Raven found Eleanor waiting outside the Vance estate.
The moment Eleanor got into the car, Raven noticed the tension in her face.
"You don't have to say anything until you're ready," Raven said.
Eleanor looked at her.
"I want to."
Raven started the car.
"Then tell me."
For several minutes, Eleanor remained silent.
Then she finally spoke.
"My mother told me that my father and Adrian were involved with the Blackwood Circle."
Raven's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
"She said they were connected to your mother too."
Raven glanced at her.
"Did she tell you how?"
"No."
"Did she know about the property transfers?"
"I don't know."
Eleanor looked down at her hands.
"But I know there's something they're hiding."
Raven reached across and took her hand.
"We'll find out."
"You're not angry with me?"
"Never."
"Even though it's my family?"
Raven shook her head.
"You aren't responsible for the choices they made."
Eleanor's eyes softened.
"You always know what to say."
Raven gave her a small smile.
"Not always."
She drove them to a quiet overlook outside the city, somewhere away from cameras, businesses, and people who might recognize them.
They stepped out of the car.
The night was cool and quiet.
Eleanor leaned against the railing, looking at the lights in the distance.
"I hate that everything between us seems connected to a secret."
Raven moved beside her.
"Then let's forget the secrets for tonight."
Eleanor looked at her.
"Can we?"
"For a few hours."
Eleanor smiled.
"I'd like that."
Raven reached for her hand.
Their fingers intertwined.
For a moment, neither woman spoke.
Then Eleanor stepped closer.
"I was really scared when you told me not to trust my family."
"I know."
"I thought you were going to ask me to choose between you and them."
"I would never do that."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want your love because you had nowhere else to go."
Eleanor's eyes softened.
"I chose you."
Raven's voice dropped.
"And I'd choose you again."
Eleanor closed the distance between them.
Their lips met.
The kiss began gently, almost cautiously, but the emotions they had been holding back quickly took over.
Raven's hand settled at Eleanor's waist as Eleanor drew closer.
Their kiss deepened, lingering and passionate, until neither wanted to be the first to pull away.
When they finally separated, they remained close, their foreheads touching.
Eleanor smiled softly.
"I've wanted to do that all day."
Raven smiled.
"You could have."
"I was waiting for the right moment."
"I think this was the right one."
Eleanor laughed quietly.
Then Raven's phone began ringing.
Neither of them moved.
It rang again.
Raven sighed.
"That's Andrea."
Eleanor smiled.
"Your timing is terrible."
Raven answered.
"What did you find?"
Andrea's voice was unusually serious.
"We found the financial record you asked for."
Raven's expression immediately changed.
"And?"
"The payment made three days before your mother's death…"
Raven straightened.
"Who received it?"
Andrea hesitated.
"That's the problem."
Raven's eyes narrowed.
"Tell me."
"The account belonged to a private trust."
"Whose?"
"Mark Vance."
Eleanor's smile disappeared.
Raven looked at her.
Andrea continued.
"But that's not the biggest discovery."
Raven's voice became cold.
"What is it?"
"We traced the authorization."
A pause.
"It was signed by both Mark Vance and Adrian Vance."
Raven went completely still.
Eleanor stared at her.
Both sisters' families had been connected for years.
But now there was evidence that Eleanor's father and uncle had been directly involved in a payment made just days before Raven's mother died.
Andrea spoke again.
"Raven…"
"What?"
"We found one more name attached to the account."
Raven's eyes narrowed.
"Whose name?"
Andrea took a breath.
"Your mother's."
Silence.
Raven's entire expression changed.
Eleanor reached for her hand.
"What does that mean?"
Raven looked at her.
"I don't know."
For the first time, Raven wasn't sure whether Mark and Adrian had paid someone to hurt her mother—
or whether her mother had been paying them for something else entirely.
And somewhere in the darkness, a secret that had remained buried for five years was finally beginning to surface.
To be continued…