Arthur’s eyes shone.
Clarissa looked toward the horizon.
“Is it wrong that I don’t feel happy?”
“No,” he said. “You are grieving the person you hoped he was.”
Her fingers tightened around the cup.
Below them, the estate gates opened.
A black sedan entered.
Clarissa frowned. “Who is that?”
Arthur’s expression changed.
Not alarm.
Recognition.
The car stopped near the front steps, and a tall man in a dark overcoat stepped out.
Clarissa’s heart gave a strange, unfamiliar jolt.
Arthur said quietly, “There is someone you should meet.”
PART 6 — The Man Who Knew the Secret Before Everyone Else
His name was Nathaniel Vale.
Clarissa had heard it before, though never in rooms Julian cared about. Nathaniel was not the loudest billionaire in business magazines, nor the kind who surrounded himself with photographers. He was quieter, sharper, known for acquiring failing companies and somehow leaving their employees better off than before.
