Chapter 13 - LAUREN'S LAST SECRETI stared at Lauren.
“You filed it.”
She was crying.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I was trying to protect Matt.”
“You tried to steal my inheritance.”
“No.”
“Your signature is right here.”
“I didn't know what it meant.”
“You signed it.”
“Victor told me it was temporary.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Temporary.”
“That word destroyed all of us.”
Lauren collapsed into a chair.
“I know.”
I wanted to hate her.
Part of me did.
But there was something else in her eyes.
Fear.
Not guilt.
Fear.
“Tell me everything.”
Lauren wiped her face.
“Victor had been threatening us for months.”
“How?”
“Matt owed him money.”
“How much?”
“$74,000.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Dad told us you'd leave the family.”
I stared at her.
“He used that against you?”
“Yes.”
“He said you had to get my card information.”
“Yes.”
“He told you to get me on the cruise.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he needed access to your account.”
The room was silent.
“And then?”
“After the cruise was canceled, Victor panicked.”
“What did he do?”
“He told me to sign the inheritance waiver.”
“And you did.”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you helping me now?”
She looked at me.
“Because I finally realized something.”
“What?”
“He was never going to let us walk away.”
She was right.
Victor didn't need allies.
He needed hostages.
As long as everyone was afraid, everyone obeyed.
But fear had limits.
And now the investigators had the documents.
Dad had agreed to testify.
Victor's empire was cracking.
Then another investigator entered.
“We found the transfer account.”
“To where?”
“A shell corporation overseas.”
“How much?”
“$3.8 million.”
My heart stopped.
“Can it be recovered?”
“Maybe.”
“When?”
“Not before the transfer.”
“When is that?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
I looked at Evelyn.
“What do we do?”
“We need an emergency injunction.”
“Will we get it?”
“I don't know.”
That night, we went to court.
The judge reviewed the evidence.
Bank records.
Forged documents.
Family trust records.
The investigators presented everything.
Victor's attorney fought hard.
“This is a family dispute,” he argued.
Evelyn replied:
“No. This is identity theft, financial fraud, and attempted asset transfer.”
The judge looked at the evidence.
Then he asked:
“Where is the beneficiary?”
I stood.
“Here.”
The judge studied me.
“You deny signing the waiver?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know who did?”
I looked toward Lauren.
She lowered her head.
Before I could answer, the courthouse doors opened.
A clerk hurried in.
“Your Honor.”
“What is it?”
“The transfer has already begun.”
Everyone froze.
“How?”
The clerk handed him a document.
“The overseas account initiated the transfer at 8:03 p.m.”
Evelyn checked the time.
8:19.
Sixteen minutes.
The judge ordered the banks contacted.
The investigators rushed out.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message.
Unknown number.
You wanted your money. Now watch it disappear.
I looked at the screen.
Another message followed.
A photograph.
Victor standing inside a private airport terminal.
Beside him was a suitcase.
And someone else.
My mother.
I stared at the photo.
Impossible.
Mom was sitting in the courthouse.
I looked up.
She was there.
Then who was the woman in the picture?
I zoomed in.
My blood ran cold.
It wasn't my mother.
It was someone who looked almost identical.
May you like
And the message beneath the photo said:
Your family isn't the only one with secrets.
