Chapter 13 - The ClauseMarcus stared at the contract.
“What did you do?”
Oliver smiled faintly.
“The agreement says the heir cannot be coerced.”
Marcus laughed.
“That's irrelevant.”
“No.”
Oliver pointed.
“It says the transfer becomes void if the heir signs under threat of physical harm.”
Marcus's expression darkened.
Robert looked at the document.
“That's a standard clause.”
Oliver shook his head.
“Not this wording.”
Evelyn stepped closer.
She recognized it.
“My father wrote that clause.”
Robert looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because he expected Marcus to turn on everyone.”
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
“You're wasting time.”
Oliver continued.
“The trust also requires an independent witness.”
Marcus looked around.
“You don't have one.”
Oliver smiled.
“Yes, we do.”
Everyone turned.
Victoria stepped forward.
“I am the witness.”
Marcus stared.
“You?”
Victoria nodded.
“My marriage to Robert makes me legally qualified under the trust provision.”
Robert looked at her in surprise.
She continued:
“And I refuse to validate coercion.”
Marcus raised his gun.
“Then you die with them.”
Robert moved.
Security opened fire.
The church erupted into chaos.
Oliver grabbed the contract.
Victoria pulled him behind a stone pillar.
Daniel fought his way toward Marcus.
Robert tackled one of the gunmen.
Evelyn ran toward the altar.
Then a gunshot.
Everyone froze.
Robert looked down.
Blood spread across his shirt.
“Dad!”
Oliver rushed to him.
Robert fell against the wall.
“I’m okay.”
“You've been shot!”
“It’s not deep.”
Marcus escaped through a side door.
Daniel chased him.
But before Marcus disappeared, he shouted:
“You still don't know who betrayed Clara!”
Oliver froze.
Robert looked at him.
“What did he mean?”
A phone rang.
Victoria answered.
Her father’s old number.
She listened.
Then her face became empty.
Robert asked:
“What?”
Victoria whispered:
“My father left me a message.”
“What did he say?”
She looked at Oliver.
“He said Clara wasn't killed because she knew too much.”
Oliver stared.
“Then why?”
Victoria swallowed.
“Because she had another child.”
Silence.
Robert shook his head.
“No.”
Oliver's eyes widened.
“My mother only had me.”
Victoria looked terrified.
“That’s what she told everyone.”
Robert stared.
“Where did Marcus get this?”
Victoria handed him the phone.
The voicemail played.
James Sterling’s old voice crackled through the speaker.
“If Oliver ever comes looking for the truth, tell him this.”
A pause.
“Clara had a daughter.”
Oliver's entire world stopped.
The message continued.
“She was born before Oliver.”
Robert looked at Victoria.
“Who?”
The voicemail ended.
Then another message appeared.
An address.
A hospital.
And a name.
Lily Morgan.
Oliver stared at the screen.
His mother had never mentioned a daughter.
Not once.
Robert whispered:
“Maybe Marcus is lying.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“He isn't.”
“Why?”
“Because I remember her.”
Oliver turned.
“You saw her?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“The night Clara disappeared.”
Oliver could barely breathe.
“Where is she?”
Evelyn looked toward the church doors.
“She was taken.”
“By whom?”
Evelyn answered:
“By someone Clara trusted.”
Oliver’s expression hardened.
“Who?”
May you like
Evelyn’s eyes filled with tears.
“Daniel.”
