THE RULES OF HIS FATHER'S SECRET
1004 Words
CHAPTER TWO
What does this mean? Amelia Hart's legs wobbled as she questioned, her voice trembling with disbelief. She looked desperately at Mr. Thompson, searching his face for any sign of explanation. The lawyer stared back at her for a long moment before methodically folding the letter and placing it carefully on the polished mahogany table. A burdened silence slowly cast over the entire room, thick and suffocating, until it was broken by Adrian Kingsley’s deep voice.
I asked a question. Adrian's icy tone took command of the space, cutting through the tension like a knife. What does this secret have to do with me? Mr. Thompson adjusted his glasses and replied calmly, your grandfather asked that, for today, I only divulge part of the secret.
What? This time Adrian spoke again, his gray eyes narrowing in frustration. Only part?
Correct, Mr. Thompson said. Mr. Hart thought the remainder of the truth should stay concealed until the right moment and not now.
This is unbelievable, Amelia thought, her mind spinning because she had always seen Mr. Thompson as the nearest thing to a family member who truly cared, especially after her grandfather’s long illness, but now even he seemed to be part of this elaborate mystery. The lawyer opened another envelope and pulled a few sheets of paper from it, the crisp sound echoing in the quiet room. Nervous and impatient, Lucas leaned forward toward the stacks of paper, his eyes gleaming with greed. Ignoring Lucas completely, Mr. Thompson continued.
The remaining instructions have been left by George Hart. This is particularly interesting. According to these instructions, for the next one year, you will be unable to sell your shares of the bookstore. That is strange, Adrian said, his sharp jaw tightening, but the lawyer interrupted him saying In case you fail to restore the bookstore to be profitable…
“What?” was the age-old, cliché, delayed response from both Adrian and Amelia in unison.
Mr. Thompson continued solemnly, then the bookstore will…
“What?” Adrian asked incredulously, his voice rising. Mr. Thompson took a moment before responding, his expression grave. “It will be transferred to a charitable foundation.”
The room broke into controlled chaos angry murmurs, sharp debates, and expressions of pure disbelief filled the air. Amelia’s heart pounded heavily in her chest. Her grandfather had loved that bookstore with every fiber of his being. Hart Books wasn’t just a business to him; it was his life’s work, a sanctuary filled with stories and memories. So why was he risking losing it entirely with these strange conditions?
The lawyer unveiled the last condition as he said there is one more stipulation. Amelia, predictably, closed her eyes, bracing herself for whatever came next. Mr. Thompson cleared his throat and announced, “For the next twelve months, all major decisions regarding the bookstore will be made jointly by both owners.”
Amelia slowly turned toward Adrian, her eyes wide with shock. “This is ridiculous,” they both said in unison.
For the past several years, Amelia had been operating the bookstore almost entirely by herself, and she knew every shelf, every regular customer, and every dusty corner of the old building. There was no way she was going to ask for permission to make even the smallest management decisions from some random person who had just walked into her life and no nothing about the whole bookstore right from when it had started.
I’m not doing this, she declared, pushing her chair back with a loud scrape and standing up to leave the room. sit down right now, Adrian ordered, his voice low but commanding.
For the first time, he had gotten Amelia to freeze in place. She turned slowly, glaring at him.
Excuse me?
Never flinching, Adrian continued, If you walk away now, you will lose the bookstore completely. If you stay, we can work together to get to the bottom of why your grandfather did this.
Amelia looking so surprised. Why was he so confident? Who the hell did he think he was? Amelia thought angrily. Don’t tell me what to do Mr Adrian Kingsley or whatever.
Before he could say anything back, the door to the conference room opened suddenly. A nervous-looking young assistant walked in, clutching a tablet tightly.
Mr. Kingsley, I’m, uh, so sorry to interrupt, but with a deep frown, Adrian asked him what the matter is. The assistant handed him the tablet, as Adrian read the screen, his expression darkened dramatically. What happened? Amelia heard him mutter under his breath.
"The media found out."
The media found out what? Amelia asked, her voice rising with alarm. The assistant swallowed hard saying they’ve already published the story, but Amelia was still standing in confusion.
Adrian stood abruptly, his tall frame casting a long shadow across the table. For the first time, Amelia saw real concern flashing in his cold gray eyes.
What story? Amelia asked.
The assistant hesitated for a moment, then reversed the tablet so everyone could see.
A bold headline dominated the screen:
BILLIONAIRE CEO ADRIAN KINGSLEY NAMED IN MYSTERIOUS INHERITANCE WITH UNKNOWN WOMAN
Below the headline was a clear photo of Amelia Hart and Adrian Kingsley standing together outside the lawyer’s office, looking tense and unaware that they were being photographed. The article’s first sentence made Amelia’s blood run icy cold. Sources speculate that Adrian Kingsley’s relation to Amelia Hart may be more personal than previously thought.
The room fell into stunned silence, then came a notification on someone’s phone, and another, then another repeatedly. The story was going viral at lightning speed, spreading across social media like wildfire. Someone clearly wanted the public to know that Adrian and Amelia were keeping a secret but the real problem was that neither of them knew what that secret actually was.
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