CHAPTER 3 The Letter In The Office
Eleanor stared at the envelope.
She had received thousands of documents in her lifetime.
Contracts.
Threats.
Legal notices.
Anonymous complaints from competitors.
But this felt different.
This wasn’t a business attack.
This was personal.
“Where exactly was this found?” she asked.
Thomas looked uncomfortable.
“In Mr. Julian’s desk.”
“Who found it?”
“I did.”
“Why were you in his office?”
Thomas hesitated.
“Because I was looking for the vineyard financial reports.”
Eleanor studied him.
Thomas had never lied to her.
Not once.
“What else did you find?”
He swallowed.
“A folder.”
Julian’s voice came from the doorway.
“What folder?”
Everyone turned.
He stood there.
No anger.
No panic.
Just controlled curiosity.
Too controlled.
Eleanor noticed.
“You tell me.”
Julian smiled slightly.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Thomas stepped forward.
“The folder contained documents regarding private payments.”
Julian’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Eleanor saw it.
“What payments?” she asked.
Thomas looked at the floor.
“Payments made to someone named Marcus Hale.”
The name meant nothing to Eleanor.
But Julian reacted.
A fraction of a second.
Enough.
“Who is Marcus Hale?” Eleanor asked.
“No one important.”
Julian answered too quickly.
Eleanor folded the letter.
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“You always say someone is unimportant when they matter.”
Julian’s jaw tightened.
“You’re turning against your own son because of one dramatic night.”
“No.”
Eleanor looked toward Clara.
“I’m listening to the person who was hurt.”
Julian stepped closer.
“You think you know everything.”
“No.”
Eleanor met his eyes.
“But I know enough.”
The tension between them filled the room.
Then Clara spoke.
Quietly.
“I know Marcus.”
Everyone turned.
Julian froze.
“You do?”
Clara nodded slowly.
“He came to the estate three months ago.”
Eleanor frowned.
“Why?”
Clara looked at Julian.
“Because he said he knew something about Julian.”
Julian’s face went pale.
Only for a moment.
But this time everyone saw it.
“What did he know?” Eleanor asked.
Clara whispered:
“He said Julian wasn’t the man everyone thought he was.”
Nobody spoke.
Outside, thunder rolled over the vineyard.
Eleanor looked at her son.
The boy she raised.
The man standing before her.
And for the first time in her life…
She wondered if she had ever truly known him.
Then Thomas’s phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed immediately.
“Mrs. Vale…”
“What?”
“The security cameras from the cellar…”
He stopped.
“What about them?”
Thomas looked at Julian.
“They were deleted.”
Silence.
Then:
“Not all of them.”
Eleanor stepped closer.
“What do you mean?”
Thomas swallowed.
“One camera survived.”
“Which one?”
“The old camera facing the wine racks.”
He looked at Clara.
“It recorded everything.”
Julian moved instantly.
“Give me that footage.”
Thomas stepped back.
“No.”
The room went silent.
Because Thomas Reed had worked for the Vale family for twenty-two years.
And he had never refused Julian anything before.
Eleanor looked at him.
“Where is the recording?”
Thomas answered:
“Already copied.”
A pause.
“Someone sent it to an outside server.”
Eleanor felt a chill.
“Who?”
Thomas looked down at his phone.
“There’s a message attached.”
“What does it say?”
Thomas turned the screen toward her.
May you like
One sentence appeared.
THE TRUTH ABOUT JULIAN VALE IS ONLY BEGINNING.
