Chapter 13 - Why Terrence Chose EliseWe escaped through an underground tunnel beneath the house.
Evelyn knew every turn.
She led us into an abandoned railway station.
Only there did she finally tell me the truth.
“Terrence knew about your family.”
I stared at her.
“My family?”
“Your father once worked with the original trust.”
I shook my head.
“My father was a mechanic.”
“That was what everyone believed.”
She explained that my father had been an accountant for Terrence's grandmother before disappearing after a financial investigation.
He had taken evidence.
He had refused to cooperate with Julian Cross.
Then he vanished.
My mother's death years later had left me with almost no family.
I had grown up believing my parents had ordinary lives.
They didn't.
“Terrence found me because of your father.”
I sat down.
“So he knew who I was before we met.”
“Yes.”
“Was our marriage arranged?”
“No.”
The answer came instantly.
“He fell in love with you.”
I looked up.
“But he also knew you were the one person Julian would never recognize as connected to the trust.”
I laughed bitterly.
“So I was convenient.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“You were protected because you were loved.”
She handed me a letter.
Terrence's handwriting.
I opened it.
Elise,
There will come a day when you wonder whether I married you because of the trust.
The answer is no.
I married you because you were the first person who treated me like a man instead of a Caldwell.
My vision blurred.
Everything else came later.
The money. The board. The threats.
I wanted you far away from all of it.
But if I fail, I need you to become what I refused to become.
Not cruel.
Not ruthless.
Just impossible to control.
I folded the letter.
Evelyn watched me.
“There is more.”
Of course there was.
She told me Julian had arranged a final takeover.
He planned to force a bankruptcy proceeding against Caldwell Holdings.
Then purchase the company cheaply through hidden entities.
But the inheritance prevented that.
If I retained control, Julian couldn't complete the acquisition.
Therefore, I was the final obstacle.
And Beatrice knew.
I asked:
“Where is Beatrice now?”
“In the old mansion.”
“Why hasn't she fled?”
Evelyn smiled sadly.
“Because she thinks she still has one card left.”
“What card?”
“You.”
My phone rang.
Beatrice.
I answered.
Her voice was strangely gentle.
“Elise, come home.”
“No.”
“You want answers.”
“I have them.”
“No.”
She paused.
“You have Terrence's answers.”
Her voice dropped.
“You don't have mine.”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to come alone.”
“Why?”
“Because Vanessa is alive.”
I froze.
“What?”
Beatrice laughed softly.
“She survived the police raid.”
Then came the sentence that turned my blood cold.
“And she's with me.”
A video arrived.
Vanessa was tied to a chair.
Blood streaked her forehead.
Beatrice stood behind her.
“Bring the trust documents,” she said.
“Or your sister-in-law dies.”
I stared at the screen.
Evelyn whispered:
“It's a trap.”
“I know.”
But I was already standing.
Because Vanessa had helped destroy my husband.
And yet Terrence had taught me something.
May you like
I would not become like them.
I would end this without becoming the monster they expected.
