Chapter 12 - THE TWENTY-FIVE MILLION DOLLAR SECRETThe warning came from Laura.
She called before dawn.
“Don't trust the numbers.”
“What numbers?”
“The twenty-five million.”
My heart tightened.
“What do you mean?”
“The trust isn't worth twenty-five million.”
I sat up.
“Then how much?”
She whispered:
“More.”
I called my father.
He arrived within twenty minutes.
Richard came with him.
For the first time, the three adults who had been trapped inside the same old conspiracy sat at one table.
Richard opened a box.
Inside was a handwritten ledger.
“This is the original account.”
My father read the numbers.
His eyes widened.
“Forty-three million.”
I stared.
“That can't be right.”
Richard nodded.
“The money wasn't stolen.”
“Then where did it go?”
Richard looked at me.
“Your grandmother moved it into a private trust.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew Victoria would try to take it.”
My father looked ashamed.
“I never knew.”
Richard gave him a sad smile.
“She wanted you to discover it only when you were safe.”
I thought about the forty-five thousand dollars in my suitcase.
The tiny amount I had believed was my emergency escape fund.
It wasn't even a fraction.
Then I remembered the second compartment in my bedroom safe.
The compartment Julian's family had been searching for.
I pulled the original trust agreement from my bag.
There was a code on the final page.
Six numbers.
My birth date.
I entered it.
A hidden attachment opened.
A bank account.
Balance:
$43,781,442.17
I stared at the screen.
Nobody spoke.
Then the account showed an incoming transfer.
Pending.
$3,000,000.
From an account controlled by Hale Construction.
They had already attempted to move three million dollars.
From my trust.
Without my permission.
Mr. Carter immediately contacted the bank.
The transfer was frozen.
But that wasn't the worst part.
The transaction had been authorized using my digital identity.
Meaning someone had access to my credentials.
Someone who had been inside my home.
Someone who had watched me type passwords.
Someone who knew me well.
Julian.
I looked at my father.
“He had access to my laptop.”
Dad nodded.
“And your phone?”
I checked.
A strange application appeared.
I had never installed it.
Mr. Carter examined it.
His face hardened.
“It is surveillance software.”
My blood ran cold.
For months, Julian had been watching me.
Listening.
Tracking.
Recording.
I opened the application.
The last recorded audio file was dated two days before our wedding.
I pressed play.
Julian's voice filled the room.
“We only need to keep her comfortable until the wedding.”
Then Victoria answered.
“She'll give us everything once she believes she has a husband who loves her.”
There was a pause.
Then Julian laughed.
“How hard can it be?”
I closed my eyes.
May you like
And for the first time, revenge no longer felt satisfying.
It felt inevitable.
