Chapter 9 - THE 240 MILLION DOLLAR SECRETThe station went into lockdown.
My mother had disappeared from a secured interview room.
No alarms.
No forced entry.
No broken lock.
The cameras had gone dark for exactly ninety-two seconds.
Ninety-two seconds.
Long enough for someone with access to the building to remove her.
Ethan immediately suspected an insider.
I suspected something worse.
Daniel had people everywhere.
The $240 million inheritance belonged to Vera's family.
A private investment estate.
Property.
Stocks.
Offshore accounts.
Trust holdings.
Assets spread across three countries.
And apparently, the beneficiary was a woman who had never known she inherited anything.
Me.
But there was a condition.
My maternal identity had to be verified.
And Daniel had spent decades preventing that verification.
Ethan flew to London.
“You're moving into secure housing.”
“I need answers.”
“You'll get them.”
“No more secrets.”
He looked at me.
“You're right.”
For the first time, Ethan handed me a folder.
“Your mother left this behind.”
Inside was a letter.
Addressed to me.
My hands shook.
Lauren,
I failed you.
I thought silence would keep you alive.
I was wrong.
The letter explained that my mother met my father when Vera was pregnant.
Vera had intended to leave Daniel.
She believed my father would protect her.
But before she could leave, she disappeared.
My mother later learned that Vera had been forced into hiding.
And the child, me, was transferred into my father's care.
My father raised me.
He loved me.
But he never told me I wasn't biologically his.
Because he believed Daniel was looking for Vera's child.
My father created the trust to protect me.
Daniel discovered it.
Then everything spiraled.
My mother had spent years cooperating with Daniel while secretly trying to delay the final transfer until 2031.
Why 2031?
Because that was the year I would turn thirty-five.
The age at which the trust became fully independent.
Until then, Daniel could challenge it.
After then, he couldn't.
Unless he could prove fraud.
Or unless I voluntarily transferred my assets.
The fake lease suddenly made perfect sense.
They needed me to appear to surrender control.
Then they needed my identity compromised.
Then they needed a new beneficiary installed.
Victoria.
My sister had been a pawn.
But there was still one question.
Why Victoria?
The answer came from the DNA records.
Victoria was not my full sister.
Her father was someone else.
My mother had raised both of us together.
But Victoria had inherited nothing from my father's trust because she wasn't his biological child either.
She was simply the daughter my mother had from an earlier relationship.
Yet my father had still treated her as family.
Until Daniel manipulated the trust.
I called Victoria.
“Did you know?”
“Know what?”
“That we're not full sisters.”
Silence.
Then she whispered,
“No.”
I told her everything.
She began crying.
“So he used me.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“Daniel.”
Victoria sat down.
“I thought he was helping me.”
“Where did you meet him?”
She hesitated.
“At the cemetery.”
My stomach dropped.
“What cemetery?”
“Dad's.”
“Why?”
“He told me he could give me the life Mom promised me.”
I closed my eyes.
“What else did he say?”
“He said Lauren would disappear.”
The room went silent.
Victoria's voice became a whisper.
“He told me you wouldn't be hurt.”
My blood turned cold.
“What exactly did he say?”
“He said…”
She began crying.
“He said, ‘Your sister won't feel anything.’”
I felt the world stop.
Because those were the exact words in the anonymous threat.
Your sister won't be the one who gets hurt.
Victoria wasn't just being used.
She was being prepared to participate.
Before I could respond, Ethan came through the door.
“Lauren.”
“What?”
“We found your mother.”
“Where?”
He looked at the screen of his phone.
“She walked into a federal building.”
“Why?”
“She surrendered.”
I stood.
“Is she safe?”
May you like
Ethan's expression changed.
“She says she knows where Daniel is.”
