Chapter 13 - Nobody spoke.Elena felt as though the floor had disappeared beneath her.
“Who is my father?”
Her twin looked at Claire.
Claire cried silently.
“The man's name was Victor.”
Elena frowned.
“Victor who?”
Claire whispered:
“Victor Hawthorne.”
Ruiz stiffened.
He knew the name.
“The founder.”
Elena looked at him.
“Founder of what?”
“The network.”
Margaret finally spoke.
“Your biological father built the organization.”
Elena stared at her.
“Then why did my mother leave him?”
“Because he wanted you.”
Claire wiped her tears.
“He believed your bloodline gave you access to the master trust.”
Elena touched her stomach.
“And my baby?”
Margaret answered:
“The child carries the same genetic marker.”
Ruiz stepped forward.
“Which means the trust can be opened only after the child's birth.”
Elena realized the truth.
“That's why they want my baby.”
“Yes.”
“But why not kill me?”
Margaret laughed.
“Because you're still needed.”
Elena looked at her twin.
“You pushed me because you wanted to replace me.”
“I needed your identity.”
“For what?”
“To access the trust.”
Vanessa suddenly spoke.
“But the trust isn't money.”
Everyone looked at her.
She held up the original document.
“No.”
Vanessa continued.
“It contains evidence.”
Elena nodded.
“And whoever controls it can destroy the network.”
Claire's eyes filled with fear.
“Not destroy.”
“Expose.”
A phone buzzed.
Ruiz checked it.
His face changed.
“What?”
He showed Elena the screen.
A live news report.
FEDERAL AUTHORITIES RAID HOWARD HOLDINGS.
Elena's eyes widened.
“How did they know?”
Ruiz looked at Claire.
“Because someone leaked the files.”
Claire shook her head.
“I didn't.”
Margaret stared at the screen.
“Then she did.”
Everyone looked toward Elena's twin.
But the woman was gone.
A side door stood open.
Vanessa ran toward it.
“Stop!”
She disappeared into the corridor.
Elena followed.
The hallway led to an underground passage.
At the end was a steel door.
Elena used the pendant.
The lock clicked.
Inside was the master vault.
Rows of files.
Hard drives.
Cash.
Passports.
And one large black case.
Elena opened it.
Inside was a single folder.
Her birth certificate.
She pulled it out.
The name of her father was blank.
But the mother's name was Claire.
And beneath it was a handwritten note.
THE CHILD'S REAL IDENTITY WILL BE REVEALED ONLY AFTER THE TRUST IS OPENED.
Elena stared.
“After the baby is born.”
Ruiz nodded.
“We're close.”
Then they heard a gunshot.
Everyone froze.
A second gunshot echoed through the passage.
Vanessa screamed.
They ran back.
Daniel was lying on the floor.
Blood spread across his shirt.
Margaret knelt beside him.
Elena rushed forward.
“Who shot him?”
Daniel weakly opened his eyes.
He grabbed Elena's wrist.
“Don't trust...”
He struggled to breathe.
“...your mother.”
Elena looked at Claire.
Claire stood frozen.
Then Daniel whispered:
“She was the one who ordered the fall.”
Elena turned.
Claire's face was expressionless.
May you like
And in her hand...
was a smoking gun.
