Chapter 78: The Woman Who Served the Stones

Eleanor Price agreed to meet Louis without hesitation.

That surprised him more than refusal would have.

She invited him to her home, a quiet property surrounded by old trees. Louis brought Derek but asked him to wait nearby. If Eleanor had served his grandfather faithfully for decades, he wanted to speak to her personally before turning the conversation into an interrogation.

Eleanor opened the door herself. She was in her late sixties, silver-haired and perfectly composed.

"Louis," she said. "I wondered how long it would take you."

His expression changed.

"Take me to what?"

"To start asking the right questions."

Inside, Eleanor served tea as though he were visiting for an ordinary family conversation.

Louis placed a copy of the parking logs on the table.

"Were you in the chairman's office on these nights?"

She examined the dates. "Probably."

"Why?"

"Because your grandfather left work unfinished."

Louis remained silent.

Eleanor explained that Charles Stone had spent his final years investigating financial irregularities connected to several old investments. Freya's father had helped him gather records. After both men were gone, Eleanor continued quietly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Louis asked.

"Because Charles specifically instructed me not to involve you until we knew who could be trusted."

"He died when I was already an adult."

"And you were ambitious, impatient, and surrounded by people who benefited from your confidence."

The criticism sounded exactly like something his grandfather might have said.

Louis asked about the anonymous account.

Eleanor's expression became serious. "I used an administrative account to review archived files. But if you're asking whether I leaked your strategy, no."

"Can you prove that?"

"Some of it."

She retrieved a locked document case and removed several notebooks.

The handwritten logs recorded dates when she accessed files and what she reviewed. Several matched the anonymous account activity.

But not all.

At least five suspicious logins occurred when Eleanor's notes placed her elsewhere.

"Someone else had the credentials," Louis said.

"Yes. I realized that shortly before I retired."

"And you said nothing?"

For the first time, Eleanor looked regretful. "I tried to determine who it was first. Then your conflict with Ethan accelerated faster than I expected."

She had suspected Victor but never obtained proof.

Then she said something that changed the conversation.

"Victor isn't the person Charles feared most."

Louis's gaze hardened. "Who was?"

Eleanor looked toward the window.

"Someone much closer to the Stone family."

Before Louis could ask, she added, "Bring Freya next time."

"Why?"

"Because her father discovered the first piece. And because some of what Charles left belongs to her as much as it belongs to you."

Louis left with more questions than answers.

When he told Freya, she stared at him.

"She specifically asked for me?"

"Yes."

Freya sighed.

Apparently even people from the past had begun pulling her deeper into a story she had never expected to become hers.

Freya agreed to meet Eleanor the following day. She told herself it was because her father's records were involved. Yet another reason sat beneath that one: she wanted to understand the family Louis had come from. The more their relationship changed, the less his past felt like background information and the more it felt like something she needed to know.

The next move would have to be careful. Too many people were now connected to the investigation, and a careless question could warn the person they were actually searching for. For the moment, patience remained their strongest advantage.