Chapter 8 - The Price of a FatherI couldn't breathe.
Dad.
They had him.
Ryan grabbed a gun.
Mom stopped him.
"That's exactly what they want."
"What do we do?"
"They'll demand a trade."
"Me?"
Mom looked at me.
"No."
Her voice broke.
"The baby."
I felt my blood run cold.
A screen activated.
A live video appeared.
Dad was tied to a chair.
His face was bruised.
Victor Hale stood behind him.
Older.
Calmer.
Alive.
"Hello, Richard."
Dad lifted his head.
"Victor."
Victor smiled.
Then looked into the camera.
"Emma."
I stepped closer.
Victor stared directly at me.
"You have something that belongs to us."
"My child doesn't belong to you."
"It isn't about ownership."
"Then what is it?"
Victor smiled.
"Legacy."
Dad shouted.
"Don't listen to him!"
Victor struck him across the face.
I flinched.
"Your father knows what happens if you refuse."
I looked at Mom.
She was trembling.
"Who controls you?"
Victor laughed.
"Still asking the wrong question."
He leaned toward the camera.
"Ask your mother."
I looked at her.
Victor continued.
"Ask her what she promised Evelyn Carter."
Mom closed her eyes.
Victor smiled.
"Ask her why Evelyn disappeared."
The transmission cut.
I turned toward Mom.
"What did you promise her?"
Mom looked devastated.
"I promised I would protect you."
"From what?"
"From the people who wanted your inheritance."
"What inheritance?"
She opened a vault.
Inside were documents.
Land deeds.
Trust agreements.
Stock certificates.
A document from Carter Global.
Then another.
The names of my grandparents.
I stared.
"This isn't my inheritance."
Mom shook her head.
"It was never money."
She handed me one final document.
It was an old legal agreement.
My name was written at the top.
Emma Catherine Carter.
Beneath it:
BENEFICIARY OF THE CARTER FAMILY TRUST.
Amount:
Nine billion dollars.
I stared.
Nine billion.
"How?"
Mom said quietly:
"Your grandfather created the trust before you were born."
"Why didn't Dad tell me?"
"Because the trust has a condition."
"What condition?"
"You must turn twenty-eight."
I frowned.
"I'm twenty-six."
Mom nodded.
"Exactly."
"Then what happens when I turn twenty-eight?"
She looked at me.
"The trust becomes fully controlled by your child."
I felt dizzy.
"The baby?"
"Yes."
Ryan stared at the document.
"That's why they want the child."
Mom nodded.
"They need control of the trust."
"How?"
"They believe they can force you to transfer guardianship."
I shook my head.
"They can't."
Mom looked at me sadly.
"That is where they are wrong."
She opened another document.
A marriage agreement.
Ryan's signature.
My signature.
I scanned the page.
My heart stopped.
There was an additional clause I had never seen.
If the unborn child were placed under the husband's guardianship, control of certain family assets would transfer to him.
I looked at Ryan.
"You knew?"
"No."
"You signed it."
"I signed what they gave me."
"You didn't read it?"
Ryan stared at the page.
"I was told it was a standard prenup."
I laughed bitterly.
"Three years."
He looked ashamed.
"Three years."
Mom suddenly looked toward the ceiling.
"Someone has entered the facility."
Security alarms screamed.
Doors slammed shut.
Ryan raised his gun.
Mom looked at me.
"There's another exit."
"Where?"
She pointed behind me.
Then the lights went red.
A voice came through the speakers.
"Emma Carter."
Victor.
"Your father has thirty minutes."
"Choose carefully."
"You can save him."
May you like
A pause.
"But only if you bring us the baby."
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