Chapter 6 - The Forgotten HeirHis name was Julian Sterling.
Adrian's older brother.
Supposedly dead.
At least, according to every public record.
Born four minutes before Adrian.
Declared dead at age nine after a boating accident.
His body had never been recovered.
The Sterling family had held a funeral.
The newspapers had printed photographs.
And then everyone moved on.
Everyone except Richard Sterling.
Clara spent the night digging into Julian's disappearance.
There were inconsistencies everywhere.
The accident report had been altered.
The insurance claim had been unusually large.
Three witnesses had disappeared.
And most disturbing of all...
Julian's death certificate had been signed six months after the supposed accident.
Clara stared at the document.
"Six months later?"
Marcus nodded.
"Which means someone was keeping the death certificate open."
Daniel folded his arms.
"Or someone wanted time to make sure he was actually gone."
Clara opened another file.
A photograph appeared.
Julian at twenty-six.
Alive.
Standing beside Richard Sterling.
Clara's stomach tightened.
"Who took this?"
"Unknown."
"When?"
"Four years ago."
Clara looked at Daniel.
"So Julian was alive while I was married to Adrian."
"Apparently."
"Why didn't he contact anyone?"
Daniel shook his head.
"We don't know."
Then Marcus found something.
"Wait."
A bank transaction appeared.
A monthly payment.
Thirty thousand dollars.
For twenty years.
Beneficiary: J.S.
Clara stared.
"Where was the money going?"
Marcus traced the account.
A private psychiatric facility in Switzerland.
Clara's face changed.
"He's been hidden."
Daniel nodded slowly.
"By his own family."
Clara immediately booked a flight.
But before leaving, she received a call.
Unknown number.
She answered.
"Hello?"
A man's voice whispered.
"Don't come here."
"Julian?"
Silence.
Clara's heart pounded.
"Julian, who are you?"
"You don't understand what they did."
"Then tell me."
"They didn't kill your father."
Clara froze.
"Who did?"
"The person you trust most."
The line went dead.
Clara stood motionless.
Daniel walked toward her.
"What happened?"
She looked at him.
"Julian called."
"What did he say?"
Clara hesitated.
Then she repeated his final words.
The person you trust most.
Daniel's face tightened.
"Could he have meant me?"
Clara said nothing.
They stared at one another.
For years, Daniel had been the closest person in her inner circle.
He had helped rebuild her life.
He had protected her.
But now...
trust had become a weapon.
That night, Clara flew to Switzerland alone.
She reached the facility just before sunrise.
Julian was waiting in a private room.
He looked nothing like Adrian.
His hair was longer.
His face was thinner.
But his eyes were unmistakably Sterling.
He looked at Clara.
Then laughed bitterly.
"You really do have his eyes."
"Whose?"
"Your father's."
Clara stepped closer.
"Did you know him?"
Julian nodded.
"He saved my life."
"From what?"
Julian's smile disappeared.
"My family."
Clara sat down.
"Tell me everything."
Julian leaned forward.
"Your father's death wasn't planned by Adrian."
Clara stared.
"Then who?"
Julian looked toward the closed door.
"Someone who still controls the Sterling family."
"Who?"
Julian whispered two words.
"Evelyn Sterling."
Clara's blood went cold.
Adrian's mother.
The woman who had supposedly come to her for help.
The woman who had warned her.
The woman who had given her the letter.
Julian continued.
"She didn't want your father dead."
He paused.
"She wanted him silent."
Clara felt the room spinning.
"That's impossible."
Julian shook his head.
"The person you trusted most wasn't Daniel."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"It was never the person standing beside you."
"It was the person who taught you how to fight."
Clara remembered her father.
And suddenly one detail from the past became terrifyingly clear.
May you like
The person who had taught her every financial skill...
was Evelyn Sterling.
