Chapter 8 - Your Son Was FramedPatricia stood at the entrance of Richard's study.
No fear.
No surprise.
Just a smile.
Ethan moved in front of me.
“You framed me.”
Patricia laughed softly.
“You don't even know what you're accusing me of.”
“The tape.”
“Old technology.”
“Your voice is all over the investigation.”
“Investigation?”
Patricia tilted her head.
“That's what you call it?”
I stepped forward.
“Why did Richard say Ethan ordered his death?”
Patricia's smile vanished.
“Because Richard understood what would happen if Ethan knew the truth.”
“What truth?”
She looked at Ethan.
“Your father intended to leave everything to you.”
Ethan frowned.
“That isn't a secret.”
“No.”
Patricia shook her head.
“He intended to leave everything to you immediately.”
Silence.
“The trust was created later.”
“By whom?” I asked.
“By me.”
My blood ran cold.
“You?”
“I forced Richard to change the trust.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted leverage.”
“For what?”
Patricia laughed.
“For what your family had taken from mine.”
I stared at her.
“You're not Richard's sister.”
Her smile widened.
“No.”
Vanessa stepped into the room behind her.
“Mom.”
Patricia turned.
“You shouldn't have come.”
Vanessa looked at me.
“I found out.”
“Found out what?”
“That Patricia isn't my real mother.”
Ethan stared.
“What?”
Vanessa's hands trembled.
“Patricia adopted me.”
Patricia's expression changed.
“Enough.”
Vanessa continued.
“My biological mother was Evelyn Cross.”
The room went silent.
Evelyn Cross.
The missing trustee.
The person who had disappeared after Richard's death.
Patricia had raised Vanessa as her own.
Why?
Vanessa's voice shook.
“Because Evelyn gave me to her.”
“Where is Evelyn?” I asked.
Patricia laughed.
“You still think she can save you?”
“She's alive.”
Patricia didn't answer.
That was enough.
Vanessa moved toward me.
“She is alive.”
Patricia stepped forward.
“You have no idea what your father did.”
Ethan said sharply:
“Stop talking about my father.”
Patricia looked at him.
“He found out the truth.”
“What truth?”
“That Richard wasn't the only one stealing.”
I frowned.
“What?”
Patricia pointed at me.
“Your husband stole Carter Holdings from its original owners.”
“That is a lie.”
“No.”
She reached into her purse.
A photograph.
Richard standing beside a young woman.
The woman looked disturbingly familiar.
I took the photograph.
I realized why.
She was my mother.
My dead mother.
Patricia said:
“Your mother knew where the original shares went.”
I stared at the photograph.
My mother's name was Clara Morgan.
She had died when I was twenty-eight.
Richard had never mentioned knowing her.
Never.
Patricia whispered:
“Your mother and Richard had a secret agreement.”
“What agreement?”
“That your family would disappear.”
I looked at Ethan.
He looked terrified.
Patricia smiled.
“Your husband's empire was built on stolen ownership.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You're lying.”
“Then ask Evelyn.”
“Where is she?”
Patricia walked toward the door.
“You'll find her where Richard kept his deepest secret.”
“Where?”
Patricia stopped.
“Beneath Carter Tower.”
Then she left.
Vanessa remained.
She stared at me.
“I know where the entrance is.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Then we go now.”
But before any of us could move, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A woman's voice whispered:
“Margaret.”
I froze.
“Who is this?”
Silence.
Then:
“It's Evelyn.”
My heart stopped.
“Where are you?”
The woman whispered:
May you like
“I'm inside Carter Tower.”
Then the line went dead.
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