“It was meant for me,” Rosalie whispered at Naomi’s hospital bed, understanding at last that her father had never intended to let her live long past the wedding.

That night she led Manuel to Lorelei’s private archive, which had been moved to Pinecrest under a clause in a secondary will that Emmett couldn’t legally touch.

Chapter 3 — The Coded Ledger

Rosalie fit the small key into the lock, and it turned.

Inside the chest were letters, hidden bank statements, and a leather notebook written in a simple household code.

Rosalie knew the handwriting at once — her mother’s.

Lorelei had been hiding real money under ordinary domestic entries: “candles” meant illegal bribes, “repairs” meant payments to corrupt officials.