THE SON THEY BURIED WAS THEIR ONLY HEIR

Chapter Forty Seven: The Room They Sealed

When Benedict finally arrived at the Ashcroft Group headquarters, he was met with a scene of complete chaos, the building was in total disarray.

Executives moved rapidly between offices.

Phones rang without pause.

Security personnel stood near the elevators.

Something had happened.

Damian was waiting outside the boardroom.

"You took your time."

"I was following a lead."

"Forget the lead for now. We have a bigger problem."

Benedict looked at him.

"What happened?"

Damian handed him a file.

"Three lenders have frozen new credit facilities."

"Why?"

There's a problem with Ashcroft Group - they've got some issues with who actually owns the company, but the details are being kept secret.

Benedict opened the file.

The documents were professionally prepared.

Too professionally.

"Who submitted them?"

"We don't know."

"Are they legitimate?"

"Some of the underlying records are."

Benedict looked up.

"Some?"

Damian nodded.

"That's what makes this dangerous."

They entered the boardroom.

Victor stood at the head of the table.

Eleanor was there too.

Benedict noticed the tension in her face.

"Explain."

Victor gestured toward the screen.

Some of the people who lend us money think that someone else might have a right to some of the things that belong to Ashcroft Group.

Benedict studied the documents.

"Based on what?"

"An old trust."

His attention sharpened.

"How old?"

Victor hesitated.

"Twenty-five years."

Benedict looked at Damian.

The same period.

The same hidden inheritance.

The same time the child disappeared.

"Who is the beneficiary?"

"We don't know."

Benedict walked toward the screen.

"Show me the trust."

The legal director brought it up.

Benedict studied the structure.

Then he saw something.

"Stop."

The screen froze.

"Scroll back."

The lawyer did.

Benedict pointed.

"That reference number."

Damian leaned closer.

"What about it?"

"I've seen it before."

Victor's face tightened.

"Where?"

Benedict looked at him.

"In an old document connected to the fire."

Silence.

Eleanor stared at Benedict.

"What document?"

Benedict didn't answer immediately.

He had made a promise to himself to keep quiet about what he had found out, at least until he figured out who he could really trust.

"The trust was created before the fire."

Victor nodded slowly.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"We believed it was dormant."

"Who created it?"

Victor looked away.

"I don't remember."

Benedict's eyes narrowed.

"You don't remember?"

"It was a long time ago."

"Twenty-five years isn't long enough to forget an ownership trust worth millions."

Victor's expression hardened.

"Be careful, Benedict."

Benedict didn't back down.

"Someone has activated it."

Damian stepped between them.

"Can we focus?"

Benedict returned his attention to the screen.

"Yes."

He studied transaction history.

"There."

"What?"

"The beneficiary hasn't claimed anything."

Damian frowned.

"Then why are lenders reacting?"

People are told something is true just because someone else wants them to think that.

Victor looked confused.

"Why create a fake inheritance dispute?"

Benedict looked at the documents again.

"To force the company into a defensive position."

"And then?"

"They acquire leverage."

Damian's expression changed.

"Someone wants Ashcroft Group weakened before making a real move."

Benedict nodded.

"Exactly."

Victor stared at him.

"Who?"

Benedict's eyes remained on the screen.

"That's what we need to find out."

His phone vibrated.

A message.

He looked down.

ROOM 17.

His pulse quickened.

Another message arrived.

The original record is still there.

Benedict locked his phone.

Damian noticed.

"Something wrong?"

"No."

Victor looked at him.

What's wrong, you look like you've just seen something that really scared you?

Benedict met his gaze.

"Because someone just confirmed that the past is still alive."

Eleanor watched him carefully.

She had been silent throughout the meeting.

Now she spoke.

"Benedict."

He turned.

"When you were a child..."

She stopped.

Something flickered across her face.

Benedict waited.

No one really talked about it, but I've always wondered, where I found when I first came to the manor, was it somewhere on the grounds or maybe in the nearby village, I've never really known the whole story.

His expression tightened.

"No."

Eleanor lowered her eyes.

"I think I remember."

Victor immediately turned toward her.

"Eleanor."

She looked at him.

"You remember?"

He shook his head slightly.

"Not now."

Benedict noticed the exchange.

"Why not now?"

Victor's voice became firm.

"Because we have a company to save."

Benedict looked from Victor to Eleanor.

He understood.

There was something Eleanor knew.

Something Victor did not want discussed.

Now he had an even bigger reason to track down Room 17.

Not just because Daniel had hidden a record there.

But because someone inside this family was beginning to remember.

Benedict picked up the file.

"I'll handle the trust."

Damian looked surprised.

"Victor already has the legal team."

"I know."

"Then why?"

"Because they are looking at the documents."

Benedict closed the file.

"I'm going to look at the structure."

Victor watched him.

"Can you solve this?"

Benedict met his eyes.

"Yes."

For the first time, Victor looked uncertain.

Benedict walked out of the boardroom.

Behind him, Eleanor whispered,

"I've seen those eyes before."

Victor turned toward her.

"What did you say?"

Eleanor stared at the closed door.

"Nothing."

But she knew she had seen them.

Twenty-five years ago.

In the arms of a woman running through smoke.

It was a thought that had never occurred to Eleanor before, but now she couldn't shake it off - had the boy they had laid to rest really passed away, or was it all just a terrible mistake?

Benedict waited until the elevator doors shut before he pulled out his phone.

He reread the message.

ROOM 17.

Then the second.

The original record is still there.

It was clear that whoever sent it had a good idea of what Daniel was hiding.

And they knew Benedict was looking.

He stepped out on the seventeenth floor.

The old records department was located at the far end of the corridor, a bit of a forgotten area. A lot of the offices around there had been changed and updated years ago, but there was one part that was still closed off and hadn't been touched.

Benedict approached the security door.

He entered his access code.

Access denied.

He tried again.

The same result.

"Of course."

He looked at the panel.

The system wasn't rejecting his authorization.

Someone had deliberately removed his clearance.

Benedict smiled faintly.

That meant whoever had done it was nervous.

He pulled out his phone and called Damian.

"I need access to the old records floor."

"Why?"

"Because someone is hiding something there."

"That isn't an answer."

"It's the only one I have."

There was a pause.

"Give me five minutes."

The line disconnected.

Benedict waited.

Five minutes later, the security door unlocked.

Damian stood behind him.

"You're becoming a problem."

Benedict glanced at him.

I was supposed to be assisting you, what seems to be the problem, didn't I do what you needed me to do?

"I am."

Damian looked at the sealed corridor.

"If Victor discovers we're going behind his back, we'll both be in big trouble."

Benedict started walking.

"Then don't tell him."

They reached Room 17.

The door was different from the others, it didn't have one of those electronic locks on it.

Only an old brass keyhole.

Benedict pulled out the key that Leah had handed over to him.

Damian stared.

"Where did you get that?"

"From someone who knew Daniel."

The key turned.

The door opened.

Dust filled the air.

The room was almost completely empty.

A desk.

A filing cabinet.

One broken chair.

Damian looked around.

"This is what we've been chasing?"

"Not yet."

Benedict studied the walls.

He wasn't looking for a safe.

He was looking for a design.

Daniel had been careful.

If he wanted to hide an important record, he wouldn't have placed it somewhere obvious.

Benedict walked toward the desk.

He touched the surface.

Then the wall behind it.

Nothing.

He moved to the filing cabinet.

Empty.

Damian frowned.

"There's nothing here."

Benedict looked down.

"Not nothing."

He pointed at the floor.

One section of wood was slightly darker.

Damian crouched.

"There."

Together they moved the cabinet.

A narrow metal panel appeared beneath it.

Damian stared.

"How did you see that?"

"I didn't."

Benedict looked at the room.

"I noticed the cabinet had never been moved."

They opened the panel.

Inside was a small metal box.

Benedict removed it.

There was no lock.

Only a handwritten label.

For the rightful heir.

Damian stared at the words.

"That's impossible."

Benedict looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because this room hasn't been open in decades."

"Apparently someone opened it recently."

There were fresh scratches around the panel.

Someone had searched the room before them.

Benedict opened the box.

Inside was a folded document.

He unfolded it.

The first page had an old agreement about who owned Ashcroft.

The second contained a list of beneficiaries.

One name had been blacked out.

Underneath the dark writing, you could just make out a faint mark.

Benedict stared.

He recognized the identification number.

The same number appeared in Daniel's papers.

The same number is connected to the dormant trust.

Damian stepped closer.

"Can you read it?"

"Not completely."

"Then who was the beneficiary?"

Benedict turned the page.

There was another note.

The name got taken away after the fire happened. But the original is still with Eleanor.

Benedict stopped.

Damian looked at him.

"Eleanor?"

Benedict nodded.

It all clicked into place, everything Eleanor had said in the meeting suddenly made perfect sense, like a puzzle finally coming together.

Her memory wasn't simply a memory.

She might possess the missing piece.

The thing that could link Benedict to the kid.

Damian took the document.

"Then we take this to Victor."

"No."

"Why?"

If Eleanor still has the original, then Victor might already be aware of it.

Damian looked at him.

"And if he does?"

Benedict closed the box.

"Then we need to know why he never told me."

A sound came from the corridor.

Both men froze.

Someone was outside.

The door handle moved.

Damian reached for the light switch.

Benedict shook his head.

The door opened.

Eleanor stood there.

She looked at the box in Benedict's hands.

Then at Damian.

Her face went pale.

"I wondered when you would find it."

Benedict stared at her.

"You knew?"

Eleanor slowly closed the door behind her.

"I knew there was something Daniel wanted hidden."

"Where is the original?"

She looked at Benedict.

"Not here."

"Then where?"

Eleanor's eyes are filled with emotion.

"With me."

Benedict's heart pounded.

"Why?"

Eleanor swallowed.

I was the one who took care of the child that night.

Silence.

Damian stared at her.

Benedict couldn't breathe.

Eleanor looked directly into his eyes.

I recall the lady who introduced us, she's the one who brought him to meet me.

Benedict's voice was barely audible.

"What did you do with the child?"

Eleanor's lips trembled.

"I thought he was dead."

She looked at Benedict.

"But he wasn't."