Chapter 10 - The RecordingElena realized too late.
The television screens around the room had turned on.
Every camera in the hotel suite was broadcasting.
Her confession.
Her threats.
Her admission about my mother.
Her admission about Daniel.
Her claim about my father.
Everything.
Her eyes widened.
“You little—”
The door exploded inward.
Ethan entered with armed security.
Elena raised her weapon.
Ethan shouted.
“Drop it!”
She fired.
The bullet struck the wall beside my head.
Security tackled her.
Noah screamed.
I grabbed him.
I held him so tightly he cried.
“I’ve got you.”
Ethan crossed the room.
“You okay?”
I nodded.
Then I looked at Elena.
She was on the floor.
Handcuffed.
Smiling.
“You think you won.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“You still don’t understand.”
She laughed.
“The video proves nothing.”
Ethan frowned.
“Why?”
“Because the money already moved.”
I froze.
“What?”
She looked at Ethan.
“Check your account.”
His phone buzzed.
He opened it.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He turned the screen.
A transfer confirmation.
$600,000,000.
Destination:
Unknown.
Timestamp:
Six minutes ago.
Elena smiled.
“The Architect never needed Mara’s signature.”
I stared at her.
“Then what did you need me for?”
“To make everyone look the wrong way.”
“What?”
“You were the distraction.”
She laughed.
“Gregory was the distraction.”
“Your mother was the distraction.”
“Daniel was the distraction.”
“And you?”
“You were the key.”
“What door did you unlock?”
She leaned closer.
“The real account.”
Ethan immediately contacted his bank.
No answer.
His security chief checked the system.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“There is something else.”
He turned.
“Say it.”
“The outgoing transfer did not come from the trust.”
“Then where?”
The security chief hesitated.
“From your account.”
Silence.
Ethan stared at the screen.
“I never authorized that.”
“You were authenticated.”
“How?”
The security chief looked at me.
“With your biometric access.”
My blood went cold.
“My biometric?”
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible.”
“No,” Ethan said.
His voice was suddenly quiet.
“It means someone has been using Mara’s identity to access my accounts.”
I looked at Elena.
She smiled.
Then said:
“Not your identity.”
She pointed at me.
“Her blood.”
The room went silent.
Ethan’s face changed.
“Explain.”
Elena leaned back.
“You’re finally asking the right question.”
She looked at me.
“Your mother didn’t choose you because you were her daughter.”
“She chose you because you were genetically compatible.”
“With what?”
“The trust.”
Ethan stared at her.
Then he whispered:
“The original account requires a biological heir.”
Elena nodded.
“And Mara is the only one left.”
I looked at Noah.
My son.
Elena smiled.
“Not the only one anymore.”
My heart stopped.
“What does that mean?”
She whispered:
May you like
“Your son inherited something too.”
End of Chapter 10.
