Chapter 8 - The Truth About LenaEdmund looked at me as though he had been waiting my entire life to see my face.
I hated him instantly.
“You're my grandfather.”
“Yes.”
“You're the reason Arthur hurt me.”
“No.”
He smiled.
“Arthur hurt you because he was weak.”
Arthur stared at him.
“You promised…”
Edmund shot him.
The sound was deafening.
Arthur collapsed.
“NO!”
Victor raised his weapon.
Edmund's men surrounded us.
Julian stood beside him.
My stepbrother looked at me.
“You should have signed.”
I stared at him.
“You tried to kill me.”
“You were always going to resist.”
Edmund stepped closer.
“You've inherited your father’s stubbornness.”
“What did you mean when you said I was created for the trust?”
Edmund smiled.
“Your mother was the legal heir.”
He looked at Evelyn.
“She refused.”
Mom began crying.
“So I changed the plan.”
“You married my mother.”
“Yes.”
“You arranged my birth?”
“You were the successor.”
Victor stepped forward.
“Don't you dare speak about her like she's an asset.”
Edmund ignored him.
“Lena, your biological father was selected because of his military position.”
Victor froze.
“What?”
“You had access.”
“To what?”
“Government systems. Military intelligence. Financial networks.”
Victor stared.
“You used me.”
“Of course.”
Everything inside me twisted.
My entire life had been engineered.
The marriage.
The lies.
My father's disappearance.
Arthur's guardianship.
Even my inheritance.
All of it.
Edmund looked at me.
“You were meant to inherit the network and sign over control.”
“And if I refuse?”
His smile faded.
“Then your parents die.”
I looked at Arthur lying on the floor.
At my mother.
At Victor.
Then at Julian.
Julian lowered his gun slightly.
“Lena…”
“Don't.”
He looked ashamed.
“You don't understand.”
“I understand exactly.”
Edmund handed him a document.
“Give her the pen.”
Julian stepped toward me.
He held out a pen.
I stared at it.
Then smiled.
Edmund frowned.
“What?”
“I'll sign.”
Victor's head snapped toward me.
“Lena.”
“Dad.”
I looked at him.
“Trust me.”
He didn't move.
I took the pen.
The document was placed on a table.
I began signing.
One page.
Two.
Three.
Edmund smiled.
“Good girl.”
I kept signing.
Page four.
Five.
Six.
Then I stopped.
Edmund frowned.
“What?”
I looked up.
“You made one mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“You assumed I was signing the transfer.”
I turned the document around.
The pages were blank.
Edmund stared.
I smiled.
“Because this isn't paper.”
Victor's security officer suddenly stepped from behind a door.
“General.”
Victor understood immediately.
The document was a decoy.
The real transfer required biometric confirmation.
And I had refused to give it.
Edmund's face twisted.
“You little—”
The room erupted.
Gunfire.
Smoke.
People screamed.
Victor tackled me behind the table.
Security teams stormed the room.
Julian ran.
I crawled toward my mother.
“Mom!”
She grabbed me.
“I love you.”
“I know.”
A shot cracked.
She collapsed.
“Mom!”
Victor caught her.
“No!”
Edmund disappeared through a hidden doorway.
Victor's team chased him.
I stayed with Mom.
Blood spread across her dress.
She looked at me.
“I have to tell you one more thing.”
“What?”
Her breathing became shallow.
“You have a brother.”
I froze.
“What?”
“He's alive.”
“Who?”
She looked toward the door.
“Julian.”
I stared.
“What?”
“He isn't Arthur's son.”
The world seemed to stop.
Mom whispered:
“He is Edmund's.”
Then she closed her eyes.
May you like
And behind us, Julian heard every word.
His gun dropped to the floor.
