Chapter 2 The Woman Who Would Inherited His Empire

Eleanor Hayes went to an hotel nearby, she lodged in and then when she entered the room, she threw her bag on the chair and then went down immediately with tears of weakness and regrets in her eyes. She could not sleep, everytime she closed eyes, she saw Adrian standing beneath the golden lights of the ballroom, holding Victoria Sinclair's hand as though the woman had always belonged there.   Everytime she tried to rest, she heard his voice.   "I want a divorce"   She wondered how it was easy for him to end three years with her, she thought of how he couldn't believe how he doubted her and also find a replacement within that same hours. She thought of how she had been defending him in all atmosphere but he had apparently found it easier to destroy her reputation than to trust her and he had ended everything in front of hundreds of people.   Eleanor turned onto her side and stared at the pale curtains covering the windows of the  hotel room, tears rolled down her eyes. She removed her wedding ring and threw it on the wall with anger when the weight of it became unbearable.   Eleanor simply stared at it for a while and then her phone vibrated, it was a message from Adrian again, her heart jumped for seconds, hoping maybe he had called to explain. Perhaps, after the anger had settled, he had realized how cruelly he had treated her.   She picked up the phone.   "I have send my driver to pack all your clothes and everything, it will be delivered to you, you evil cunning witch"   Eleanor read the message twice then she laughed.   "Really"    It was a small, broken sound that barely resembled laughter. Adrian had humiliated her before an entire ballroom, accused her of betraying his company, announced his engagement to another woman, and thrown her out of his life and now he even asked the driver to send her belongings and called her an evil cunning"   She typed a reply.   "Wow, you really surprised me, but you don't have to worry, Adrian. I will never beg you to love me and again, my reply is not today"    Her thumb hovered over the send button and then she deleted the message.   "What was the point?" She said to herself    "He had already made his decision, i would not spend another minute trying to convince a man to see the worth of a woman he had deliberately chosen to discard."   Eleanor placed the phone facedown then she stood up and walked into the bathroom, and turned on the shower.   The water was cold when it first touched her skin, but she barely noticed. She stood beneath it for several minutes, allowing the water to run over her face down to her body.    She wanted to cry or scream. She wanted to understand what had happened to the man she had married but there was no answer waiting for her in that bathroom. There was only the woman she had become overnight, a divorced woman with a damaged reputation, a few belongings, and no clear idea of what her future would look like.   When she finished taking her shower, she rolled a towel over her head and her body, and then she ordered an alcoholic drink from the hotel waiter, hoping it will help her forget her worries but she became drunk at the same time crying and then before she know she doze off and slept till morning.    At seven thirty that morning, Eleanor woke up staring at the ceiling, for some moment, everything seems fine and then later she catches a glimpse of what happened to her at the ballroom, she managed to stand from her bed and stepped out of the hotel wearing a simple cream blouse, black trousers, and low heels. She tied her hair neatly behind her head and slipped her phone into her handbag. She had barely eaten anything, but she forced herself to drink a cup of coffee before leaving.       The appointment message Daniel Foster had sent to her was on her phone.    "Come to my office as soon as you can, he had said the previous evening. There are matters concerning your grandmother's estate that I believe you should understand in person."   Eleanor had not understood why her grandmother's waited for her marriage to end before they told her about the inheritance because Margaret Hayes had been dead for almost two years.    Eleanor hailed a taxi, as the vehicle pulled into the morning traffic, she looked through the window at people rushing to work, street vendors arranging their goods, and drivers leaning impatiently on their horns, the world had continued moving.   Nobody knew that her marriage had ended, nobody knew that the man she had loved had replaced her before she had even understood that he was leaving and perhaps that was how life worked, it did not pause for heartbreak.   Her phone vibrated again, this time, it was a message from an unknown number.   "So Eleanor, now that you the man whom you have ditched me for has left you, what is the next move. Will you mind coming to me"   Eleanor seems surprised, she couldn't recall who would send her this kind of a message, she read the message again and then checked who is the sender but it was an unknown number.    She typed a response.   "Who is this?" The message was delivered, but no reply came.   She tried calling the number, but it was unreachable  She felt cold, a chill moved through her perhaps it was someone she has forgotten their encounter because she couldn't recall anything about the person she ditched.    Still, the wording bothered her.   Eleanor took a screenshot of the message and saved it, she did not know why she felt the need to keep it, she only knew that she did not want to forget it.   When she got to the law firm of Daniel Foster, it was a big duplex building, she called him and then he asked her to come to the third floor. When she entered the building the receptionist recognized Eleanor immediately and ushered her into a private conference room.   Daniel was already waiting. He stood when she entered, his expression softening when he noticed the exhaustion on her face, it was looking pale and anyone seeing that face would know she has been crying all night.    "Mrs. Hayes."   Eleanor paused. It was strange hearing her maiden name spoken so formally after three years of being introduced as Adrian Blackwood's wife.   "Please," she said, taking the seat opposite him. "Call me Eleanor."   "Of course."   Daniel sat down and folded his hands on the table, when she sat down she looked around his office.   "Your office is nice"   Daniel Foster smiled "Thank you ma'am"   "No it's Eleanor"   "Okay if you say so" he smiled softly   Then he said, "I saw the announcement from last night."   Eleanor looked away. "Everyone probably did."   "I'm sorry."   She gave him a faint smile that did not reach her eyes. "People keep saying that to me, I suppose it is the easiest thing to say when you don't know what else to offer."   "Sometimes, it is the only honest thing to say."   That answer caught her off guard.   Eleanor looked at him properly for the first time that morning. Daniel was in his early forties, with neatly combed dark hair and the composed manner of someone accustomed to difficult conversations, he had handled several legal matters for Margaret, and Eleanor remembered him as a patient man who never spoke more than necessary.   "Thank you," she said quietly.   He nodded. "Before we discuss your grandmother's estate, I need to ask you something. Did Adrian Blackwood know that your grandmother had investments connected to his company?"   "No." Eleanor hesitated. "At least, he never told me that he did."   "Did you ever discuss your grandmother's business affairs with him?"   "Not in detail. My grandmother was a private woman. She never spoke much about money, and I never thought to question her about it."   "Did she ever mention the Blackwood family?"   Eleanor considered the question. "Not really, she knew Adrian and his family were wealthy, of course, but she never seemed particularly impressed by them."   Daniel's expression changed slightly. "Did she ever tell you that she disliked Adrian?"   "No."   "Did she ever advise you against marrying him?"   "No." Eleanor's voice sharpened. "Why are you asking me these questions?"   Daniel leaned back. "Because your grandmother left specific instructions concerning your inheritance, and those instructions were connected to the circumstances of your marriage."   Eleanor stared at him. "Connected how?"   "She instructed me to contact you when your marriage to Adrian Blackwood ended."   Eleanor slowly shook her head. "Yeah you told me over the phone but I could believe because that doesn't make sense at all"   "I understand."   "No, I don't think you do." She leaned forward.   "My grandmother died almost two years ago and Adrian and I were married for three years so tell me how could she have known that our marriage would end?"   "I cannot tell you what she knew or suspected. I can only tell you what she instructed me to do."   Eleanor looked down at her hands, a lot of things kept going on and on in her minds. Firstly she remembered Margaret's house, the smell of the flowers she kept near the windows, and the way she would sometimes stop in the middle of a conversation as though a thought had suddenly carried her somewhere else she remembered how protective she had always been.    But this sounded like preparation. As though Margaret had anticipated a day when Eleanor would find herself standing alone.   "Why didn't you contact me when she died?" Eleanor asked.   "I did. We completed the initial probate arrangements, and you received the personal items and funds specified in her will. However, certain assets were placed under a separate arrangement, their transfer depends on legal verification and the fulfillment of conditions outlined in her estate documents."   "Conditions?"   "Yes."   "What kind of conditions?"   Daniel reached for a folder.   "That is what I brought you here to explain."   He opened it and removed several documents, arranging them carefully on the table.   "Your grandmother was an investor in a private holding company called Hayes Meridian Investments. Through that company, she acquired a substantial voting interest in Blackwood Holdings."   Eleanor blinked. "Blackwood Holdings?"   "Your husband's company."   "I know what Blackwood Holdings is." Her voice rose before she could stop it. "I am asking why my grandmother had shares in it."   "She invested in the company long before your marriage. Some of those investments date back several decades."   Eleanor stared at the documents and the name Blackwood Holdings appeared on the first page, followed by figures and legal terms she did not fully understand. She had attended company dinners with Adrian, she had listened to him discuss acquisitions and expansion plans over breakfast, she had watched him become increasingly powerful in the business world but never once had he mentioned that her grandmother's investments were connected to his empire.   Then again, Margaret had never told Eleanor either.   "How much does she own?" Eleanor asked.   "Through Hayes Meridian, her estate holds a significant voting interest. The exact percentage and its practical effect depend on the final transfer, the company's current share structure, and the terms of the relevant agreements."   "Can you give me a number?"   Daniel paused before answering. "The estate records identify a stake large enough to matter in certain major corporate decisions. Once the transfer is completed, you could have a meaningful voice in matters that require shareholder approval."   Eleanor's mouth fell open. "You're telling me my grandmother left me an interest in my husband's company?"   "Not precisely. She left you an interest in an investment company that holds shares in Blackwood Holdings. The distinction matters legally."   "And I haven't inherited it yet?" Eleanor widened her eyes.    "You are the named beneficiary, but the transfer has not been finalized. We must complete the necessary verification and review the conditions attached to the assets."   Eleanor pressed a hand against her forehead, at this point a little of her hope has become high. Yesterday, she had been a wife who believed she had a future with the man she loved but Today and now she was learning that her grandmother had quietly positioned her near the center of an empire she barely understood.   "Why would she do this?" Eleanor whispered.   "I believe she wanted you to have options."   "Options?"   "Financial independence. The ability to make decisions without being dependent on anyone else."   Eleanor looked up. "She knew Adrian might leave me?"   Daniel did not answer immediately. "I think your grandmother understood that love can make people vulnerable when they surrender every other part of their lives to it."   The words struck Eleanor harder than she expected. For three years, she had made excuses for Adrian's absence, his impatience, and the way he dismissed her opinions whenever they challenged his own. She had believed that supporting him meant making herself smaller whenever he needed the space but Margaret had seen what Eleanor refused to see.   "There's something else," Daniel said.   He opened a second folder. "Your grandmother left a private letter addressed to you. She instructed me not to give it to you until your marriage had ended."   Eleanor's eyes moved to the envelope in his hand. It was old and slightly yellowed at the edges. Her name was written across the front in handwriting she recognized instantly.    For a moment, Eleanor forgot how to breathe.   "May I?"   "Of course."   She reached for the envelope, but her fingers trembled so badly that she struggled to open it.   Daniel quietly slid a paper knife across the table and Eleanor used it to break the seal.   Inside was a single sheet of paper, she unfolded it carefully.   "My dearest Eleanor,   If you are reading this, then you have reached a point in your life when you must learn to stand without depending on the person you love. I prayed that you would never need these words. I hoped you would find a love that gave you peace, a home where you felt safe, and a partner who would never make you question your worth but hope is not the same as certainty. There is something about the Blackwood family that I should have told you years ago. I kept silent because I believed the past would remain buried. Perhaps I was wrong.   Before you make any decision about your future, find out what happened to your grandfather. Do not accept the first explanation you are given, do not trust a story simply because it has been repeated for years.   Some families build their fortunes on the truth, others spend generations making sure nobody discovers it.   With all my love, Grandmother."   Eleanor read the letter once and then tears rolled down her eyes, because it was as if she had seen her grandmother speaking to her physically for the past two years.    By the third reading, her hands had begun to shake, she had questions in her head.    "What happened to my grandfather?"   Daniel watched her carefully. "I was hoping you might tell me."   She looked at him in disbelief. "You're her lawyer, you handled her affairs, surely you know something."   "I know that your grandmother kept certain records separate from the rest of her estate. I know she was concerned about an old dispute involving the Blackwood family. But she did not explain everything to me, and I will not pretend otherwise."   Eleanor's thoughts raced. Her grandfather had died when she was very young, she barely remembered him. The story she had always been told was simple, he had become ill, and the family had lost him before Eleanor was old enough to form lasting memories.   She had never questioned it, and why would she because there had been no reason to doubt her grandmother until now.    "What was his name?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.   "Thomas Hayes."   Eleanor closed her eyes briefly.   Thomas Hayes. A name that belonged to an old photograph in her grandmother's house, to a handful of stories, and to a family history she had never thought important enough to investigate.   "Did he have a business?" she asked.   Daniel reached into the folder again. "That is one of the things I hoped we could discuss."   He removed a document and placed it in front of her. It was an old corporate agreement, the paper had faded, but several signatures remained visible.   Eleanor leaned closer. At the top of the page were two names.   THOMAS HAYES AND EDWARD BLACKWOOD   She looked from one name to the other.   "Edward Blackwood?"   "Adrian's grandfather."   Eleanor sat back slowly. "You're telling me my grandfather knew Adrian's grandfather?"   "More than knew him, according to the documents."   Daniel turned the agreement toward her. "The records suggest that the two men were involved in a business arrangement many years ago. The details are incomplete, and I don't want to draw conclusions before we have examined the original records."   "What kind of business arrangement?"   "I don't know yet."   "Did they fight?"   "I don't know."   "Did one of them betray the other?"   Daniel's expression became grave. "That is exactly the kind of question your grandmother wanted you to investigate."   Eleanor looked down at the agreement again, she tried to imagine Adrian's grandfather sitting across a table from hers, discussing business, shaking hands, perhaps even calling him a friend then she imagined the two families becoming enemies. She thought of the previous night's announcement.   Adrian had accused her of leaking confidential information. He had treated her like a stranger, he had looked at her with a coldness she could not reconcile with the man who had once promised to protect her.   "Had any of it been connected to this? " she said to herself and wondered    She stopped herself, she could not turn every unanswered question into evidence of a conspiracy. She needed facts, not assumptions.   "Why would Adrian hide this from me?" she asked.   "Do you know for certain that he was aware of it?"   "No." Eleanor swallowed. "But if his grandfather and mine had a serious dispute, surely someone in his family would know."   "Possibly. Or the information may have been deliberately concealed from later generations."   Daniel gathered the remaining documents into a neat pile. "There is one more thing you need to know."   Eleanor was beginning to dread those words. "What is it?"   "Someone from Blackwood Holdings contacted my office this morning."   Her stomach tightened. "Who?"   "The caller did not identify himself beyond saying he was making an inquiry on behalf of the company."   "What did he want?"   "He wanted to know whether your grandmother's estate had been transferred to you."   Eleanor went still. "Already?"   "Yes."   "How would they even know to ask?"   "That is something we need to establish."   She stared at him. "Did you tell them anything?"   "No. I confirmed only that I could not discuss a client's private estate matters with an unauthorized party."   "Do you think Adrian sent them?"   "I cannot say."   Eleanor looked toward the window. Outside, a man crossed the street while speaking on his phone and a woman hurried past carrying a stack of files. Cars moved through the intersection as though nothing unusual had happened.   But Eleanor's world had shifted again.   Yesterday, she had lost a husband, this morning, she had discovered that her grandmother's inheritance might place her in a position to influence the future of his company and someone at Blackwood Holdings was already asking questions.   "Daniel," she said slowly, "if the transfer goes through, can Adrian stop it?"   "Not simply because he dislikes the outcome. But the legal position will depend on the estate documents, the company's governing agreements, and any applicable restrictions. We need to examine those carefully."   "And if the shares give me voting rights?"   "Then you may be entitled to exercise those rights in accordance with the agreements and the law."   Eleanor's gaze hardened, that moment, the pain in her chest gave way to something else.    "Revenge" she whispered and smiled cunningly    She had spent three years standing beside Adrian without asking enough questions about the world he had built around himself, she would not make that mistake again.   "I want you to complete the transfer," she said.   Daniel studied her "That is a serious decision, Eleanor. There will be legal, financial, and potentially personal consequences. You should understand the assets and obligations before deciding how to proceed."   "Then explain everything to me. Every document, every condition, every risk. I have to sign something I understand."   Daniel smiled.   "That is exactly what I hoped you would say."   He reached for a slim black folder that had been sitting beside his briefcase. "There is one final item your grandmother left in my custody. I was instructed to show it to you only after you had read her letter."   He placed the folder in front of her and Eleanor opened it. Inside was an old photograph, Two men stood outside a grand stone building. One was a younger version of Edward Blackwood, his expression stern, one hand resting on a walking stick and the other man stood beside him.   Eleanor recognized him immediately. The shape of his face, the dark eyes, the familiar line of his mouth. She had seen that face in the few photographs her grandmother kept locked away in a wooden box.   "That's my grandfather," she whispered.   "Yes."   She turned the photograph over and checked the back, a date had been written on the back in faded ink, beneath it were seven words.   "THE NIGHT THE BLACKWOODS TOOK EVERYTHING"   Eleanor read the sentence until the words seemed to blur.   "What does this mean?"   Daniel shook his head. "I wish I knew."   She looked at the photograph again. The two men were standing close together, they did not look like enemies, they appeared to be men who trusted each other.   "What had happened between them? What had been taken? Because to me this two seems likes friends" Eleanor sound curious and find it hard to believe Adrian's grandfather has a an illegal hand in anything that might happened.    "And why would grandmother waited until my marriage ended before allowing me to ask these questions?"   A thought came to her suddenly.   "Daniel, did my grandmother leave anything else? A diary? Business records? Letters?"   "She left several boxes of personal documents. I have not examined every page. We can arrange for you to review them, but I would prefer that we preserve the originals and make copies before anything is removed."   "Then I want to see them."   "We can arrange that."   Eleanor placed the photograph carefully back into the folder, she felt as though she had stepped into a story whose beginning had been hidden from her. She did not know whether the Blackwood family had wronged her grandfather, she did not know whether Adrian knew anything about the past but she knew one thing, she was no longer willing to accept silence as an answer.   She smiled cunningly and said "Whatever we are going to find, it better be something that I can use to destroy Adrian and his family."   Eleanor has now become a lady who is hungry for successful for herself not for her husband. She is determined to bring Adrian and his family down and would do anything to make them go down because she has been taken for granted.