Chapter 14 Kate Voss
Kate found him three days later.
Alex was alone on the back terrace, drinking a coffee he’d made himself.
He’d started doing that because he didn’t want to call a staff member every time he wanted something small.
At first, the staff had looked surprised whenever he walked into the kitchen.
Now they barely reacted.
Alex preferred it that way.
He liked doing simple things for himself.
Making coffee.
Choosing his own breakfast.
Opening doors.
Carrying his own bag.
Small things that reminded him that, underneath all the money and attention, he was still the same person.
The sun was going down, and the grounds were slowly disappearing into the blue evening.
From the terrace, the estate looked almost peaceful.
The trees were dark silhouettes against the fading sky.
The lights along the paths had begun to come on.
Somewhere in the distance, a fountain was running.
Alex took another sip of coffee.
He was beginning to understand why people liked places like this.
Not because they were necessarily happier.
Because they were quiet.
Too quiet sometimes.
“May I join you?”
Alex looked up.
Kate stood near the terrace doors.
Something about the way she asked made him pause.
She actually seemed to care whether he said yes.
“Please.”
He meant it.
Kate walked over and sat beside him.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
They watched the grounds grow darker.
Alex wasn’t uncomfortable with the silence.
That surprised him.
Most of the conversations he’d had with the Voss family felt like negotiations.
Someone always wanted something.
An answer.
A decision.
A reaction.
Kate didn’t seem to want anything.
At least, not yet.
“I imagine this has been a lot more than you expected,” she said eventually.
Alex laughed quietly.
“That might be the understatement of my entire life.”
Kate laughed too.
It was soft and genuine.
Nothing like Margaret’s careful smiles.
Alex glanced at her.
“You seem to be the only person in this family who laughs without checking whether someone else is watching.”
Kate smiled.
“Maybe I’m getting worse at pretending.”
“That’s probably a good thing.”
“I think so.”
She looked toward the grounds.
For a few seconds, she seemed to be thinking about what to say next.
“I want you to know something.”
Alex turned toward her.
“Not everyone in this family sees you as a threat.”
She paused.
“Or a mistake.”
Another pause.
“Or a problem that needs to be managed.”
She gave him a small smile.
“I know that’s probably hard to believe after this week.”
Alex looked down at his coffee.
“I’ve had my doubts.”
“I don’t blame you.”
She folded her hands in her lap.
“You’ve been thrown into something you didn’t ask for.”
“And everyone keeps reminding me how much I don’t belong.”
Kate looked at him.
“Some of them are scared.”
“Of me?”
“Of what you represent.”
Alex frowned.
“What do I represent?”
Kate didn’t answer immediately.
“Change.”
The word hung between them.
Alex looked back toward the estate.
“That’s a lot of pressure for one person.”
“It is.”
“I didn’t ask for any of this.”
“I know.”
Alex hesitated.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask.”
Kate turned toward him.
“I can’t promise I’ll answer everything honestly.”
She paused.
“Not yet.”
Alex waited.
“But I’ll tell you when I can’t.”
He nodded.
“Fair enough.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Alex finally asked the question that had been sitting in his mind for days.
“Why does everyone in this family seem to be hiding something?”
Kate’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Alex noticed.
“Elena won’t tell me about the room in the east wing.”
Kate looked away.
“Margaret talks about your father like she’s not sure he was himself near the end.”
He continued.
“Desmond keeps testing me with these little games.”
Alex turned toward her.
“And you…”
Kate remained quiet.
“You keep looking at me like you’re trying to figure out something that has nothing to do with the inheritance.”
Kate’s fingers tightened together.
Alex didn’t push.
He’d learned enough by now to recognize when someone was deciding whether to speak.
The silence stretched.
Finally, Kate said, “You remind me of someone.”
Alex frowned.
“Who?”
“I’ve thought it since the moment you walked into that conference room.”
She looked at him.
“Something about the way you carry yourself.”
Alex waited.
“The way you listen.”
She paused.
“The way you look at people when you think they’re not watching.”
Alex stared at her.
“Who do I remind you of?”
Kate shook her head.
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why?”
“I made a promise a long time ago.”
“To who?”
Kate looked toward the darkening garden.
“That part matters.”
Alex waited.
She didn’t elaborate.
“And I’m going to keep it until I’m certain the time is right to break it.”
Alex studied her face.
There was no deception there that he could see.
Just conflict.
He decided not to push.
“Does this person have something to do with Julian?”
Kate looked at him.
The silence answered before she did.
“I can’t talk about that.”
Alex nodded slowly.
“Okay.”
Kate looked relieved.
“Thank you.”
“I said I wouldn’t push.”
“I know.”
She gave him a small smile.
“Most people in this family don’t take no for an answer.”
“I’m starting to notice.”
Kate laughed softly.
Then her expression became serious again.
“But I want you to know something.”
Alex waited.
“That feeling you have?”
“What feeling?”
“The feeling that you walked into the middle of a story that started long before you arrived.”
Alex’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Kate held his gaze.
“You’re not imagining it.”
Alex let out a slow breath.
“That isn’t exactly reassuring.”
“No.”
Kate gave a small, sad smile.
“It isn’t.”
Alex looked out across the grounds.
He thought about Julian.
About the will.
About the strange engagement.
About the nursery.
About Elena’s reaction when he’d opened that door.
About Margaret’s doubts.
About Richard’s obvious hostility.
And now Kate’s promise.
There were too many pieces.
But none of them fit.
“What happened to this family?” he asked quietly.
Kate looked down at her hands.
“That’s a much bigger question than you realize.”
“Then give me the small answer.”
She smiled sadly.
“I don’t think there is one.”
Alex looked at her.
Kate reached into her coat pocket.
She pulled out a small card.
She held it out to him.
Alex took it.
“My private number.”
He looked down at it.
“It’s not the number Reyes’s office has.”
He turned the card over.
There was only her name and a phone number.
“If you ever need someone in this family who isn’t playing a game with you…”
She paused.
“I mean that.”
Alex looked up.
“Not as a strategy.”
“No.”
Kate’s voice softened.
“Not as a strategy.”
She held his gaze.
“Call me.”
Alex looked at the card again.
“Any time?”
“Any hour.”
He frowned.
“You’re serious?”
“Yes.”
“Even if it’s three in the morning?”
Kate smiled.
“If you’re calling me at three in the morning, I assume it’s important.”
“Good to know.”
He slipped the card carefully into his wallet.
“Thank you.”
Kate stood.
“Don’t thank me yet.”
Alex looked up at her.
“Why?”
“You might resent me someday.”
“For what?”
“For everything I didn’t tell you tonight.”
Alex stood as well.
“You could still tell me.”
Kate looked toward the house.
“I could.”
“But you won’t.”
“Not yet.”
There was something about those two words that made Alex stop.
Not yet.
Not never.
He looked at her.
“What are you waiting for?”
Kate was silent for a moment.
“Certainty.”
“About what?”
“That you’re ready.”
“For what?”
She smiled sadly.
“I don’t know if anyone is ever ready.”
Alex watched her.
“You’re not making me feel better.”
“I know.”
Kate slipped her hands into her coat pockets.
“I’m not trying to.”
She looked back toward the house.
“I’m trying to be honest.”
Alex nodded.
“I appreciate that.”
Kate started toward the doors.
Then she stopped.
“One more thing.”
Alex waited.
“Be careful who you trust.”
He almost smiled.
“Everyone keeps telling me that.”
“Then maybe you should listen.”
She walked inside.
Alex stayed on the terrace.
The card was still in his wallet.
The evening had become almost completely dark.
The house behind him was bright and warm, but for some reason, it no longer looked welcoming.
It looked like a place full of closed doors.
Alex thought about Kate’s words.
You remind me of someone.
He thought about the nursery.
The old crib.
The faded wallpaper.
The photograph he had seen inside.
The person whose room it had once been.
He didn’t know who that person was.
He didn’t know why Elena had been afraid.
He didn’t know what Julian had known.
And he didn’t know why Kate had looked at him as though she had seen someone from her past standing in front of her.
But one thing was becoming impossible to ignore.
The inheritance wasn’t the strangest thing about the Voss family.
It was the reason Julian had chosen him.
Alex looked toward the dark windows of the east wing.
For a moment, he wondered whether someone had been watching him from behind them.
He couldn’t see anyone.
He turned away.
He wasn’t going to chase answers blindly.
Not yet.
But he would find them.
One by one.
Even if every answer led to another question.
