Chapter 8 - The InheritanceMy mother had left me more than memories.
She had left something Richard wanted.
Something worth killing for.
Detective Morgan spent the night investigating my mother's estate.
There had been no major inheritance.
No company shares.
No secret bank account.
Nothing obvious.
Then he found an old trust.
Created twenty years earlier.
The beneficiary was not me.
It was my child.
My unborn daughter.
Alex stared at the document.
"Why would your mother create a trust for a child who didn't exist?"
I looked at the date.
The trust was created eighteen years before I became pregnant.
Something was wrong.
Detective Morgan read the clause again.
"The beneficiary must be a biological descendant of Elena Hale."
My mother's wording was precise.
She had expected me to have a child.
Or she knew something I didn't.
The trust contained one asset.
A controlling interest in a company.
Not money.
Not property.
A company.
Voss Global.
My blood turned cold.
"My mother owned the company?"
"Indirectly," Detective Morgan said.
"How?"
"Through a holding structure."
Alex stared at me.
"That means..."
"I could own them."
Detective Morgan nodded.
"The unborn child could become the controlling beneficiary."
Suddenly Victor's actions made sense.
Richard hadn't just wanted me dead.
He wanted my child.
Because my daughter represented control of his empire.
The next morning, a judge issued an emergency injunction freezing the company.
Markets reacted immediately.
News channels exploded.
VOSS GLOBAL SHARES PLUNGE AFTER FAMILY ASSAULT CASE.
Richard vanished.
His private jet left the country before authorities could stop him.
But there was one problem.
He couldn't take the evidence with him.
The prosecutor raided his headquarters.
They found dozens of files.
Medical records.
Payments.
Surveillance photographs.
Videos.
And a hidden room.
Inside the room was an entire wall covered with photographs.
Claire.
My mother.
Me.
Other women.
Dates.
Notes.
My photograph was the newest.
My stomach turned when I saw the note beside it.
"Pregnancy confirmed."
Below it:
"Phase Two."
Detective Morgan photographed everything.
Then he found another file.
It contained a detailed plan.
Step one: discredit Elena.
Step two: isolate Elena from family.
Step three: establish psychiatric history.
Step four: terminate pregnancy.
Step five: secure trust.
I read it twice.
They had planned everything.
The morning assault wasn't spontaneous.
It was scheduled.
I had nearly died according to a plan written weeks earlier.
But there was one page missing.
The page describing Phase Two.
Detective Morgan searched the room.
Nothing.
Then Alex noticed a loose floorboard.
Underneath was a small metal safe.
The combination was written on the wall in invisible ink.
Inside was a flash drive.
Detective Morgan connected it to a secure computer.
A folder appeared.
PRIORITY: ELENA.
There were hundreds of files.
Emails.
Photos.
Bank transfers.
And one video.
Victor was speaking with Richard.
The video was dated six months earlier.
Richard asked:
"Has she suspected anything?"
Victor replied:
"No."
Richard smiled.
"Good."
Then he said something that made my blood run cold.
"Her baby must never be born."
Victor looked uneasy.
"And if I refuse?"
Richard leaned forward.
"Then your sister dies."
Victor looked terrified.
My heart dropped.
Victor had a sister.
He had told me he was an only child.
The video ended.
I stared at the screen.
Then the detective played another.
Victor was speaking alone into a camera.
He looked directly at it.
"If anyone finds this, I'm sorry."
He paused.
"I have been lying."
Then he whispered:
"Richard doesn't have my sister."
Silence.
"He has my sister's daughter."
The screen went black.
Alex stared at me.
"Who is the girl?"
Victor's secret had become even darker.
Then Detective Morgan received a call.
He listened.
His expression changed.
"What's wrong?"
He looked at me.
"We found her."
"Where?"
"In the Voss estate."
"Alive?"
Detective Morgan nodded.
"For now."
May you like
Then he said:
"She's thirteen years old."
