Chapter 7 - THE SECRET BENEATH THE HOTEL
The second trust was connected to the Grand Bellamy.
Ethan discovered it after examining the original property records.
The hotel had been built on land purchased by Thomas Bennett decades earlier.
But the deed contained an unusual clause.
A private parcel beneath the eastern wing remained under separate ownership.
Isabella stared at the document.
“Who owns it?”
Ethan looked at her.
“Your grandfather.”
“He died.”
“Exactly.”
“Then who inherited it?”
Ethan shook his head.
“That's the strange part.”
There was no transfer.
Michael looked confused.
“That can't be.”
Ethan pointed to the clause.
“The land was placed into a perpetual family trust.”
Claire read the document.
“Beneficiary?”
Ethan looked at Isabella.
“You.”
She stared at him.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Michael sat down.
“My father never told me.”
Isabella looked toward the hotel.
“What is underneath the eastern wing?”
“No one knows.”
They returned to the Grand Bellamy that night.
Security escorted them downstairs.
Behind a locked service corridor was an old stone staircase.
It led beneath the hotel.
The air became colder.
They reached a steel door.
There was no keypad.
Only a keyhole.
Isabella remembered her grandfather's brass key.
She inserted it.
The door opened.
Inside was a small underground archive.
Boxes lined the walls.
Photographs.
Deeds.
Letters.
Financial records.
And a wooden chest.
On the chest was a note.
FOR ISABELLA.
She opened it.
Inside was another letter.
My dear child,
If this room has been opened, then someone has attempted to take what was never theirs.
Isabella's eyes filled with tears.
Her grandfather continued.
I built this trust because I knew that one day money would attract people who valued possession more than family.
Michael looked away.
He was crying.
The letter explained everything.
Thomas had discovered that several people within the family had been manipulating company assets.
One of them was Margaret.
Another was Victor.
But there was more.
Thomas had secretly placed ownership of several properties, including the land beneath the Grand Bellamy, into Isabella's trust.
The purpose was simple.
No one could sell the properties without Isabella's direct approval.
Not Michael.
Not Margaret.
Not Victor.
No one.
Claire looked stunned.
“This destroys their entire plan.”
Ethan shook his head.
“Only if the trust is recognized.”
“Why wouldn't it be?”
“Because the original registration is missing.”
Isabella looked at the chest.
“Maybe not.”
At the bottom was an old registry book.
Inside was the original trust registration.
Signed.
Stamped.
Witnessed.
Legal.
Claire smiled for the first time.
“We have it.”
Then footsteps echoed from the corridor.
Everyone froze.
David whispered,
“Someone's here.”
The lights went out.
A door slammed.
Isabella heard someone running.
Security rushed toward the hallway.
A struggle followed.
Then silence.
When the lights returned, one of the archive boxes was missing.
Ethan checked the shelves.
“The Harrison files.”
Claire's expression changed.
“They knew where to look.”
Isabella stared at the empty space.
“How?”
Michael answered quietly.
“Someone inside the company.”
The next morning, they discovered who.
The company's chief operations officer had accessed the archive records two days earlier.
His name was Richard Cole.
He had worked for Michael for twenty years.
Michael couldn't believe it.
“Richard?”
Claire showed him the security footage.
Richard had entered the archive with Victor.
David stared.
“How deep does this go?”
“Deep enough,” Claire said.
That afternoon, Richard was arrested.
But before police could question him, he asked to speak to Isabella.
She agreed.
Richard looked exhausted.
“I never wanted anyone hurt.”
“You helped them.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
He lowered his eyes.
“Victor had proof that I had taken money from a company account years ago.”
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand.”
Isabella stared.
“And he blackmailed you.”
“Yes.”
“You gave them access.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know they were going to forge my signature?”
Richard shook his head.
“Not at first.”
“When did you know?”
“The night before your wedding.”
Isabella's voice became cold.
“And you said nothing.”
Richard began crying.
“I was afraid.”
Isabella stood.
“You should have been.”
She walked away.
But before she reached the door, Richard called after her.
“There is something else.”
She turned.
“Victor wasn't the person running everything.”
Isabella stopped.
“Who was?”
Richard swallowed.
“I never saw her face.”
“Her?”
“Yes.”
Richard whispered,
“She called herself Eleanor.”
Isabella frowned.
“Who is Eleanor?”
Richard shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Then he gave Isabella a piece of paper.
A phone number.
May you like
And one sentence.
SHE KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR GRANDFATHER.
