Chapter 3 - THE SECRET IN THE SAFE
By the end of the week, the tension inside the Buchanan mansion had curdled into something toxic.
Julianna Montgomery had taken to visiting the estate daily, not to bond with the twins, but to rearrange furniture, dismiss household staff, and finalize guest lists for the upcoming society gala at the Plaza Hotel. Emma and Lily had become increasingly withdrawn, hiding in the library whenever Julianna’s sharp voice echoed through the marble halls.
Valerie had been brought in by Eleanor to deep-clean the private executive study on the second floor—a room Franklin rarely used since his wife passed away, but which Julianna insisted on converting into a walk-in closet for her wedding attire.
Kneeling by the heavy mahogany desk, Valerie wiped down the baseboards. As she reached behind a stack of old architectural ledgers, her hand brushed against a loose floorboard near the heavy wall safe.
The board slipped aside. Beneath it sat a thin manila envelope marked CONFIDENTIAL - LEGAL RE: MONTGOMERY HOLDINGS.
Valerie didn't mean to look. She was an honest person, a cleaner who respected privacy. But as she tried to slide the board back, the envelope’s flap caught on a stray nail, spilling a few printed emails and bank statements onto the rug.
Her eyes scanned the top page.
It was a private investigator’s dossier addressed to Franklin Buchanan, dated six months ago—long after Franklin and Julianna had supposedly fallen in love.
Valerie’s breath hitched.
The report detailed a series of covert financial transactions between Montgomery Holdings and a shell company in the Cayman Islands. But worse than the money laundering was a signed statement from Julianna’s former nanny, detailing how Julianna had intentionally neglected Emma and Lily during a trial weekend last year, locking them in a guest suite just to prove to her friends that “children are an anchor on a high-society career.”
And right beside it was a bank routing slip showing a monthly payout to the former nanny—the exact same nanny who had suddenly vanished the day the girls got lost in the financial district.
Julianna didn't just neglect them, Valerie realized with a cold shudder. She orchestrated the distraction.
Before Valerie could gather the papers, the heavy study door clicked open.
Julianna stood in the doorway, a glass of sparkling water in her hand, her eyes locking onto the documents scattered across the floor.
For a second, Julianna froze. Then, her face twisted into a mask of pure, venomous fury.
“You nosy little cleaner trash,” Julianna hissed, stepping into the room and kicking the door shut behind her. “Snooping through private property? You really think a billionaire is going to believe a maid over his future wife?”
Valerie stood up slowly, clutching the papers in her hand, her posture unyielding. “He won't have to believe me, Miss Montgomery. He’ll just have to read what your private investigator found.”
Julianna lunged forward, her manicured nails clawing at Valerie’s wrist to rip the papers away. A fierce tug-of-war erupted across the Persian rug, ending when the study door flew open wide.
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Franklin stood in the frame, his briefcase slipping from his hand, crashing hard onto the marble floor
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