Chapter 145: The Note

The party continued long into the evening.

Music filled the grand ballroom while conversations flowed between tables. Waiters moved quietly among the guests, replacing empty glasses and delivering carefully prepared dishes. Laughter occasionally rose above the music, followed by another round of polite applause whenever a prominent guest was introduced.

Yet despite the celebration, the Sterling family remained under observation. People continued to glance in their direction. Some whispered behind their hands.

Others openly studied Lucia, as though they were trying to reconcile the elegant woman standing before them with the once-powerful matriarch whose family had disappeared from high society twenty years ago.

Lucia never lost her composure..Neither did the rest of the family. They followed Liliana’s instructions perfectly. They smiled and greeted people. They spoke about harmless things and acted as though tonight was nothing more than an unexpected family reunion.

But Chris wasn’t fooled by the atmosphere. His attention remained fixed on Arthur. Throughout the evening, Arthur never seemed to stray far from either Lucia or Liliana.

Whenever Liliana spoke to another guest, Arthur eventually appeared nearby. Whenever Lucia sat down, Arthur found an excuse to check on her. He wasn’t simply being attentive. He was watching.

Chris narrowed his eyes.

"He hasn’t left them alone."

Matthew glanced toward Arthur.

"I noticed."

"I think he’s guarding them."

Matthew looked at his son.

"Guarding them?"

"Or watching them."

Chris’s gaze followed Arthur.

"He’s trying to find a mistake. Something in their behavior that might tell him what we know."

Matthew nodded slowly.

"Then we can’t give him one."

Across the room, Liliana was doing everything she could to appear relaxed. She laughed when someone told a joke. She complimented the decorations. When asked, she answered questions about her career. She even pretended to be fascinated when one of the guests spent nearly ten minutes discussing an upcoming business conference.

Inside, however, she remained alert. She knew Arthur was watching her. She could feel it.

Her smiles had to look genuine. Every response had to sound natural. She couldn’t look too interested in him. And she should never look afraid of him. Most importantly, she couldn’t let him know that every word he spoke was being carefully recorded.

Her acting skills had never been more useful.

Eventually, Lucia approached Arthur.

"Arthur."

He turned immediately.

"Mother."

"You should visit Sterling Village sometime."

Arthur’s expression changed slightly.

"Sterling Village?"

"You should spend some time with your brothers."

Arthur looked toward Robert and Gideon.

"I don’t know if they’ll want to see me."

Lucia frowned.

"Why wouldn’t they?"

Arthur gave a bitter smile.

"They might hate me."

"For what?"

"For what happened to Edward."

Lucia’s heart tightened. She forced herself to remain calm.

"Robert and Gideon never blamed you."

Arthur looked unconvinced. "They were angry."

"They were grieving." Lucia answered.

"Perhaps."

Lucia reached for his hand. "You were grieving too."

Arthur looked down at their joined hands.

"I should have stayed."

"Then come back now."

He looked at her.

"You really want me there?"

Lucia smiled. "You’re my son."

For a moment, Arthur said nothing.

Then he nodded. "All right."

"I’ll hold you to that."

Arthur smiled. "I’ll visit Sterling Village."

Lucia gently squeezed his hand. "I’ll tell your brothers."

Arthur looked toward Robert and Gideon again.

"Maybe they won’t forgive me."

"They will."

His eyes returned to Lucia.

"You always believed the best in people."

Lucia smiled sadly.

"Sometimes that’s a weakness."

Arthur’s smile faded.

"Sometimes."

Liliana heard the exchange from nearby. Her eyes met Chris’s for a brief moment. Neither spoke. But they both understood.

Arthur had agreed to visit Sterling Village. That alone could become an opportunity.

The evening eventually began winding down.

Lucia was visibly tired, and Matthew noticed.

"We should leave."

Lucia nodded. "I think I’ve had enough excitement for one evening."

The family began saying their goodbyes. One by one, guests who knew Lucia approached her. Some shook her hand. Others hugged her.

Many spoke warmly about Edward.

"Take care of yourself, Lucia."

"It was wonderful seeing you again."

"Edward would have been happy to see the family together."

"You haven’t changed."

Each farewell carried a piece of the past.

Then James Anderson approached.

Lucia smiled. "James."

"I wanted to say goodbye properly." He extended his hand.

Lucia accepted it. "Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for reminding me of old friends."

Their hands remained together for only a second. Then James pressed something small into her palm. Lucia immediately understood that it was intentional. Her expression didn’t change.

She smiled at him. "Take care, James."

"You too."

He released her hand and walked away. Lucia kept smiling. She didn’t look at what he had given her. Instead, she closed her fingers around it and calmly slipped her hand into the folds of her gown.

A few moments later, she reached for her purse. She opened it just enough to place the small object inside.

Nobody noticed. At least, she hoped nobody noticed. But across the ballroom, Arthur was watching. Lucia forced herself not to look toward him.

"Mother."

She turned.

Arthur was standing beside her.

"I’ll walk you out."

"That’s not necessary."

"I insist."

Lucia smiled.

"All right."

Arthur accompanied her toward the entrance. Behind them, Liliana followed with the rest of the family. Chris stayed several steps away, deliberately maintaining the distance they had agreed upon. But his eyes remained on Arthur.

As they reached the entrance, Arthur embraced Lucia.

"Come back soon."

"I will."

"And I’ll visit Sterling Village."

Lucia smiled.

"I’ll be waiting."

Arthur kissed her forehead.

For anyone watching, it was a touching reunion between a mother and her long-lost son. But Lucia felt something completely different. She felt the weight of twenty years. And the possibility that the son she had loved might have been hiding a terrible secret all this time.

The drive back to St. Claire Mansion was unusually quiet.

Lucia sat beside Matthew while Amanda sat across from them. Robert, Gideon, Nathan, Emily, Liliana, and Chris followed in another vehicle.

The moment their car was safely on the highway, Lucia reached into her purse. She pulled out the small piece of folded paper.

Matthew immediately noticed.

"What is that?"

"James gave it to me."

Amanda leaned forward.

"Why?"

"I don’t know."

Lucia unfolded it. Her eyes immediately narrowed. There was no message. Only a sequence of numbers.

17 - 04 - 21 - 09 - 33 - 08

Lucia stared at it.

"What does that mean?"

Matthew took the paper carefully.

"I don’t know."

Lucia looked out the window.

"James wouldn’t give me something meaningless."

"No," Matthew agreed.

"He wanted us to see this."

Matthew studied the numbers again.

"Perhaps it’s a code."

Lucia’s expression became serious.

"Or a warning."

When they reached the mansion, the other car arrived only minutes later. Everyone gathered in the private study.

Liliana looked at the paper.

"What did James say?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"He shook my hand and slipped it into my palm."

Chris took the paper. He studied the sequence.

"Seventeen. Four. Twenty-one. Nine. Thirty-three. Eight."

Robin stepped closer.

"Could be dates."

"Too many numbers," Nathan said.

"Coordinates?" Gideon suggested.

"Possibly."

Victor and Sarah had already changed out of their servant uniforms.

Victor took the paper.

"Where did he give this to you?"

"At the entrance."

"Was Arthur nearby?"

Lucia paused.

"Yes."

Everyone looked at one another. Liliana’s expression tightened.

"Then James didn’t want Arthur to see."

Sarah nodded.

"Which means whatever this is, it’s important."

Chris looked at Liliana.

"Can you think of anything connected to those numbers?"

She shook her head.

"No."

Matthew remained silent. Then he looked at the sequence again.

"Seventeen. Four. Twenty-one. Nine. Thirty-three. Eight."

He slowly placed the paper on the table.

"Maybe we’re looking at it the wrong way."

Liliana leaned closer.

"What do you mean?"

Matthew stared at the numbers.

"James knew we would understand that this was a code."

The room fell silent.

"But the question is..." He looked at everyone. "...what was he trying to tell us?"

Lucia’s phone suddenly vibrated. Everyone turned. A message had arrived from an unknown number.

There was no text. Only a photograph.

Lucia opened it. Her face immediately went pale. It was an old photograph of Edward andVanessa. But that wasn’t what frightened her.

In the background stood Arthur. And beside him was a man none of them recognized..Beneath the photograph were six numbers.

17 - 04 - 21 - 09 - 33 - 08

The exact same sequence.

Liliana stared at the screen. "Who is that man?"

No one answered. Because Matthew was already looking at the photograph with an expression of recognition.

"I’ve seen him before."

Chris turned toward him.

"Where?"

Matthew swallowed.

"At Sterling Corporation."

His eyes remained fixed on the photograph.

"Twenty years ago."