Chapter 6 - THE MAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD
The man who had supposedly died twenty years ago was alive.
His name was Arthur Harrison.
Caleb's father.
The architect behind the original conspiracy.
We found his location through an offshore account.
He was living under another name in Switzerland.
But he wasn't hiding.
He was waiting.
Three days later, he contacted me.
“I know you have the ledger.”
His voice was calm.
“You know everything.”
“Not everything.”
He laughed.
“You're more like your father than your grandfather.”
“What do you want?”
“My company.”
“You lost it twenty years ago.”
“No.”
His voice hardened.
“It was stolen from me.”
“You stole it first.”
Silence.
Then:
“You think you won.”
“I know I did.”
“No.”
He sounded amused.
“You only found the first layer.”
The call ended.
Daniel immediately warned me.
“Don't underestimate him.”
“I don't.”
Thomas added:
“We're tracking his accounts.”
That evening, a package arrived at the mansion.
Inside was a videotape.
Old.
Unlabeled.
I watched it with Daniel and Thomas.
The footage showed my father.
Young.
Terrified.
And sitting across from him was Arthur Harrison.
Arthur said:
“Sign the transfer.”
My father refused.
“You're going to destroy your own son.”
Arthur smiled.
“My son is replaceable.”
I felt sick.
Then another person entered the room.
My grandfather.
He placed a folder on the table.
Inside were adoption documents.
My adoption documents.
My grandfather said:
“Once the girl is transferred to me, this ends.”
My father looked horrified.
“You're going to take Elena?”
“Yes.”
“She's my daughter.”
“No.”
My grandfather leaned forward.
“She is the key to your shares.”
The footage ended.
I stared at the black screen.
My grandfather hadn't saved me.
He had planned to use me.
The next file revealed something even worse.
The six million dollars I invested in Harrison Holdings hadn't been a rescue.
It had been the final step of a plan.
My grandfather had arranged for the company to appear bankrupt.
He expected me to invest.
Then he expected me to gain control.
Then he expected Arthur to attack.
And somehow, everyone had been manipulating everyone else.
Daniel looked at me.
“Your family wasn't fighting over money.”
“What were they fighting over?”
“Control of the trust.”
I looked at the trust documents.
There was a clause I'd never noticed.
Upon the beneficiary's marriage, controlling assets may be challenged by any surviving biological heir unless fraud is established.
I stared at the page.
“My marriage triggered the clause.”
“Yes.”
“That was the point.”
Daniel nodded.
Arthur had waited twenty years for me to marry.
Because my marriage gave him a legal opening.
The wedding hadn't been the beginning.
It had been the final move.
Then the front door opened.
Everyone turned.
Caleb walked inside.
“You need to leave.”
I stared at him.
“How did you get out?”
“My lawyer arranged bail.”
“Why are you here?”
He looked at Daniel.
“Because I know where my father is.”
Thomas stepped forward.
“Where?”
Caleb looked at me.
“He's coming here.”
The lights went out.
The mansion went completely dark.
Then every security screen turned on simultaneously.
Arthur appeared on the monitors.
He was sitting in a chair.
Smiling.
“Good evening, Elena.”
My heart pounded.
“You've been watching us.”
“Of course.”
“You're not getting this house.”
Arthur smiled.
“I don't want the house.”
“What do you want?”
He leaned toward the camera.
“I want what your grandfather stole from me.”
“What?”
“The original trust.”
Daniel suddenly looked alarmed.
“Elena.”
“What?”
“The trust document we have…”
He pulled it out.
“The signature page is missing.”
My blood ran cold.
Arthur laughed through the speakers.
“Find it.”
The screens went black.
Caleb looked at me.
“I know where it is.”
“Where?”
He pointed toward the floor beneath us.
“Under the wedding cake room.”
I stared.
“The room doesn't exist.”
Caleb shook his head.
“It does.”
“Who told you?”
“My father.”
He looked toward the basement.
“And he said something else.”
“What?”
May you like
Caleb's face went pale.
“The room was built for you.”