“I told you my father was dead to me.”
Reid stared at me.
“You knew exactly what I meant.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me who you were.”
“No.”
Tessa stepped forward.
“Reid, what is happening?”
He ignored her.
His eyes remained fixed on mine.
“Bellamy.”
I nodded.
“Bellamy.”
Marjorie's handbag slipped from her fingers.
It hit the hospital floor.
She stared at me as if she had suddenly recognized a ghost.
“You're Warren Bellamy's daughter.”
I looked at her.
“You knew my father?”
Her mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
That was answer enough.
The hospital room door opened.
Nolan Pierce entered.
He was sixty-two, silver-haired, perfectly dressed, and carrying the same black leather briefcase he had carried for my father for almost thirty years.
He looked at my hospital bed.
Then at the broken check scattered across the blanket.
His face hardened.
“Miss Bellamy.”
I nodded.
“It's been a long time.”
Nolan walked toward me.
Then he did something that made Reid's entire body stiffen.
He bowed.
Not deeply.
Just enough.
But enough.
“Your father is waiting.”
Reid stepped forward.
“She's not going anywhere.”
Nolan looked at him.
For the first time, Nolan's expression became almost amused.
“Mr. Kessler, you may want to reconsider the number of things you believe you still control.”
Reid's jaw tightened.
“This is my wife.”
“No,” Nolan said quietly.
He looked at me.
“This is Warren Bellamy's daughter.”
The distinction landed like a weapon.
Tessa finally found her voice.
“Reid, who are these people?”
I looked at her.
“You should have asked that before you pushed me down the stairs.”
Her face drained.
“You can't prove that.”
I smiled.
“No.”
I reached for the phone beside my bed.
“But the cameras can.”
Tessa froze.
Reid's eyes narrowed.
“The security footage was destroyed.”
“Was it?”
His silence answered me.
I turned to Nolan.
“Did you get the copy?”
“Yes.”
Reid stepped toward him.
“You stole footage from my property?”
Nolan smiled.
“No, Mr. Kessler. You made the mistake of assuming your security system belonged to you.”
Reid stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
“It means,” Nolan said, “that the security system was installed under a Bellamy trust.”
The room went silent.
I closed my eyes.
Four years.
Four years of hiding.
Four years of pretending I was ordinary.
Four years of believing that if I gave Reid a wife without a famous surname, he might love me without wanting something from me.
Instead, he had used my silence as permission.
Nolan opened his briefcase.
He removed a thin folder.
“Your father sent this.”
I swallowed.
“What is it?”
“Your marriage agreement.”
I frowned.
“My prenuptial agreement?”
“No.”
Nolan placed it on the bed.
“Your father's private protection agreement.”
I opened it.
My hands shook.
The first page contained one sentence.
If Audrey Bellamy is ever physically harmed by her husband or anyone acting under his authority, Bellamy Holdings will immediately activate Clause Seven.
I stared at the words.
“What is Clause Seven?”
Nolan looked toward Reid.
“You'll find out tomorrow morning.”
Reid stepped closer.
“You think you can threaten me?”
Nolan didn't even blink.
“No.”
He closed the briefcase.
“We don't need to threaten you.”
Then he looked at me.
“We simply need to stop protecting you from the consequences.”
My phone vibrated.
One message.
From an unknown Boston number.
YOUR FATHER KNOWS EVERYTHING.
Another message arrived.
INCLUDING WHAT REID DID BEFORE HE MET YOU.
I stared at the screen.
My stomach dropped.
There were photographs attached.
I opened the first.
Reid.
Five years earlier.
Standing outside a Boston hotel.
With another woman.
Not Tessa.
A second photograph.
Reid entering the hotel.
A third.
A fourth.
Then the final image.
A document.
A signature.
Reid's signature.
Underneath it was a name I had never seen before.
Audrey Bellamy.
But the document was dated six months before I had met Reid.
My blood ran cold.
I looked at Nolan.
“What's this?”
His expression changed.
“That,” he said, “is why your father wants you home.”
I stared at the document.
“What did Reid sign?”
Nolan hesitated.
May you like
Then he said the words that changed everything.
“An agreement promising to destroy Bellamy Holdings.”
