Chapter 4 - ELENA'S SECRETElena lived in a penthouse Julian had bought under another company's name.
We arrived at 10:16 p.m.
The building concierge recognized Marcus.
He didn't question us.
The elevator opened directly into the residence.
We stepped into darkness.
"Elena?" I called.
No answer.
The apartment looked untouched.
A half-finished cup of tea sat on the kitchen counter.
A pregnancy magazine lay open beside it.
The page had been folded.
The headline read:
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR CHILD'S INHERITANCE
I stared at it.
"She knew."
Marcus walked toward the hallway.
"Careful."
I heard something.
A faint sound.
Coming from the bedroom.
I opened the door.
Elena was sitting on the floor.
Her wrists were tied.
Her face was bruised.
Her seven-month pregnant stomach was exposed beneath a torn silk robe.
I rushed toward her.
"Who did this?"
Her eyes widened when she saw me.
She started crying.
"No."
"Elena."
"You were supposed to be dead."
I froze.
"What did you say?"
She shook her head violently.
"I didn't mean..."
"Who attacked you?"
She looked at Marcus.
Then at me.
"Julian."
Silence.
"He came here."
"When?"
"An hour ago."
"Why?"
"He wanted something."
"What?"
"A recording."
My heart tightened.
"What recording?"
Elena swallowed.
"The night he pushed you."
Marcus stepped closer.
"You recorded him?"
She nodded.
"I was there."
I stared at her.
"Where?"
She looked away.
"At the plaza."
I felt the room tilt.
"You saw him?"
"I saw everything."
"Why didn't you help me?"
Tears ran down her face.
"Because he told me if I moved, he would kill my baby."
My anger collided with confusion.
"What does my husband have on you?"
"Nothing."
She stared at me.
"That's the problem."
Marcus crouched beside her.
"Explain."
Elena's hands trembled.
"Julian didn't make me pregnant."
Silence.
My eyes widened.
"Then who?"
"He did."
Marcus's expression changed.
"What?"
Elena looked at me.
"Your father."
The room went silent.
I stopped breathing.
"My father has been dead for two years."
"I know."
She touched her stomach.
"This child is part of an arrangement he made before he died."
I stared at her.
"What arrangement?"
"He had a private genetic program."
Marcus stood abruptly.
"Enough."
Elena looked terrified.
"Marcus..."
"What exactly did Julian tell you?"
"That if Clara died, the child would become the legal heir."
I shook my head.
"That's impossible."
Elena whispered:
"Not if the child carries your father's genetic marker."
Marcus's face went rigid.
My father had built Vanguard from nothing.
He had spent decades protecting the company from hostile families.
He had never told me about a genetic program.
"What kind of child is this?"
Elena shook her head.
"I don't know."
She reached beneath the mattress.
Her fingers found a tiny memory card.
"This is the recording."
Marcus took it.
Then Elena grabbed my wrist.
"You need to hear it before Julian finds it."
We inserted the card into a laptop.
The screen opened.
A dark image appeared.
Vanguard Plaza.
The escalator.
Julian.
Me.
Elena stood several steps below.
Her phone camera was pointed upward.
The audio was clear.
Julian's voice came through the speakers.
"Did you honestly believe I would let a bloated, sentimental housewife sit at the head of a billion-dollar empire?"
My own voice answered.
"Julian, what are you saying?"
Then his next words.
"Elena is carrying the heir I actually want."
My face went cold.
Then the recording continued.
Julian had spoken again.
But this time, not to me.
He had leaned toward Elena.
"Once Clara dies, the board will follow me."
Elena's voice whispered:
"And the baby?"
Julian laughed.
"The baby isn't mine."
I looked at Elena.
She was shaking.
The recording continued.
"It's the key."
Marcus leaned closer.
"Pause."
Elena froze.
"Why?"
Marcus pointed at the timestamp.
The recording date was two days before my accident.
But the audio contained something else.
A third voice.
A man.
My father's voice.
Very faint.
And saying one sentence.
"Julian, if you are hearing this, then you have finally made your move."
I stepped backward.
My father's voice continued.
"You were never chosen to inherit Vanguard."
Julian's voice exploded from the recording.
"You can't stop me."
My father's response was calm.
"I don't need to."
A sound like paper sliding across a table.
Then:
"Because my daughter isn't the real owner."
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
I stared at Marcus.
"What did he mean?"
Marcus looked at me.
"I don't know."
Elena whispered:
"He knew."
"Who?"
"Your father."
She pointed toward the laptop.
"He knew Julian would betray you."
I stared at the black screen.
Then Marcus's phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
"What happened?"
A pause.
Then:
"Say that again."
He looked directly at me.
"The board chairman was found unconscious in the parking garage."
My heart stopped.
"Is he alive?"
Marcus didn't answer.
He hung up.
"Clara."
His voice was grim.
"The chairman had a note in his pocket."
"What did it say?"
Marcus looked at the recording.
Then at me.
"Three words."
"What words?"
He hesitated.
May you like
Then said:
YOUR FATHER LIED.
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