Chapter 5 - Richard's Last SecretPolice found no one outside.
Richard was still in custody.
The voice had been recorded.
Artificially generated.
A warning.
Or a trap.
My mother was shaking uncontrollably.
“Who is doing this?”
I asked.
She looked at Michael.
Then at me.
“Daniel.”
“Daniel Cross?”
She nodded.
“He never died.”
We moved into a safe house.
My mother's story unfolded over two nights.
Daniel Cross had built a hidden financial network decades earlier.
He used legitimate companies as fronts for illegal transfers.
My father's company had become one of the largest.
When my father discovered the truth, he tried to expose him.
Daniel threatened my mother.
Then me.
My father made a deal.
He would protect the company while secretly collecting evidence.
But Richard discovered the secret files.
And Richard wanted control.
“He married you because he knew you were your father's weakness,” my mother said.
I looked at Grace.
“He wanted the company.”
“He wanted more than that.”
“What?”
She hesitated.
“The final account.”
“What final account?”
“A hidden reserve.”
My heart sank.
“How much?”
My mother looked at me.
“Eight hundred million dollars.”
Michael went silent.
“It doesn't exist officially,” she continued. “Your father created it to expose Daniel.”
“Then where is it?”
“He never told me.”
I remembered the letter.
The stolen money.
The painting.
The photographs.
Something clicked.
“The painting.”
My mother frowned.
“What?”
“The painting my mother hated.”
She stared at me.
“Your father kept a painting in his study.”
“What was it?”
“An ocean.”
Michael looked at me.
“Let's go.”
We returned to my father's estate.
The house had been sealed after his death.
We entered the study.
The painting hung above the fireplace.
Blue ocean.
Gray sky.
I removed it from the wall.
Behind it was a metal panel.
Michael opened it.
Inside was a small black drive.
And a note.
FOR MY DAUGHTER.
My hands shook.
I plugged it into the computer.
A single video appeared.
My father.
Alive.
The recording was dated two days before his death.
“Abigail.”
He looked exhausted.
“If you are watching this, everything failed.”
My chest tightened.
“Richard will betray you.”
I whispered, “I know.”
My father continued.
“Vanessa knows about the second account.”
My eyes widened.
“She is not your enemy.”
Michael leaned closer.
“She was working undercover.”
The video continued.
“Daniel Cross has people everywhere. Police. Lawyers. Bankers. Even inside my own company.”
Then my father's face changed.
He looked directly into the camera.
“There is one person I trusted.”
He paused.
“Someone you would never suspect.”
The screen went black.
I stared.
“That's it?”
Michael checked the file.
“No other data.”
Then the computer beeped.
A second file had appeared.
Hidden.
It opened automatically.
A bank account.
Eight hundred million dollars.
The account holder name:
ABIGAIL ELIZABETH CARTER.
I stopped breathing.
My father had left everything to me.
But there was a condition.
The funds could only be accessed after three people entered a security code.
My father.
My mother.
And Richard.
I stared at the screen.
“Richard has the code.”
Michael nodded.
“He must.”
“But he's in prison.”
My phone rang.
A detective.
“Abigail?”
“Yes?”
“Richard Carter escaped custody.”
My blood froze.
“How?”
The detective hesitated.
“He didn't.”
“What?”
“He was released.”
“By whom?”
Silence.
Then:
“Federal authorization.”
The call ended.
My mother looked terrified.
“That means they have him.”
“Who?”
“Daniel.”
My phone buzzed again.
A message.
BRING YOUR MOTHER.
COME ALONE.
The location appeared.
An abandoned warehouse.
Then another message.
AND BRING THE BABY.
I stared at Grace.
My mother stepped forward.
“No.”
I shook my head.
“They know about her.”
My mother grabbed my arm.
“Abigail, listen to me.”
Her voice cracked.
“Daniel doesn't want the money.”
“Then what does he want?”
She stared toward the sleeping baby.
“He wants the bloodline.”
I felt cold.
“What does that mean?”
My mother's face collapsed.
“I never told you the truth about Grace's birth.”
I stared at her.
“What truth?”
“She wasn't born by accident.”
My entire body went still.
My mother whispered:
“Your father planned for her to inherit everything.”
I looked at Grace.
Then the lights in the house went out.
A speaker crackled somewhere in the darkness.
May you like
Daniel's voice whispered:
“Bring me the heir.”
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