The Son Who Wanted More
Chapter 05 - The Son Who Wanted More
Daniel left the room.
Eleanor found him ten minutes later sitting alone on the back staircase.
His bow tie hung loose around his neck.
For a moment, he looked twelve years old again.
"I'm sorry," he said.
Eleanor sat beside him.
"For what part?"
Daniel couldn't answer.
That was the problem.
There were too many parts.
He admitted that after his father's death, he had become obsessed with proving he could maintain the life Thomas had built.
The mansion.
The family reputation.
The investment company.
Thomas had always been the strong one.
Daniel had always felt like the disappointing son.
Then Madison came along.
She believed in him.
Or at least, Daniel thought she did.
When Victoria told him Eleanor intended to transfer the house, Daniel didn't ask questions.
He wanted to believe it.
"You could have asked me."
"I was afraid you'd say no."
Eleanor nodded slowly.
There it was.
The truth.
Not confusion.
Not misunderstanding.
Fear of hearing an answer he didn't want.
Daniel wiped his eyes.
"Did you come here to stop the wedding?"
"No."
He looked at her.
Eleanor surprised him.
"I came to protect you."
She explained that her lawyer had discovered something else.
The fraudulent deed wasn't the only document filed under her name.
There was a second trust.
A second transfer.
And a loan application.
Someone had tried to borrow three million dollars against the mansion.
Daniel stood.
"Who?"
Eleanor looked through the window toward the lawn.
Victoria stood alone near the wedding arch.
"I was hoping she would tell us."
May you like
Then Eleanor added something Daniel wasn't expecting.
"But I don't think your future mother-in-law is the person who started this."
