Chapter 7: The Woman Behind the Scheme

The hidden server was located beneath the Solenne Hotel's oldest wing.

According to the security team, it had been sealed for years.

The access door required three different security codes.

One belonged to Derrick.

One belonged to Georgina.

And the third...

No one could identify.

We stood in front of the steel door while the hotel's security director explained the situation.

"This server wasn't listed anywhere in the current system."

"Who installed it?" Derrick asked.

"We don't know."

"How long has it been running?"

"At least eight years."

I looked at Derrick.

Eight years.

That meant the server had existed before we were married.

Before Rosalie's privileges.

Before most of the recent corporate disputes.

Someone had been planning something for a very long time.

Derrick entered his code.

The lock beeped.

Georgina entered hers.

The final panel remained red.

The security director swallowed.

"We don't have the third code."

Derrick frowned.

"Then bypass it."

"We're trying."

I stepped forward.

"Move."

Everyone looked at me.

I pulled out my phone.

My father had taught me basic systems engineering when I was younger.

I wasn't a hacker.

But I understood enough to recognize the security pattern.

The third code wasn't a password.

It was biometric.

I placed my hand against the scanner.

Nothing happened.

Then the scanner turned green.

The door opened.

Derrick stared at me.

"How did you do that?"

"I don't know."

Georgina looked at the scanner.

"Try again."

I touched it.

The system unlocked immediately.

A message appeared on the screen.

"AUTHORIZED BENEFICIARY."

My blood ran cold.

"This server recognizes my family."

Derrick stepped closer.

"Then your family had access to this server."

"Apparently."

We entered.

The room was small.

Rows of servers lined the walls.

A single monitor displayed thousands of encrypted files.

Derrick sat at the terminal.

"Let's see what they were hiding."

The first folder contained hotel financial records.

The second contained employee files.

The third contained private correspondence.

Then we saw a folder labeled with a date.

The date of our wedding.

Derrick's hand froze above the keyboard.

"Open it," I said.

He did.

Inside were dozens of documents.

One was a copy of our original marriage agreement.

Another was a communication between Derrick's father and an unknown sender.

The message read:

"Once the marriage is completed, the Voss family will transfer the remaining hospitality shares into the trust."

I stared at the screen.

"Voss family?"

Derrick looked shocked.

"That's your family."

"Yes."

"But those shares were never transferred."

"They were."

Georgina stepped closer.

"Look at the next document."

A transfer certificate appeared.

My family's shares had been moved.

But not to Derrick.

Not to the Hart family.

They had been transferred into a private holding company.

The beneficiary was hidden.

Derrick immediately called his legal team.

"Trace this company."

Minutes later, his attorney responded.

"Sir, the holding company was dissolved six years ago."

"Who owned it?"

"The records are sealed."

"Get them unsealed."

"We're trying."

I opened another file.

A list of financial transfers appeared.

Millions of dollars had moved through the holding company.

Several payments were made to executives inside Hart International.

One name appeared repeatedly.

Victor Hale.

Derrick's former family attorney.

The same man whose name had appeared in the trust documents.

"Victor died eight years ago," Derrick said.

"Then someone used his identity."

I opened another file.

A photograph appeared.

It showed Victor alive.

Standing beside a much younger Rosalie.

Derrick's face went pale.

"That's impossible."

"When was this taken?" I asked.

"Six years ago."

Georgina stared at the image.

"Victor wasn't dead."

"He disappeared."

Derrick immediately stood.

"We've been using the wrong death date."

"Someone wanted us to believe he was gone."

I opened the next folder.

Inside were recorded voice messages.

One played automatically.

A man's voice filled the room.

"Derrick must marry Vera."

"The trust requires it."

"If he refuses, your family's holdings will collapse."

Another voice answered.

A woman's voice.

Rosalie.

"And what happens after the marriage?"

The man replied.

"Once the trust is active, we'll redirect the shares."

My heart stopped.

Derrick looked at me.

"Vera..."

The recording continued.

"She won't know until it's too late."

"And Rosalie?"

"She will receive her compensation."

Silence.

Then Rosalie's voice returned.

"What if Derrick actually falls in love with her?"

"Then you make sure he remembers his obligations."

The recording ended.

I stared at the screen.

My marriage had been manipulated before it even began.

Derrick looked devastated.

"I never knew."

"I believe you."

"But someone did."

Georgina's eyes moved toward the screen.

"Rosalie knew."

"Yes."

"And she wasn't working alone."

I looked at the final file.

"Who was the man speaking?"

Derrick shook his head.

"I don't recognize the voice."

The computer suddenly displayed another message.

"You were never supposed to find this."

The screen went black.

Then every server in the room shut down.

Derrick immediately called security.

"Lock the hotel down."

"Nobody leaves."

We rushed out of the server room.

The hotel alarms began sounding.

Guests were escorted away from the lower floors.

Security teams searched every corridor.

Then someone shouted from the lobby.

"Sir!"

"We found something."

Derrick and I hurried downstairs.

A security officer was standing beside the reception desk.

He handed Derrick a small envelope.

Inside was a single photograph.

The man from the recording.

Derrick stared at it.

"No..."

"You know him?" I asked.

Derrick's face had gone completely white.

"Yes."

"Who is he?"

He looked at Georgina.

Then back at me.

"My father."

Silence.

"He died eight years ago," I whispered.

"That's what everyone was told."

Derrick looked toward the hotel doors.

"But if this photograph is real..."

"Then my father is still alive."

My heart pounded.

Georgina's expression became grim.

"And if he's alive..."

"He may be the one controlling everything."

Derrick's phone suddenly rang.

Unknown number.

He answered.

A distorted male voice spoke.

"You finally found the truth."

Derrick's face hardened.

"Who are you?"

The voice laughed.

"You already know."

"And Vera..."

My blood froze.

"Tell your wife she should have stayed away from my family."

The call ended.

Derrick immediately stepped in front of me.

"Nobody touches her."

I looked at him.

For the first time, his words sounded different.

Not like an empty promise.

Like a decision.

But the voice had made one thing clear.

Rosalie wasn't the real enemy.

She had only been a piece on someone else's board.

And the person moving every piece...

Was Derrick's supposedly dead father.