Chapter 4 - THE WATCH THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN BURIED
The warehouse was in Brooklyn.
Sophia knew the neighborhood.
Her father had brought her there once when she was seventeen.
She remembered the smell of rain on concrete.
The rusty fire escape.
The old brick buildings.
Alexander insisted on bringing security.
Sophia argued.
He won.
Not because he was a billionaire.
Because for the first time, she understood that he wasn't treating her like an employee.
He was treating her like someone whose safety mattered.
They arrived shortly after midnight.
The warehouse door was open.
Inside, the lights were on.
No Victoria.
No stranger.
No trap that they could see.
Then they found the table.
Sophia stopped.
Her father's black notebook sat in the center.
Beside it was the silver watch.
She approached slowly.
“Don't touch it,” Alexander said.
“I have to.”
Sophia reached out.
The watch was cold.
Real.
Old.
She turned it over.
A tiny engraving appeared on the back.
M.R. — M.A.
She stared.
“Those are my father's initials.”
Alexander pointed.
“And the other?”
Sophia shook her head.
“I don't know.”
A sound came from the far side of the warehouse.
Both turned.
A man stepped into the light.
He was in his late fifties.
Gray hair.
Dark coat.
Calm expression.
“My name is Thomas Bell.”
Alexander immediately recognized him.
“Bellweather Consulting.”
Thomas nodded.
“Yes.”
Sophia stepped forward.
“You knew my father.”
“I did.”
“Why was he killed?”
Thomas looked at Alexander.
“Because he found something he shouldn't have.”
“What?”
“The Ashford Black List.”
Alexander's expression tightened.
“My family doesn't have such a thing.”
Thomas smiled sadly.
“Your family didn't create it.”
“Then who did?”
“Someone who understood that rich people fear exposure more than they fear the law.”
Sophia looked at the notebook.
“My father found names.”
“Yes.”
“And someone wanted those names.”
“Yes.”
“Victoria?”
Thomas shook his head.
“No.”
Sophia frowned.
“Then why is she involved?”
“Because Victoria is not who you think she is.”
Alexander's expression changed.
“What does that mean?”
Thomas reached into his coat.
He pulled out a photograph.
Victoria stood beside a younger woman.
Sophia didn't recognize the woman.
Alexander did.
“That's my mother.”
Thomas nodded.
“Elizabeth Ashford.”
Sophia looked at him.
“Your mother?”
Alexander stared at the photograph.
“My mother died twelve years ago.”
“She did.”
“Then why is she in a photograph from six years ago?”
Thomas looked at him.
“Because the woman in this photograph isn't your mother.”
Alexander went silent.
Sophia looked closer.
The woman had Elizabeth's face.
But something was different.
A scar near the jaw.
Alexander noticed it too.
“My mother didn't have that scar.”
“Exactly.”
Thomas put the photograph down.
“Your father had a relationship with someone who worked closely with your mother.”
“Who?”
Thomas didn't answer.
Instead, he pointed at Victoria's engagement ring.
“The ring she removed tonight.”
Sophia remembered.
“She took it off before leaving.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it's not an engagement ring.”
Alexander stared.
“What?”
Thomas explained.
“It contains a micro-storage device.”
Silence.
Sophia felt the room tilt.
“What's on it?”
“Names.”
“Which names?”
“Everyone involved in the blackmail operation.”
Alexander looked furious.
“Why would Victoria have it?”
Thomas looked at him.
“Because Victoria was recruited three years ago.”
“By whom?”
Thomas hesitated.
“Your father.”
Alexander stepped backward.
“No.”
Sophia looked at him.
“Alexander…”
“My father wouldn't.”
Thomas spoke gently.
“Your father wasn't trying to destroy anyone.”
“Then what was he doing?”
“Trying to expose the people who had infiltrated the hotel.”
Alexander shook his head.
“You're saying Victoria was working for him?”
“Yes.”
Sophia stared.
“But she tried to kick me.”
Thomas gave a tired smile.
“People can have more than one motive.”
That was the first thing that made sense.
Victoria wasn't simply cruel.
She had been afraid.
But fear didn't excuse what she had done.
Alexander looked at the photograph.
“Who was the woman pretending to be my mother?”
Thomas finally answered.
“Her name was Eleanor Vale.”
Sophia recognized the name.
It was written in her father's notebook.
E.V.
She turned toward Alexander.
“Your father knew her.”
“Yes.”
“Your mother?”
Thomas nodded.
“Eleanor was your mother's personal assistant.”
Alexander stared.
“My father was having an affair with her.”
Thomas didn't deny it.
“And after your mother died, Eleanor became obsessed with the Ashford family.”
Sophia looked at the notebook.
“Then where does Victoria fit?”
Thomas looked at her.
“Victoria is Eleanor's daughter.”
Alexander's face went pale.
“That can't be.”
“She was raised believing the Ashfords destroyed her mother's life.”
Sophia understood.
“So Victoria wanted revenge.”
“Yes.”
“Then why work with Alexander?”
“Because she wanted access.”
Alexander closed his eyes.
“And the engagement?”
Thomas nodded.
“Part of the plan.”
Sophia looked at the watch.
“Then why was my father involved?”
Thomas's expression darkened.
“Because Miguel discovered that Eleanor had arranged the attack on Samuel.”
Sophia stared.
“My father saved Samuel from Victoria's mother?”
“Yes.”
“And Victoria knows?”
Thomas shook his head.
“I don't think she knows the whole truth.”
Sophia looked toward the door.
“Then we have to find her.”
Thomas's expression changed.
“You're too late.”
“Why?”
“She called me an hour ago.”
“What did she say?”
Thomas hesitated.
“She said she had changed her mind.”
Alexander stepped forward.
“About what?”
Thomas looked at him.
“She said she wasn't going to betray you anymore.”
Sophia exhaled.
“Then where is she?”
Thomas's answer was quiet.
“She went to confront Eleanor.”
Alexander froze.
“Eleanor is alive?”
Thomas nodded.
“She has been living under another name for twelve years.”
Sophia's heart began pounding.
“Where?”
Thomas reached into his pocket.
He removed a hotel key card.
On it was written a room number.
1708.
Sophia recognized it.
Ashford Grand.
The same floor where Samuel's archive was located.
Thomas whispered,
May you like
“She went back to where it started.”
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