An Understated Heir Returns

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The Betrayal List

Adam did not leave after Henry’s revelation, he returned to the desk and sat down, his expression unreadable as Henry brought out another file. Whatever trace of amusement had been on Adam’s face earlier was gone.

“Show me.”

Henry placed the file in front of him. “The accident was too precise to have been arranged from the outside alone, Young Master. Whoever planned it knew your exact route, what time you would leave and how many men would be with you that night. Only a handful of people had access to all of that.”

Adam opened the file and began reading.

Henry remained standing across from him. “Your driver changed the route less than twenty minutes before the crash. He claimed there had been an accident on the main road, but when I checked afterward, no such accident had been reported.”

Adam’s gaze hardened slightly. “Where is he?”

“Gone. He disappeared less than two days after you vanished. His accounts were emptied, his apartment was abandoned and every number connected to him stopped working.”

Adam turned another page without reacting.

“Payment?”

“Nothing I could trace.”

“Then whoever paid him wasn’t stupid.”

Henry nodded. “That was my conclusion too.”

Adam continued through the records until two photographs appeared among the documents.

His hand stopped.

Mark Evans.

Rachel Stone.

The room became quieter.

Henry watched him carefully before speaking. “Those two names kept appearing around the hours before your accident.”

Adam picked up Mark’s photograph first.

Mark had been his closest friend for years, one of the few people Adam had trusted without constantly questioning his motives. They had grown up around the same circles, studied together and entered business almost at the same time.

Then Adam looked at Rachel.

His former fiancée.

Their engagement had benefited both families, but Rachel had not been a stranger forced onto him by the Carters. He had known her long before the engagement and trusted her enough to let his guard down around her.

Adam put both photographs back on the desk.

“What did you find?”

“Rachel called you that evening. Eight minutes after her call ended, Mark contacted you. Less than an hour later, your driver changed the route.”

The memories returned immediately.

Rachel had called asking whether he would still attend a private dinner later that night. Adam had told her he was leaving a meeting outside the city and would decide once he got back.

Mark called shortly afterward and complained that Adam had become impossible to find. Adam had casually told him where he was.

At the time, neither conversation had meant anything but now they meant far too much.

Henry slid another document across the desk. “I couldn’t prove either of them ordered the attack, but both behaved strangely afterward. Rachel left the capital for almost two months immediately after your disappearance. Mark, on the other hand, suddenly began investing heavily in companies that had been competing against businesses under your control.”

Adam read the report once.

Then again.

“Who benefited most after I died?”

Henry hesitated. “Too many people.”

“Exactly.”

Several branches of the Carter family had gained something from Adam’s disappearance. Positions opened. Shares shifted. Projects changed hands. Rivals outside the family also benefited once the man holding several important pieces together suddenly vanished.

That was why killing him had been useful to too many people.

Henry folded his arms. “I always believed Mark and Rachel were involved somehow, but neither of them had enough reason to organize something that large alone.”

“They didn’t.”

Henry looked at him.

Adam tapped the driver’s photograph.

“This man changes my route and disappears. Rachel leaves the capital. Mark starts moving into businesses connected to mine. Three different reactions, all immediately after the same event.”

“You think someone coordinated them.”

“I think whoever planned it made sure nobody held enough of the plan to expose the rest.”

Henry’s expression changed slightly.

Adam continued, “The driver may have only known where to take me. Mark may have been used to confirm my location. Rachel could have been doing the same thing without knowing how the information would be used.”

“You think one of them may not have known it was an assassination?”

“I think assuming anything after five years would be stupid.”

Henry nodded slowly.

That was exactly the Adam he remembered. He did not let anger make decisions for him.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Nothing.”

Henry frowned.

Adam leaned back. “Nothing obvious.”

Understanding immediately replaced the confusion in Henry’s eyes.

“Don’t reopen the investigation officially or approach Mark or Rachel, in fact don’t ask questions that could travel back to them. As far as everyone involved is concerned, Adam Carter died five years ago.”

Henry smiled faintly. “And dead men don’t investigate their own murders.”

“Exactly.”

Adam closed the file.

“If they believe they succeeded, they’ve had five years to become comfortable. Comfortable people get careless.”

Henry looked almost pleased. “I’ve missed this.”

Adam gave him a flat look. “You missed someone trying to kill me?”

“I missed watching you plan what happens to people who try.”

Adam’s lips curved faintly.

“Find the driver first. Quietly. If he’s alive, I want to know where he is before he knows anyone is looking.”

“And Mark and Rachel?”

“Watch them. Nothing more.”

Henry nodded. “Understood, Young Master.”

Adam picked up Rachel’s photograph again, studied it briefly, then dropped it back into the folder.

Five years ago, betrayal from either of them would have angered him but now it only made him curious.

Someone had gone through a great deal of trouble to remove him from the board.

Adam intended to find out why before he started breaking pieces.

Henry closed the investigation file and locked it away. “Everything for Mrs. Carter’s meeting tomorrow has already been arranged.”

The coldness in Adam’s eyes eased slightly and Henry noticed but wisely kept his amusement to himself.

Adam stood and adjusted his sleeve. “Add one condition.”

Henry waited.

“If Turner Group gets the contract, Emma manages the project personally.”

Henry immediately understood. “You think her family will try to take it from her.”

“I don’t think. I know.”

Robert Turner had already shown Adam exactly what kind of man he was. If Emma returned with a contract valuable enough to save Turner Group, the same people who mocked her failure would suddenly decide they were more qualified to control it.

Henry nodded. “I’ll have the condition written into the agreement.”

“Good.”

A faint smile appeared on Henry’s face. “You seem quite certain she’ll get that far.”

Adam headed toward the door.

“I’ve read her proposal.”

That was enough of an answer.

Henry followed him downstairs and personally took him back to the car. On the way, he glanced at Adam’s plain clothes and shook his head.

“At least use some of your money now, Young Master. Watching the owner of Weston ride around on that scooter is painful.”

Adam gave him a flat look. “There’s nothing wrong with my scooter.”

Henry sighed. “Of course not.”

During the drive, Adam barely spoke. His mind had already returned to the three people inside Henry’s file.

Mark, Rachel, the missing driver and somewhere behind them, someone who had spent five years believing Adam Carter was dead.

For now, Adam intended to let them continue believing it.

The car eventually stopped a short distance from his house. Henry turned toward him.

“Everything will be ready by morning, Young Master.”

Adam opened the door. “Make sure it is.”

Henry nodded respectfully.

Adam stepped out and walked toward the quiet house where Emma was still working, while Henry remained in the car until he disappeared inside..