Chapter 9 - THE MAN INSIDE CALDERMercer fired first.
Adrian dropped.
Security rushed toward him.
I stood frozen.
My father grabbed my shoulders.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
He pulled me close.
Adrian was alive.
Barely.
Mercer ordered everyone out.
“Search him.”
They found three phones.
Two passports.
A hidden key.
And a photograph.
My mother.
Alive.
Taken yesterday.
My heart stopped.
“He knows where she is.”
Mercer nodded.
“And now he's going to tell us.”
Adrian was taken to an interrogation room.
I watched from behind the glass.
Mercer placed the photograph on the table.
“Where is Elena?”
Adrian smiled.
“You mean Mara.”
“Mara?”
“That's her real name.”
My father stiffened.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
Adrian laughed.
“You think Nathan controls her?”
“What?”
“None of you understand.”
He looked toward me.
“Your mother disappeared because she wanted to.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“Because she discovered the truth.”
“What truth?”
Adrian leaned closer.
“That you were never supposed to inherit Calder Dominion.”
My father's face hardened.
“Enough.”
Adrian smiled.
“Victor knows.”
I turned.
“What does he know?”
My father said nothing.
Adrian continued.
“Eleanor created a contingency.”
“What contingency?”
“If Victor died, the empire would pass to Isabella.”
I frowned.
“That sounds normal.”
“It wasn't.”
He shook his head.
“The ownership structure was designed so that if Isabella took control, Eleanor would gain access to the entire network through you.”
I froze.
“She designed my inheritance?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your bloodline gave her access.”
My father stepped forward.
“Stop.”
Adrian laughed.
“Tell her.”
I looked at my father.
“Tell me.”
He remained silent.
Adrian leaned back.
“Your mother wasn't merely a witness.”
He looked at me.
“She was Eleanor's partner.”
I stopped breathing.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“She worked for Eleanor?”
“For years.”
“And then she betrayed her?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Adrian's smile disappeared.
“Because she fell in love with Victor.”
My father closed his eyes.
Adrian continued.
“Your mother stole evidence.”
“What evidence?”
“The evidence that could destroy Eleanor.”
“Where is it?”
“Inside Isabella.”
I stared.
“What?”
Adrian nodded toward the photograph.
“Your mother encoded the archive into something only you could access.”
My father looked at me.
I touched my chest.
“How?”
“Your birth records.”
My mother's medical records.
My DNA.
The Calder inheritance.
It all connected.
I suddenly remembered the trust.
The secret key.
The memory card.
Everything had been built around me.
Then Adrian said:
“You aren't just the heir, Isabella.”
I waited.
“You are the key.”
A phone rang.
Everyone turned.
Mercer's phone.
He answered.
His face changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then looked at me.
“The Whitmore Tower is on fire.”
I froze.
“Is my mother there?”
Mercer nodded.
“We don't know.”
My father grabbed his coat.
“We're going.”
Adrian laughed behind the glass.
“You're too late.”
I turned.
He smiled.
“Nathan wanted you to go there.”
“Why?”
“Because Eleanor is waiting at Calder Tower.”
I stopped.
“What?”
Adrian whispered:
“She never wanted you at Whitmore.”
He looked directly at me.
“She wanted you away from your father.”
I turned back toward my father.
At that exact moment, every phone in the building received the same message.
VICTOR CALDER HAS BEEN ARRESTED FOR THE MURDER OF MARA WHITMORE.
I stared at my father.
Security weapons were suddenly raised.
Mercer stepped toward him.
“Victor.”
My father slowly lifted his hands.
“I didn't kill her.”
Mercer looked torn.
Then another message appeared.
BODY IDENTIFIED.
MARA WHITMORE.
My world shattered.
May you like
My mother was dead.
And my father was being arrested for her murder.
