Chapter 3 - THE MOTHER WHO STOLE FROM HER OWN SON
Vivian had spent years presenting herself as the perfect mother.
Elegant.
Educated.
Untouchable.
She attended charity events.
She donated to hospitals.
She appeared in magazines beside Ethan.
People called her graceful.
They didn't know she had been quietly draining her son's company.
Daniel showed us the records.
"For four years, Vivian has been transferring money from Blackwood Holdings into shell companies."
"How much?"
"Twenty-three million dollars."
My father raised an eyebrow.
"Twenty-three?"
Daniel nodded.
"And that's only what we found."
I stared at the spreadsheet.
"Why?"
Daniel opened another folder.
"Luxury properties."
Then another.
"Offshore accounts."
Another.
"Personal debts."
My father shook his head.
"She was preparing to disappear."
I remembered something.
"She always told Ethan I was going to ruin him."
Daniel looked at me.
"Projection."
At noon, Ethan arrived at Hale Global.
He looked nothing like the confident man who had once stood over me.
His tie was crooked.
His eyes were red.
My father refused to meet him.
So Ethan waited.
For four hours.
Finally, I walked into the lobby.
He stood immediately.
"Ava."
I stopped.
"You shouldn't be here."
"I need to talk to you."
"Then talk."
He lowered his voice.
"My mother did something."
I almost laughed.
"Your mother?"
He handed me a folder.
"She emptied company accounts."
I opened it.
"I know."
He stared at me.
"You knew?"
"Yes."
He looked devastated.
Then something unexpected happened.
He said:
"I didn't know."
I looked at him for a long moment.
Maybe that was true.
Maybe Ethan had been manipulated too.
But ignorance didn't erase what he had done.
"You still hurt me."
"I know."
"You still tried to take my child."
"I know."
"You still forged documents."
"I didn't sign those."
I paused.
"What?"
He shook his head.
"I never signed the psychiatric petition."
Daniel, standing behind me, exchanged a glance with my father.
That mattered.
Because if Ethan wasn't responsible for that document...
Who was?
We investigated.
The answer arrived that evening.
A security recording from the Blackwood estate.
Vivian entered Ethan's office alone.
She opened his desk.
Removed his signature stamp.
And stamped the document herself.
Then she called someone.
"Everything is ready."
A man's voice answered.
"Good. Once the baby arrives, we'll proceed."
Daniel enhanced the recording.
The voice became clearer.
I recognized it.
Dr. Martin Cole.
But the doctor had already confessed.
So why was he still working with Vivian?
Daniel froze the recording.
"That's not Dr. Cole."
I listened again.
The voice was almost identical.
Almost.
My father leaned toward the screen.
"Who is it?"
Daniel looked at me.
"His brother."
I felt a chill.
Dr. Marcus Cole.
A medical consultant who had worked with several Blackwood companies.
And suddenly another piece fell into place.
Vivian hadn't merely planned to destroy me.
She had built an entire network around it.
But there was something she hadn't considered.
My father had spent thirty years building his own network.
By midnight, Marcus Cole was located.
He agreed to cooperate.
Not because he suddenly developed a conscience.
Because we showed him the evidence against him.
He confessed.
Vivian had paid him to impersonate his brother.
But before he could tell us everything, he said something that changed the entire case.
"There's someone above Vivian."
My father leaned forward.
"Who?"
Marcus hesitated.
"Ethan's grandfather."
I frowned.
"He's dead."
Marcus nodded.
"Officially."
Silence.
My father looked at Daniel.
"Check the death records."
Two hours later, Daniel returned.
His face was pale.
"The death certificate was real."
"So?"
"The signature of the attending physician was forged."
I stared at him.
"What are you saying?"
Daniel swallowed.
"I'm saying Ethan's grandfather may never have died."
My father looked toward the city lights.
"Find him."
And the search led us to a private estate outside the country.
A man living under another name.
A man who had been secretly directing Blackwood finances for years.
A man who had one reason for wanting me under his family's control.
Because years earlier...
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He had stolen something from my father.
And he was terrified I would discover it.