Chapter 9 - The Second HeirThe photograph wouldn't leave my mind.
A boy.
Who was he?
Noah spent hours interrogating the people who had been involved.
We learned almost nothing.
Until Evan woke up.
I sat outside his hospital room while Noah went inside.
Through the glass, I watched two brothers meet after ten years of silence.
Evan looked weak.
Older.
Scarred.
But alive.
Noah sat beside him.
“What happened?”
Evan whispered:
“Grant.”
Noah's jaw tightened.
“Did he try to kill you?”
Evan shook his head.
“He saved me.”
That changed everything.
Noah looked shocked.
“From whom?”
“Rachel.”
He stopped.
“No.”
Evan nodded.
“She wanted me gone.”
“Why?”
“Because I found the child.”
“What child?”
Evan looked toward the door.
“Emma.”
Noah froze.
Then Evan explained.
Ten years ago, he had discovered that Rachel had hidden something from everyone.
Emma wasn't simply Rachel's daughter.
She was connected to the Whitaker fortune through a trust created before Noah's father died.
The trust contained billions.
But it could only be activated by Emma.
My name.
My identity.
My blood.
That was why people were watching me.
That was why Grant had been ordered to stay close.
Not because he loved me.
Because someone wanted access to my inheritance.
I couldn't breathe.
When Noah told me, I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because the alternative was screaming.
“So Grant married me for money?”
“No,” Noah said.
“He married you to control the trust.”
Grant entered the room.
“You're wrong.”
I stared at him.
“You lied to me for ten years.”
“I did.”
“You betrayed me.”
“Yes.”
“Then what exactly is wrong?”
Grant looked at me.
“I fell in love with you.”
Silence.
Noah stepped between us.
Grant continued.
“At first, I was doing what I was told.”
“By my mother?”
“Yes.”
“And later?”
“I couldn't do it anymore.”
He looked at my daughter.
“Because when you became pregnant, I realized I couldn't hand your child over.”
I felt something crack inside me.
“Then why were you leaving with Vanessa?”
Grant closed his eyes.
“Because Vanessa was threatening to expose the trust.”
“What did she have?”
“A recording.”
He pulled out his phone.
“Your mother admits that if Emma remembers Vancouver, she dies.”
The room went silent.
My memories suddenly shifted.
Vancouver.
A marina.
A young man named Evan.
A little girl crying.
A red scarf.
A fire.
I grabbed my head.
Then a memory surfaced.
Someone had whispered into my ear when I was younger.
“You must forget.”
I looked at Noah.
“I remember.”
His face tightened.
“What?”
“I remember Vancouver.”
Then someone screamed from the hallway.
Detective Reed ran inside.
“Emma!”
“What?”
He was holding a photograph.
“We found the second heir.”
I looked at it.
The boy in the photograph was older now.
May you like
And standing beside him was Vanessa Cole.
:::
