Chapter 9 - ElenaElena walked slowly into the room.
She looked exactly as she had the day I remembered her.
Elegant.
Composed.
Almost maternal.
That made it worse.
“You killed my mother.”
She sighed.
“She was going to destroy everything.”
“You killed Daniel.”
“He was going to expose me.”
“You killed my grandmother.”
“No.”
She smiled.
“She died because she refused to help.”
“Where is my father?”
“Safe.”
“You call kidnapping safe?”
“He is alive.”
“Let him go.”
“When you sign the transfer.”
I stared at her.
“What transfer?”
“The forty million.”
“You already have access.”
“Not to the final account.”
She walked toward me.
“You inherited your mother’s trust.”
“I never knew.”
“That was the point.”
“You raised me so you could control me.”
Her smile faded.
“I raised you because I loved you.”
“You poisoned my mother.”
“She would have chosen your father over you.”
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
She said it without shame.
For the first time, I understood.
There had never been warmth behind her kindness.
Only calculation.
“Where is Gregory?”
Elena smiled.
“He served his purpose.”
“He told me you were the Architect.”
“He was too frightened to understand anything.”
“What does that mean?”
Elena placed a folder on the table.
“Gregory works for someone else.”
“Who?”
She leaned closer.
“You think this is about money.”
“It is forty million dollars.”
“That is a drop in the ocean.”
She opened the folder.
Inside were account statements.
Hundreds of millions.
Billions.
Real estate.
Private islands.
Political donations.
Weapons companies.
“You built all this?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Elena looked at me.
“Your father.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“He created the network.”
“You’re lying.”
“He wanted to control the world through money.”
“No.”
“He wanted revenge against the people who destroyed his family.”
“My father was a victim.”
Elena laughed softly.
“That is what he wanted you to believe.”
The television turned on.
My father appeared again.
But this time, he was not alone.
Daniel Hayes was standing beside him.
Alive.
I screamed.
“No.”
Daniel looked older.
Scarred.
But alive.
Ethan would have recognized him instantly.
My hands shook.
Elena smiled.
“Your father and Daniel have been working together for years.”
“Then who died?”
She smiled.
“A body double.”
My entire understanding of the past shattered.
Daniel had never died.
My father had never vanished.
They had staged everything.
My mother.
The funeral.
The murder.
The disappearances.
All of it.
To hide the network.
To manipulate me.
Elena leaned toward me.
“And tomorrow, you will unlock the trust.”
“Why?”
“Because the Architect is not one person.”
I froze.
“There are three.”
“Who?”
She whispered:
“Your father.”
“Me.”
“And Ethan Hayes.”
My stomach dropped.
“You’re lying.”
“No.”
She opened the door.
Two men entered.
They dragged in Noah.
His face was wet with tears.
“Mommy!”
I screamed.
“NOAH!”
Elena pointed the gun at him.
“Sign.”
My hands shook as I stared at the papers.
The final transfer agreement.
Forty million dollars.
I picked up the pen.
Then I saw one line buried in the legal language.
Upon transfer, all beneficiary rights terminate permanently.
I smiled.
Elena frowned.
“You’re going to sign?”
“Yes.”
I put the pen to the paper.
Then stopped.
“I just need one thing.”
“What?”
I looked her in the eyes.
“The truth.”
She laughed.
“You still think you deserve it?”
“No.”
I lowered the pen.
“I think you’re about to give it to me.”
Her smile disappeared.
Because she had already pressed the button.
May you like
And the cameras were recording.
End of Chapter 9.
