Chapter 5: Unit 317
Amelia barely slept.The photograph lay on the table in front of her, untouched.She had spent the entire night asking herself the same question.Why did her father want her to marry Damian?By morning, she had no answers.Only more questions.Her phone buzzed.A message from an unknown number.
If you want the truth, go to Unit 317.
Amelia stared at the screen her heart skipped.
That was the number she’d seen in the photograph.She typed quickly.
What is Unit 317?
Three dots appeared,then disappeared.
Nothing,she tried again.Who are you?
No response.Amelia tossed the phone onto the table.She wasn’t going to let a stranger control her,But there was one thing she couldn’t ignore.The possibility that her father had left something behind.Something that could explain everything.She picked up her coat.The storage facility was nearly empty when Amelia arrived.An elderly receptionist looked up from behind the counter.
“Can I help you?”
“I need access to Unit 317.”The woman studied her.
“Name?”
“Amelia Carter.”The receptionist typed something into the computer.Her expression changed.
“You’re authorized.”Amelia frowned.
“I am?”
“Yes.”
The woman reached beneath the counter and produced a small envelope.
“This was left here with instructions.”Amelia took it.Her father’s handwriting was on the front.For Amelia. Only when she is ready.Her heart tightened.She opened it.Inside was a key.And one sentence.If you are reading this, the marriage is already over.Amelia’s fingers trembled.She looked up.
“What marriage?”The receptionist shook her head.
“I don’t know.”Amelia walked toward the stairs.Every step made her more uneasy.When she reached the third floor, she found the door marked 317.She inserted the key,the lock clicked.Inside were dozens of boxes,Documents.Old photographs.Company records.Everything her father had apparently hidden away.Amelia walked slowly through the room.Then she saw it.A large brown file sitting alone on the desk.She picked it up.The label made her blood run cold.
CARTER—VAUGHN
She opened the file,the first page was dated six years ago.One year before her marriage,she began reading.Then stopped.Her eyes widened.At the bottom of the page was her father’s signature.Beside it was the signature of Damian’s father.And underneath both signatures was a sentence that made Amelia’s hands go numb.The marriage between Amelia Carter and Damian Vaughn shall proceed only after the transfer of the Carter shares is completed.
Amelia stared at the page,Shares?What shares?She turned the page A photograph fell onto the floor.She picked it up.It showed her father standing beside Damian’s father.But there was something else.A third person stood between them.Someone Amelia recognized immediately.She had seen him at Vaughn family events.She had spoken to him countless times.He had been present at her wedding.Amelia’s stomach dropped.Because if this document was real then the person in the photograph had known the truth about her marriage from the beginning.She turned the photograph over.Three words were written on the back.He knows everything.Amelia stared at the handwriting.Then her phone rang.Damian,she froze.For a moment, she considered ignoring him.Then she answered.
“What do you want?”His voice was unusually serious.
“Where are you?”
She looked around Unit 317.
“Why?”
“Because I know where you are.”
Her heart stopped.
“How?”Silence.Then Damian said quietly,
“Because I’m standing outside Unit 317.Amelia’s eyes widened.She slowly turned toward the door.A shadow appeared beneath it.Damian was there.And suddenly, she wasn’t sure which frightened her more what was inside the file or what Damian had come to tell her.
