Chapter 6 - THE BRIDE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
“I signed that authorization.”
Rafael said the words while staring at the old repair invoice.
Rebecca Shaw looked at him carefully.
“You authorized emergency spending. That isn't the same as approving defective materials.”
“But I didn't ask enough questions.”
“No,” she said. “You didn't.”
I was surprised by her bluntness.
Most people around Rafael Blackstone measured every sentence before speaking.
Rebecca didn't seem interested in his reputation.
She cared about the building.
And Rafael, to his credit, listened.
The inspection team had identified enough discrepancies to recommend temporarily relocating residents from Harborview's oldest wing while more detailed testing was completed.
Rafael arranged hotel rooms, transportation, meals, and staff assistance.
He also agreed to preserve the maintenance records for the investigators.
Nobody was asked to sign away complaints or remain silent.
I watched him explain the decision to Mrs. Delaney.
“I'm sorry for the inconvenience,” he said.
She studied his face.
“You look like your father when you're worried.”
Rafael managed a small smile.
“He worried a lot.”
“He worried because he cared,” she replied.
For some reason, those words seemed to trouble him.
By noon, every resident had been contacted.
The first buses were scheduled to leave that afternoon.
Then a police detective named Caroline Brooks arrived with news from the Blackstone estate.
Bianca had been found inside an unused linen preparation room near the upper gallery.
She hadn't left the property.
She'd been hiding.
And she had Rafael's father's watch.
Rafael returned to the mansion with me and Daniel.
Bianca sat in the small morning room, still wearing her pale gold evening gown.
Her makeup had faded.
She looked nothing like the woman who'd humiliated me before ninety guests.
The old watch rested on the table.
Its gold case was scratched.
Its leather strap was cracked near the buckle.
Rafael didn't sit down.
“Where is Julian?”
“I don't know.”
“Why did you hide?”
Bianca swallowed.
“Because I knew you wouldn't believe me.”
“Then tell me something worth believing.”
She looked toward the watch.
“Julian took the paper from inside it.”
Rafael picked up the watch.
The back cover had been removed and replaced imperfectly.
“Why did you give him access to it?”
“Because he said the paper contained evidence that would destroy our family.”
“Your family's construction business?”
Bianca shook her head.
“Our father died owing money to people he never should have borrowed from. Julian took over the company debts. He spent years trying to save it.”
“That doesn't explain the chandelier.”
Her eyes filled.
“I thought Julian was arranging a demonstration.”
I almost laughed.
“A demonstration?”
Bianca turned toward me.
“He told me the chandelier would be lowered a few inches during the announcement. Something dramatic enough to make Rafael reconsider cancelling his contracts.”
Rafael stared at her.
“You wanted to frighten me into keeping your brother's business?”
“Yes.”
“You moved my mother's chair beneath it.”
Bianca covered her face.
“Julian said the safety cable would hold. He said nobody would be hurt.”
I remembered her laughter.
Her hand gripping my arm.
Her order to collect the fallen screws.
“You knew something was wrong when I warned you,” I said.
She looked up.
I didn't let her look away.
“I told you the chandelier had moved. You saw those screws. You knew I wasn't lying.”
Bianca began crying.
“I thought the screws were part of the demonstration.”
“Then why did you accuse me of damaging it?”
She stared at me.
Finally, she whispered, “Because I needed everyone to stop listening to you.”
The words hurt more than I expected.
Not because I hadn't suspected the truth.
Because she said them so plainly.
Rafael set the watch down.
“You let Allison risk her life for my mother while you protected your brother.”
“I never wanted your mother hurt.”
“But you chose her seat.”
Bianca couldn't answer.
Detective Brooks, who had remained nearby, asked permission to retain the watch as evidence.
Before handing it over, Rafael noticed something tucked beneath the worn leather strap.
A tiny folded receipt.
It wasn't the missing inspection paper.
It was a repair receipt from eight years earlier.
On the back, someone had written:
If the original report disappears, follow the payment.
Beneath the words was a seven-digit invoice reference.
Daniel recognized the format.
“That's not a watch repair number.”
Rafael looked at him.
“What is it?”
“An old Blackstone property-accounting reference.”
He took a closer look.
Then went very still.
“This invoice was processed through an outside security contractor.”
Bianca's tears stopped.
She stared at the number.
Rafael noticed.
“You recognize it.”
She didn't respond.
“Bianca, whose company received that payment?”
She shut her eyes.
“Rafael, please.”
“Whose?”
May you like
Her voice was almost inaudible.
“Elias Ward's.”
