Untold Truth

Ellen Hardwick

Description

People live their lives by what they believe, But what if, What they believe isn't true? At Joe's funeral, Jane had smiled, believing her secret was safe, but 10 years on, an anonymous letter on her desk brings back her fears of her secret being exposed. At the pinnacle of her career as a partner in what is predominately a man's business, she believes she will be ruined. Her search to find the person behind the letter leads her to a spiritual teacher, and Mark. Mark has also received a letter; he also has a secret. Jane must trust him if they are to work together. Their actions expose an untold truth that, if believed, will change their lives.

Informations

• Publié par: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 06 février 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781780887586
• Langue: English

Extrait

Untold Truth
Ellen Hardwick
Copyright © 2012 Ellen Hardwick
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.
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ISBN 978 1780887 586
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Matador is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd
My thanks to Graham, my husband, for his support and patience over the years. Also thanks to Sarah, from The Spiral Tree, for starting me on my journey to finding my own untold truth.
CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
CHAPTER ONE
Curious, Jane picked up the piece of folded paper in the centre of her office desk. It felt like old parchment, and gothic lettering spelled out her name in ink across the top fold. She opened it and her hand shook slightly as she read the words on the page. Someone knew. But that was impossible. She had kept it secret from everyone. The only other person who had known was dead.
She read the words again, hoping she had mistaken their meaning.
“Jane, I know what you’ve been hiding. The past is catching up with you. It has been ten years since Joe’s death and now it is time to give up your secret. Watch out for the signs and messages I will give you. It will be your choice whether you act on them but if you don’t, your future will remain unfulfilled. I will be in touch again. M”
There was no mistake.
Jane moved to the window overlooking the beach at West Park, her mind digesting what she had read.
‘Joe wouldn’t have told, he just wouldn’t have,’ she kept repeating to herself. But what if he had? Jane swallowed hard, unsure of what to do. Since Joe’s death she had rebuilt her life, secure in the knowledge her secret couldn’t affect her anymore and she was safe from its consequences.
She stared out into the darkness barely registering the string of coloured lights that circled the bay from West Park to St Aubin. She felt alone, cut off by something she couldn’t control, just like the castle now isolated from the mainland by the high tide.
Jane looked down at the letter in her hand. Why now? Why hadn’t this come up when Joe died? It had taken her years and a lot of hard work to get to this position in the firm, and if what happened got out…
Her polished fingernails dug into the paper. Who was this person? Why were they trying to ruin her life? If this was blackmail, what did they want? She scanned the words again and her anger turned to puzzlement.
“ Watch out for the signs. ” What did that mean?
“ You have a choice whether to act on them. ” Yes, and she was sure that if she didn’t act, her secret would be exposed.
Then there was the final bit: “ your future will remain unfulfilled. ”
‘Unfulfilled?’ she said out loud to the silent room. Were they having a joke? She took a sweeping glance around her office. The desk and filing cabinets were of the highest-grade mahogany. Her black, high-back leather chair was the most comfortable seat in the firm; or so her secretary, Fiona, frequently said. And the snowdrop coloured carpet was “like walking on air” a client once commented. When Jane became a partner in one of the Island of Jersey’s most reputable accounting firms, Grace & Fairway, she had been given the best of everything.
How could her life not be fulfilled in the future, when she already had everything she wanted?
‘What do they want then?’ she muttered as she folded the letter and returned to the desk. She reached down to where her handbag lay on the floor, and placed the letter inside.
The ache in her back and the soreness of her feet reminded her it was late and time to go home. She cleared the paperwork on her desk into her leather case to take with her and returned all the pens and pencils to their holder. The top drawer of the desk was still open a fraction and inside she noticed her compact mirror lying face up. She reached in and picked it up, smiling as she remembered her secretary’s feeble excuses as to why it had been so urgent for her to use the compact mirror to apply lipstick whilst swinging round in the boss’ chair.
In the mirror her own complexion seemed almost grey in this light and her eyes had just a hint of darkness under them. She snapped the compact shut and shoved the drawer back into the desk.
‘It’s been a busy month,’ she consoled herself as she slipped on her suit jacket, which felt a little loose as she buttoned it up. Fiona had commented on her weight loss only recently. But Jane had dismissed it; her slender build and five foot six inch height could sometimes make her look skinny.
“Skinny Janie.” The memory of Joe’s voice came bursting into her consciousness, so clear and loud, it felt like he was stood right next to her. Jane shivered, quickly grabbed her belongings and made for the door.
The outer office – where Fiona and the administrators worked – was empty, the staff having left hours ago. She paused to compose herself. Why should someone want to do this to her? If they really knew her secret then they would know how she had suffered. Did they want her to suffer it all again?
Jane closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She mustn’t let this unsettle her. Not now, not after all this time. She would deal with it as she did all her business dealings, firmly and assertively. The first thing she needed to do was to discover the identity of this person called M, and find out what he or she wanted from her.
She opened her eyes and looked at the empty desks, wondering whether one of her staff had written the letter. That seemed unlikely, after the years they’d worked together.
Jane switched off the main lights and moved into the corridor, fumbling for the lift button in the darkness. The automatic doors opened and she stepped into its brightly lit, mirrored-walled interior.
As she descended to the garage, she thought about who else could have written the letter. The accountants, perhaps those who had taken exception to her rise to the top. They really didn’t like her, but would they have been this secretive about exposing her? No, probably not. The motion-sensor lights in the garage came on as she left the lift, illuminating, the Jaguar convertible, the only car remaining in the parking area.
Jane drove home to her penthouse flat overlooking St Brelade’s Bay, knowing that tonight she would need a bottle of wine to get to sleep, but she also knew that she dare not succumb. She needed a clear head for her important client meeting tomorrow and there was still several hours of work to do.
* * *
‘David, how could you not have noticed that three pages of figures were missing?’ Jane threw the report on his desk.
‘I was busy, Jane.’
‘We are all busy, but when you submit a report to a client, you take the time to ensure it’s correct.’
‘It is correct,’ he blustered.
‘No it’s not. If you take the figures from page 20 and page 24 they don’t add up. It’s a mile out. Yet somehow you managed to show the correct overall figure on the final page. It’s a mess.’
David adjusted the glasses on his chubby face. ‘I didn’t have time to look for the missing figures. The only thing it affects is the expenditure. It’s no big deal.’
Jane slammed both hands down on the table and pushed her face into his. ‘It is when the client specifically wants the details of the expenditure that’s missing!’
David quickly looked down. ‘Oh.’
Jane went on, her anger fuelled by his attitude. ‘It took me half an hour to find and adjust those figures. So why couldn’t you have done it?’
David looked up sharply. ‘Some of us can’t be as perfect as you.’
‘And I thought you were a professional accountant!’ Jane snapped back.
David’s face immediately turned red.
Jane retrieved the report, turned away and yanked open the door to his office; just catching a mumbled final word.
She looked back. ‘What did you say?’
David had his head down and was shuffling papers on his desk. ‘Nothing.’
‘I heard you call me a bitch.’
‘You must have misheard,’ he grunted back.
For a moment she considered whether to challenge him again, but she knew he would just continue to deny it. It was the same with some of the other managers. They’d call her names behind her back or in such an obscure way, she never had the chance to nail them. If they thought they could get rid of her by making her life difficult, then they really didn’t know her at all.
‘Be careful, David. There is a line of no return and you’re close to crossing it. And believe me, when you do I will have you.’
Jane saw a flush of red spread around his neck and beads of sweat appear on his forehead as he continued to shuffle his papers on the desk.
She left his office, closing the door quietly behind her.
David’s secretary was sat at a desk just outside and she looked up at Jane with a faint smile on her face.
‘MARY, GET IN HERE!’ David’s shout came thundering through the door.
Mary’s smile vanished as she picked up her notebook.
‘I’m sorry, Mary,’ Jane said softly. She knew David gave his staff a h