Chapter 6 - Elena turned toward the door.“Who's there?”
No answer.
Daniel moved toward it.
Elena stopped him.
“Don't.”
The door opened by itself.
Nobody stood outside.
A cold draft moved through the library.
Vanessa whispered:
“This house is making me crazy.”
Elena ignored her.
She looked at Daniel.
“Tell me the truth.”
“What truth?”
“Why was my father's name on the report?”
Daniel sat down.
“A long time ago, your father invested in Howard Industries.”
Elena frowned.
“He wasn't an investor.”
“He was.”
“My father was a schoolteacher.”
Daniel looked at her.
“That was the story.”
Vanessa stared.
“What are you talking about?”
Daniel rubbed his face.
“Your father owned half the company.”
Elena's breathing slowed.
“Then why did he disappear?”
Daniel looked toward the fireplace.
“Because Margaret destroyed him.”
“Why?”
“He knew where the money went.”
Elena leaned closer.
“Where?”
Daniel didn't answer.
Vanessa suddenly understood.
“The inheritance.”
Daniel nodded.
“Not the inheritance.”
“The offshore accounts.”
Silence.
Elena stared at him.
“How much?”
Daniel whispered:
“Two hundred and thirty million dollars.”
Nobody moved.
Then Vanessa laughed nervously.
“You expect me to believe that?”
Daniel pulled out a document.
“It isn't just money.”
He pointed to another page.
“It's ownership.”
Elena's eyes narrowed.
Her father had secretly controlled a trust.
And Elena was listed as the sole beneficiary.
“But that trust expires when the child turns eighteen,” Daniel said.
Elena understood.
“If the baby is born...”
“They lose control.”
Vanessa stepped back.
“That's why they want the baby dead.”
Daniel nodded.
“And that's why you were pushed.”
Elena stared at him.
“Then you knew.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I knew part of it.”
“You helped them.”
“I was trapped.”
“You married me for the trust.”
He didn't deny it.
Vanessa suddenly pointed at him.
“You told me you loved me!”
Daniel looked at her.
“I did.”
“No.”
Her voice hardened.
“You loved Elena's money.”
Before he could respond, footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Heavy.
Slow.
Approaching.
Elena raised one hand.
Everyone went silent.
The footsteps stopped outside.
Then came three knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Daniel opened the door.
Nobody was there.
On the floor sat an old wooden box.
Elena knelt.
There was a name carved into it.
THOMAS REED.
Her father's name.
She opened it.
Inside was a key.
A photograph.
And a handwritten note.
Elena unfolded it.
Only five words were written.
YOUR FATHER TRUSTED THE WRONG WOMAN.
She turned the photograph over.
On the back was an address.
A church.
And a date.
Tomorrow.
Elena looked at Ruiz's number.
Then at Daniel.
Then at Vanessa.
Something was buried there.
Something her father had hidden before disappearing.
But Elena didn't know one thing.
Across the street from the mansion, inside a black SUV, Margaret watched through binoculars.
She smiled.
“Good.”
A man beside her asked:
“She found the key?”
“Yes.”
“Should we stop her?”
Margaret shook her head.
“No.”
She looked at the mansion.
“Let her open the door.”
May you like
Then she smiled.
“Because the moment she does, she'll finally discover who her real enemy is.”
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