Chapter 10 - Ben's ChoiceI didn't speak.
For several seconds, nobody did.
Then I asked the only question that mattered.
“Hand me over to whom?”
Ben's voice was barely audible.
“Daniel's people.”
Dad stepped forward.
“Liar.”
Ben shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“They have Ellie’s medical information. They know where she sleeps. They know every place we go.”
“Then why haven't they taken us?”
“Because they don't want you dead.”
His eyes dropped.
“They want what your mother left.”
“The account.”
“No.”
“The ledger?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Ben's voice cracked.
“You.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“The property isn't the real asset.”
He pointed at me.
“You are.”
I felt sick.
Dad stepped forward.
“Enough.”
Ben continued.
“Your mother created the trust using your identity. The account can only be transferred through you.”
I suddenly understood.
All those months.
The pressure.
The arguments.
The attempts to push me away.
The rumors about my marriage.
The coffee.
They wanted me isolated.
Unstable.
Easy to discredit.
And eventually...
Easy to control.
I whispered:
“Linda knew.”
Ben nodded.
“Gary knew.”
“Yes.”
“Aaron?”
“Yes.”
“And you?”
Ben looked at me.
“I knew they were planning something.”
“Not the coffee?”
“No.”
“But you knew they were targeting me.”
“Yes.”
I slapped him.
The sound echoed through the empty courtroom.
Ben didn't defend himself.
He just stood there.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I thought I could stop them.”
“You chose them.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“I chose you.”
“Then why did you lie?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“For yourself?”
He looked at me.
“For Ellie.”
That stopped me.
Ben reached into his coat.
He pulled out a flash drive.
“I copied this before Gary found the ledger.”
“What is it?”
“Proof.”
“Of what?”
“Everything.”
He handed it to Dad.
Dad inserted it into a laptop.
Files opened.
Financial records.
Voice recordings.
Photos.
Messages.
Then one folder appeared.
PROJECT ELLIE.
My stomach dropped.
“What is that?”
Ben stared at the screen.
“I don't know.”
Dad opened it.
There was a single document.
A photograph.
A hospital bracelet.
Ellie's name.
Her birth date.
And beneath it:
Stage Two begins after the coffee incident.
My blood ran cold.
“This wasn't the first step,” I whispered.
Ben shook his head.
“No.”
“Then what is Stage Two?”
Before anyone could answer, my phone rang.
Linda.
I answered.
Her voice was trembling.
“You need to come home.”
“Why?”
“Because Gary is here.”
I heard something crash in the background.
Then Linda screamed.
May you like
“He knows about Ellie.”
The line went dead.
