"What offer?"
"His life in exchange for silence."
Naomi stared.
"And Michael accepted?"
"At first."
"Where did he go?"
"London."
Daniel looked surprised.
"Is he alive?"
Victoria nodded.
"He was alive five years ago."
Naomi felt dizzy.
"Why didn't my grandmother tell me?"
"Because she didn't know whether he was still alive."
Richard interrupted.
"She suspected."
Naomi looked at him.
"Then the trust..."
Richard nodded.
"Michael may have been part of it."
Evan frowned.
"How?"
"Because the original trust wasn't created only for Naomi."
Richard looked at Naomi.
"It was created for Eleanor's descendants."
Naomi stared.
"How many descendants?"
Richard didn't answer.
Victoria did.
"Two."
The room became silent.
Naomi whispered:
"Michael."
Victoria nodded.
"Michael and you."
Naomi suddenly understood.
"If he's alive, he owns half."
"Yes."
Evan looked at her.
"Then you need to find him."
Naomi nodded.
"But how?"
Richard finally took the letter from his pocket.
"He left an address."
Naomi opened it.
There was a London address.
And one name.
Michael Brooks.
Underneath was a phone number.
Naomi stared at it.
Her hands trembled.
For thirty years, she had believed her family consisted of her mother, her grandmother, and Isaiah.
Now she had discovered an uncle she had never met.
A missing heir.
A man who might know the truth about everything.
She looked at Evan.
"I need to go to London."
"I'll come with you."
Naomi shook her head.
"No."
He looked surprised.
"Why?"
"Because this isn't your family."
Evan smiled sadly.
"Unfortunately, it is."
She looked at him.
"You don't have to keep helping me."
"I know."
"Then why?"
Evan took a breath.
"Because somewhere along the way, this stopped being about my family's fortune."
"What is it about?"
He looked at her.
"You."
Naomi said nothing.
Evan continued.
"You walked into that gala alone."
"You were trying to humiliate me."
"I know."
"You didn't know me."
"I know."
"And now?"
"Now I know you."
Naomi looked away.
For a moment, the chaos surrounding them seemed distant.
Then her phone rang.
She answered.
"Hello?"
A man's voice came through.
"Naomi?"
She froze.
"Who is this?"
The voice was old.
Tired.
But strangely familiar.
"My name is Michael."
Naomi couldn't breathe.
She looked at Richard.
Everyone heard the silence.
Michael continued.
"I know what you've discovered."
Naomi's eyes filled with tears.
"Are you my uncle?"
A long pause.
"Yes."
She covered her mouth.
"Where are you?"
"London."
"Are you safe?"
Another pause.
"For now."
Naomi closed her eyes.
"Why didn't you come home?"
Michael's voice became softer.
"Because I was waiting for you to become old enough to hear the truth."
Naomi felt a tear run down her cheek.
"What truth?"
Michael answered:
"The Carrington family didn't steal everything from your grandmother."
Naomi frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"There was another company."
"What company?"
"The one your grandmother built after Brooks Systems."
Naomi looked at Richard.
Michael continued.
"It was worth more than the Carrington empire."
Evan stared at her.
"Then why did she abandon it?"
Michael's voice dropped.
"She didn't."
Naomi's heart stopped.
"Then where is it?"
"Hidden."
"Where?"
"Under your name."
Naomi looked down at the silver pendant.
Michael continued.
"Your grandmother knew they would come after you."
"Who?"
"The people who want the company."
"Martin?"
"No."
Michael's answer was immediate.
"Martin was only a servant."
Naomi's blood ran cold.
"Then who is behind him?"
Silence.
Finally, Michael said:
"The person who has been controlling the Carrington family for thirty years."
"Who?"
Michael whispered a name.
"Evelyn Carrington."
Naomi froze.
Evan's grandmother.
The woman everyone believed had died fifteen years earlier.
Evan stared at Naomi.
"My grandmother?"
Michael answered:
"She's alive."
The call ended.
Nobody moved.
Naomi slowly lowered the phone.
Evan's face had gone white.
Richard whispered:
"That can't be."
Naomi looked at him.
"Apparently, it can."
Outside, the first morning light entered through the glass doors of Carrington Plaza.
For the first time in decades, the secret had begun to surface.
But Naomi now understood something terrifying.
The billionaire who had once invited her to a gala as a joke was no longer her greatest problem.
The woman behind the entire Carrington empire was still alive.
And she had been waiting for Naomi to discover the truth.
Chapter 13
The flight to London was booked before noon.
Naomi sat beside the airplane window, watching the clouds disappear beneath them.
For the first time since the gala, she had a moment to think.
Everything had changed.
Twenty-four hours ago, she had been a cleaner who believed her biggest problem was paying rent and taking care of her family.
Now she knew her grandmother had once built a company.
She knew her family had been robbed.
She knew her missing uncle was alive.
And she knew the Carrington family had been hiding a secret for decades.
Beside her, Evan was reading through the documents they had managed to save.
He looked exhausted.
"You should sleep," Naomi said.
"So should you."
"I can't."
"Neither can I."
She smiled faintly.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Then Evan closed the folder.
"There's something I haven't told you."
Naomi turned.
"What?"
"My grandmother."
"Evelyn?"
"Yes."
"What about her?"
"When I was a child, she used to tell me something."
Naomi waited.
"She said the Carrington family wasn't built by my grandfather."
Naomi frowned.
"What did she mean?"
"I thought she meant my grandfather had simply inherited everything."
"But?"
"But she once told me that the person who truly built the empire was a woman."
Naomi's eyes widened.
"Eleanor?"
Evan shook his head.
"No."
He looked down.
"Evelyn."
Naomi felt a chill.
"Your grandmother built Carrington Holdings?"
"She expanded it."
Evan continued.
"My grandfather was the public face. Evelyn handled the money."
"Then why did she disappear?"
"I don't know."
Naomi looked out the window.
"Maybe she didn't."
Evan stared at her.
"What?"
"Maybe she never disappeared."
The thought hung between them.