Chapter 2 - THE NAME RICHARD FEARED
Willow waited until the elevator doors closed.
“Who is Evelyn?”
Michael stared at the glowing floor numbers.
“Not tonight.”
“You just walked into my anniversary party carrying a second phone, threatened Richard Sterling with something from twenty-nine years ago, and he looked like he’d seen a ghost.”
Michael exhaled.
“I didn’t threaten him.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Helena stood beside them with Willow’s clutch tucked under her arm.
Even she had gone quiet.
Willow touched her swollen cheek.
“Dad.”
Michael finally looked at her.
“There are things I should have told you before you married Lucas.”
The elevator reached the lobby.
Michael guided her forward.
A hotel security manager approached.
“Mrs. Sterling, may we speak with you?”
Michael immediately stopped.
“About what?”
“We have received conflicting accounts regarding an incident upstairs.”
Willow nearly laughed.
Conflicting accounts.
She had six hundred witnesses.
But six hundred wealthy witnesses could become surprisingly blind when Richard Sterling asked them to.
Willow stepped forward.
“My husband struck me.”
The manager nodded carefully.
“There may be security footage.”
“Preserve it.”
Michael’s voice was immediate.
The manager looked toward him.
“Excuse me?”
“Preserve every camera recording from that ballroom, terrace entrance, elevators, and lobby.”
Lucas appeared behind them with Richard and Marion.
Richard spoke before anyone else.
“This is a private family matter.”
Michael turned.
“It stopped being private when your son did it in front of six hundred people.”
Marion Sterling looked immaculate despite the chaos.
Her silver hair had not moved.
Her diamonds glittered like ice.
She looked at Willow’s cheek and showed no sympathy.
“You provoked him.”
Helena muttered something under her breath.
Willow stepped closer to Marion.
“Did you know he was going to do it?”
Marion did not answer.
Lucas moved toward Willow.
“Please stop making this worse.”
That sentence ended something.
Not the marriage.
The marriage had ended upstairs.
This ended Willow’s hope that somewhere inside Lucas existed the man she once loved.
“I’m going with my father.”
Lucas stared at her.
“Fine.”
His voice hardened.
“But you are not taking anything from our home.”
“Our home?”
“The house belongs to the Sterling family trust.”
Willow nodded slowly.
“What about my clothes?”
“We’ll arrange delivery.”
“My paintings?”
“We’ll discuss ownership.”
Helena’s mouth fell open.
Willow looked at Lucas in disbelief.
Her gallery had acquired those paintings.
Some had been purchased with money from sales she made before marrying him.
Lucas already knew exactly what the family strategy would be.
Separate her from money.
Separate her from property.
Separate her from evidence.
Michael stepped toward Lucas.
“Careful.”
Lucas looked at him.
“Is that a threat?”
“No.”
Michael’s eyes were flat.
“It’s advice from a man who knows more about your family than you think.”
Richard interrupted.
“Michael.”
For the first time, he used Willow’s father’s first name.
Not Donovan.
Not mechanic.
Michael.
Richard lowered his voice.
“Walk away.”
Michael looked at him.
“You said that to me once before.”
Willow felt the hairs rise on her arms.
“What happened twenty-nine years ago?”
Richard looked at her.
Something flickered behind his eyes.
Fear.
Then anger.
He turned away.
Michael escorted Willow outside.
The August night felt almost cold.
When they reached the truck, Willow noticed something sitting beneath the windshield wiper.
A white envelope.
Michael grabbed it before she could.
There was no return address.
Only three handwritten words.
FOR WILLOW DONOVAN.
Not Sterling.
Donovan.
Michael opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
A young woman stood beside a lake holding a newborn baby.
Beside her stood a much younger Michael Donovan.
Behind them was Richard Sterling.
May you like
On the back, one sentence had been written in faded blue ink.
Evelyn knew who Willow really belonged to.
