Chapter 2 - Remembering The Forbidden Family Secret
Corbin stared blankly at Lianna Prescott's employment application form resting on his mahogany desk.
The name Julian Prescott echoed through his mind like a ghost from a past life he thought he had completely buried.
Four years ago, right after Corbin took over Stanford Development, his uncle Richard had strictly forbidden anyone from uttering that name in the corporate office.
At the time, Corbin was too overwhelmed with multi-million dollar construction contracts to question why a lead architect's name was suddenly erased from all company records.
Now, seeing Julian's name attached to his quiet, hardworking housekeeper sent an icy shiver down his spine.
He remembered the hushed conversations in the boardroom when the older executives spoke of a tragic accident at a remote bridge construction site.
Julian Prescott had supposedly plunged off an icy overpass late at night, taking his blueprints and his life into the freezing river below.
The police report had ruled it accidental fatigue, but the sudden termination of Julian's entire department had always felt unusually calculated.
Corbin unlocked his computer's encrypted historical drive, searching for the old personnel archives that predated his own tenure as chief executive.
The files were heavily redacted, but one lingering personnel folder revealed that Julian Prescott had been married to a woman named Lianna.
May you like
Corbin looked back at the kitchen door where Lianna had just finished wiping down the marble countertops with quiet, meticulous dedication.
How was it possible that the widow of a brilliant Stanford Development architect was now scrubbing floors in the very house her husband helped design?
