Chapter 12 - The Pregnancy ContractNatasha stared at her mother.
"Put it down."
Her mother did not move.
Leo raised his gun.
Claire smiled.
"Still protecting her."
Leo's eyes narrowed.
"What did you do?"
Claire answered.
"I did what I was paid to do."
"By whom?"
She looked at Natasha.
"Your grandmother."
Natasha's stomach dropped.
"My grandmother is dead."
"Her body is."
Claire smiled.
"Her organization isn't."
Natasha shook her head.
"This is insane."
Claire opened a folder.
"You were born into a succession contract."
She placed the papers on the altar.
"Your mother signed."
Natasha turned toward her.
"You signed something?"
Her mother whispered:
"I signed your life away before I understood what it meant."
The contract contained a clause.
A child conceived between the Volkov line and the Tomlin line would inherit control.
But another clause stated:
The mother shall surrender custody upon birth.
Natasha felt sick.
"I'm not giving up my child."
Claire smiled.
"You won't have a choice."
Leo stepped forward.
"You're wrong."
Claire's gun rose.
"There are twelve snipers outside."
Marcus glanced toward the windows.
"She's telling the truth."
Leo looked at Natasha.
"Stay behind me."
Her mother laughed softly.
"You still don't understand, Leo."
"Understand what?"
"The child isn't the prize."
Natasha looked at her.
"What is?"
Her mother whispered:
"The child is the key."
"To what?"
"To Viktor's offshore accounts."
Silence.
Claire continued.
"Your grandmother hid billions across thirteen trusts."
Natasha stared.
"Where?"
"Locked behind a biometric inheritance system."
"What does that have to do with my baby?"
"DNA."
Claire pointed to Natasha's stomach.
"The trust unlocks only when the child's blood matches both lines."
Leo's face hardened.
"You created a pregnancy for access."
"Not me."
"Carlo?"
"Not Carlo."
"Then who?"
A voice came from the balcony.
"My dear boy."
Everyone looked up.
An old man stood behind the railing.
Viktor.
Alive.
Leo's gun came up.
Viktor smiled.
"Hello, son."
Natasha's mother closed her eyes.
"You weren't supposed to be here."
Viktor looked at her.
"Neither were you."
Leo stepped forward.
"You've been behind this."
"Behind what?"
"The pregnancy."
Viktor smiled.
"No."
He looked at Natasha.
"Your grandmother was."
Natasha shook her head.
"My grandmother died when I was twelve."
"She did not."
Natasha went still.
Viktor laughed quietly.
"That's the family secret."
Leo whispered:
"Then who was buried?"
Viktor looked at him.
"An actress."
The room became silent.
"Your grandmother has been alive for twenty years."
Natasha's mother lowered her gun.
"She'll kill us all."
Viktor smiled.
"She already has."
A loud explosion shook the cathedral.
Windows shattered.
Snipers opened fire.
Everyone dropped.
When Natasha looked up again, Viktor was gone.
So was her mother.
Claire lay dead beside the altar.
And Leo was bleeding.
He looked at Natasha.
Then at the floor.
A small red stain was spreading beneath her.
Her blood.
Her face went white.
"My baby."
Leo caught her before she fell.
"Stay awake."
She clutched his shirt.
"I'm bleeding."
He pressed his hand against her back.
"You're going to be okay."
But he looked terrified.
Then Marcus shouted:
"Boss!"
He pointed toward the cathedral doors.
May you like
Someone had written a message across them in blood.
THE GRANDMOTHER WANTS HER HEIR.
