Chapter 13 - The Betrayal Behind the RingThe engagement was fake. The betrayal was not.
The room felt airless.
Marcus waited.
Nathaniel stepped closer to me.
“Don't sign.”
“What happens if I don't?”
Marcus answered.
“He dies.”
I looked at Nathaniel.
He shook his head.
“Let him threaten me.”
I whispered, “Why?”
“Because he doesn't understand something.”
“What?”
Nathaniel's gaze hardened.
“He thinks you are a frightened woman.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“He hasn't been paying attention.”
I looked down at the document.
Then I saw the signature line.
I knew the format.
I knew the legal structure.
And something was wrong.
“This contract is invalid.”
Marcus's smile disappeared.
“What?”
“You've listed Blackridge as a corporate entity.”
“It is.”
“No.”
I pointed at the paragraph.
“Blackridge dissolved this structure nine years ago.”
Marcus stared.
I continued.
“You recreated it.”
Nathaniel looked at me.
“You're saying he can't legally claim the assets?”
“Not through this document.”
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“You're wasting time.”
“No.”
I lifted the contract.
“You are.”
I tore it in half.
Marcus's expression turned murderous.
“You stupid girl.”
Nathaniel stepped in front of me.
Marcus raised his weapon.
Then a gunshot came from behind him.
Marcus stumbled.
Blood spread across his shoulder.
Daniel stood in the doorway.
“I told you I'd come back.”
Nathaniel's gun immediately pointed at him.
“Drop it.”
Daniel did.
Marcus looked furious.
“You.”
Daniel smiled bitterly.
“I was never yours.”
“You've been working for me for two years.”
“I've been working against you for six months.”
Nathaniel stared.
“Why?”
Daniel looked at me.
“Because I finally found the original file.”
“What file?”
Daniel raised a small black envelope.
“Your mother's real contract.”
Marcus moved.
Nathaniel kicked the weapon away.
Daniel handed me the envelope.
Inside was an old agreement.
I read it.
My mother had agreed to fake my death.
But there was one clause.
Upon Emily's twenty-fifth birthday, all hidden assets automatically transfer to her control.
I stared at the date.
My birthday was three months away.
Marcus smiled.
“You're too late.”
I looked at him.
“No.”
I pointed to another line.
“There's a condition.”
Nathaniel read it.
His face changed.
The trust would activate only if I voluntarily entered a public alliance with a Mercer heir.
A marriage.
Or a legally recognized engagement.
My engagement with Nathaniel.
The fake one.
Had already triggered the first part of the trust.
I looked at him.
“What have we done?”
Nathaniel's expression was almost amused.
“We accidentally won.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“You think this is over?”
The doors behind him opened.
Federal agents stormed the room.
Marcus's eyes widened.
Daniel whispered:
“I sent the files.”
Nathaniel looked at me.
“You planned this?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Not me.”
I frowned.
“Then who?”
Nathaniel slowly reached into his jacket.
He pulled out the cassette recorder.
My mother's message was playing again.
But this time, there was a second voice underneath hers.
A man's voice.
Older.
Calm.
Familiar.
Mine.
I had heard it before.
In the ballroom.
In my dreams.
The recording said:
If you're hearing this, Emily, it means Nathaniel has finally brought you here.
Nathaniel stared at the recorder.
Then his face went pale.
Because the voice wasn't Marcus.
May you like
It was Alexander.
My supposedly dead father.
