Chapter 2 - THE SECRET INSIDE MY GRANDMOTHER’S MUSIC BOX CHANGED EVERYTHING I KNEW ABOUT MY FAMILY
I did not invite Kieran home.
He asked.
I said no.
He accepted it.
That should not have impressed me.
My standards had apparently been damaged by Ryan.
Mrs. Chen closed the shop early.
I took the pocket watch with me only because she insisted.
“It belongs with the truth,” she said.
Whatever that meant.
Kieran offered security.
I refused that too.
Then I noticed the black SUV parked across the street from my apartment.
I called him.
“You said you would respect my answer.”
“I did.”
“There’s a man outside my building.”
“He’s not mine.”
That changed the conversation.
“Where are you?”
“Two minutes away.”
Of course.
A second vehicle arrived.
Kieran stepped out.
The first SUV immediately drove away.
He photographed the license plate.
Then looked at me.
“Still don’t want security?”
“I’m reconsidering.”
“Good.”
“Don’t sound pleased.”
“I’m pleased you’re alive.”
Difficult to argue with that.
Inside my apartment, I retrieved Grandma’s music box.
Dark walnut.
Hand-painted roses.
It had sat on my dresser for twelve years.
I turned the key.
A delicate melody played.
Kieran stood several feet away.
He did not touch it.
“How do we open it?”
“I’ve opened it hundreds of times.”
“Not the top.”
He pointed underneath.
There was a seam I had never noticed.
I found a tiny recessed latch.
The bottom released.
Inside were papers wrapped in oilcloth.
And a brass key.
And a letter.
My name was written across it.
Lily.
My hands shook.
I opened it.
My darling girl,
If you are reading this, then someone has found Nikolai’s watch.
That means the past has finally come looking for you.
I’m sorry.
Your mother did not die because she was careless.
Nikolai Volkov did not die because he was a criminal.
They died because they discovered what men around them were willing to do for money.
Do not judge the son for the father.
But do not trust him merely because he loved his father either.
Make Kieran earn the truth.
Grandma Evelyn
I read the last sentence twice.
Kieran looked offended.
“Your grandmother was difficult.”
“You knew her?”
“I met her once.”
“When?”
“I was seventeen.”
“What happened?”
“She slapped me.”
I stared.
“What did you do?”
“I called your mother a liar.”
I almost laughed.
“Sounds deserved.”
“It was.”
That was the first time Kieran smiled fully.
It changed his entire face.
Dangerous.
I looked back at the papers.
Bank records.
Company names.
Dates.
My mother, Anna Bennett, had been an investigative accountant.
Nikolai Volkov had hired her secretly.
Not to launder money.
To find it.
Someone had been stealing from the Volkov organization.
Millions.
Anna traced the money through legitimate Chicago businesses.
One company appeared repeatedly.
Harrow Financial.
Ryan’s employer.
I sat down.
“No.”
Kieran leaned closer.
“Harrow existed then?”
“Yes.”
The company had been founded by Malcolm Harrow.
Ryan’s grandfather.
My stomach turned.
“What are the odds?”
“Very low.”
I called Ryan.
Kieran looked at me.
“You sure?”
“No.”
I called anyway.
Ryan answered immediately.
“Lily.”
“What does your family have to do with my mother?”
Silence.
“Where are you?”
“Answer me.”
“Are you with Volkov?”
“Yes.”
“Get away from him.”
“Answer me.”
Ryan breathed heavily.
“My grandfather worked for Nikolai.”
“As what?”
“Financial adviser.”
“Did he steal from him?”
Silence.
That was an answer.
“Ryan.”
“I didn’t know when we met.”
“When did you know?”
Another silence.
My heart broke in an entirely new way.
“When?”
“After we’d been dating about a year.”
Five years.
He had known for five years.
“Did you date me because of Grandma?”
“No!”
“Did you stay because of her?”
“No.”
“Did you cheat on me because you’re a terrible person or was that also family business?”
Kieran turned away.
Possibly hiding a smile.
Ryan swore.
“Sarah was a mistake.”
“She was my best friend.”
“I know.”
“You always know after.”
“Lily, listen. My grandfather believed Evelyn had evidence that could destroy our family.”
“So you were watching me.”
“Not at first.”
The words destroyed whatever remained.
Not at first.
“Goodbye, Ryan.”
“Wait. Your mother—”
I froze.
“What?”
“He knows who ordered it.”
I looked at Kieran.
“Who?”
Ryan’s voice lowered.
“Kieran.”
Kieran heard.
His expression did not change.
Ryan continued.
“Ask him why he spent ten years hunting the man responsible and never told the police.”
I ended the call.
“Kieran?”
“My father was murdered.”
“And my mother?”
“I believed the same person ordered both deaths.”
“Who?”
“Malcolm Harrow.”
Ryan’s grandfather.
“Believed?”
“I never had proof.”
I held up Grandma’s papers.
“Maybe now you do.”
We spent the night reading.
Mrs. Chen joined us.
Then Kieran’s attorney, Elena Markov.
I approved her first.
Kieran actually asked.
The ledger was incomplete.
Grandma had hidden copies of transactions showing Malcolm siphoning money from Nikolai’s businesses.
But there was another name.
Victor Volkov.
Kieran’s uncle.
His father’s younger brother.
Kieran went still.
“My uncle raised me after my father died.”
I looked at him.
“You trust him?”
“I did.”
Past tense.
The records suggested Malcolm and Victor worked together.
Malcolm moved money.
Victor authorized access.
Anna Bennett discovered it.
Nikolai confronted Victor.
Then both Nikolai and Anna died.
The official story said separate accidents.
The ledger suggested otherwise.
At three in the morning, I found a photograph.
My mother.
Nikolai.
Grandma.
And a little boy.
Kieran.
He stared at it.
“I remember that day.”
“You met my mother?”
“Yes.”
“I thought you said you met Grandma once.”
“I met Anna several times.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because five hours ago you already believed I might be connected to her death.”
Fair.
“What was she like?”
He looked at the photograph.
“Kind.”
My eyes burned.
I remembered very little about my mother.
Her perfume.
Her laugh.
The way she cut sandwiches diagonally.
Not enough.
“She used to bring me books when she met my father.”
“What kind?”
“Mysteries.”
I smiled.
“That sounds like her.”
“She told me intelligent people should learn to question easy answers.”
“That definitely sounds like her.”
Kieran looked at me.
“Lily, if these records are real, my uncle helped murder both our parents.”
“Then we prove it.”
His eyes sharpened.
“We?”
“Yes.”
“This could become dangerous.”
“It already is.”
“I can handle Victor.”
“And I can handle documents.”
“I don’t want you involved.”
I stared at him.
He realized his mistake.
“I phrased that badly.”
“Very.”
“I’m afraid you’ll get hurt.”
“Better.”
He sighed.
“I’m not used to this.”
“To what?”
“Explaining myself before giving instructions.”
“That sounds like a personal-development opportunity.”
He almost smiled.
Then my apartment window shattered.
Kieran moved before I understood.
He pulled me to the floor.
A bullet struck the wall.
Mrs. Chen screamed.
Kieran covered me with his body.
Another shot.
Then silence.
His security team stormed upstairs.
The shooter was gone.
But something had been thrown through the broken window.
A photograph.
My mother.
On the back:
ANNA SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE PAST BURIED.
YOU SHOULD TOO.
Kieran read it.
His face became terrifying.
“Victor.”
“You don’t know that.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“But I’m going to find out.”
I touched his arm.
“Kieran.”
He looked down.
“You don’t get to become a murderer because someone shot at me.”
His jaw tightened.
“You don’t know what I am.”
“No.”
I held his gaze.
“That means you get to show me.”
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he nodded.
And for the first time, I realized the most dangerous thing about Kieran Volkov was not that he might be capable of violence.
May you like
It was that when I asked him to choose something better—
he actually listened.
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