Chapter 7 - The Letter Written Before Her Death
No one moved.
The aged paper trembled slightly between the young woman's fingers, but her voice remained steady.
Nathan stared at the handwriting.
His mother's handwriting.
He knew every curve of every letter.
Every birthday card.
Every school note.
Every signature.
There was no mistake.
"This is forged," he whispered.
The young woman shook her head.
"It was authenticated three months ago."
She handed the letter to the Director.
He unfolded it carefully.
The ink had faded with time, yet every sentence was still readable.
"If my son is reading this, he has already betrayed the wrong family."
"I failed to tell him the truth while I lived."
"The Ashford fortune was never ours."
"It belonged to the Wolfe family."
A wave of whispers spread across the mansion.
Nathan's breathing stopped.
Impossible.
The Wolfe family?
Adrian Wolfe...
The man who had supposedly died seven years earlier.
The Director continued reading.
"My husband stole everything after the Wolfe patriarch disappeared."
"He made me promise never to tell our son."
"I kept that promise until it became a sin."
Nathan grabbed the letter.
"My father built this empire!"
His wife answered quietly.
"No."
"He inherited stolen pieces of it."
Nathan's mind flashed back to childhood.
His father had never spoken about the company's early years.
Whenever Nathan asked where the fortune came from...
The answer was always the same.
"We earned it."
Had that been a lie?
The Director closed the letter.
"Your mother spent the last years of her life trying to correct that mistake."
Nathan looked up.
"What do you mean?"
"She secretly transferred evidence to someone she trusted."
Nathan frowned.
"Who?"
The Director smiled faintly.
"Your wife."
Nathan slowly turned.
His wife nodded.
"She contacted me before our wedding."
"She begged me to protect you from becoming your father."
Nathan felt his knees weaken.
"So..."
"You knew everything before you married me?"
She looked at him with quiet sadness.
"I knew what your father had done."
"I didn't know what you would become."
The words struck harder than any weapon.
Nathan lowered his head.
For the first time that night...
He could not answer.
Just then...
A young federal agent rushed through the broken entrance.
"Director!"
"We found another body."
The hall went silent.
"What body?" the Director asked.
The agent swallowed.
"In the underground tunnel."
"It's fresh."
"And..."
May you like
He hesitated.
"...the victim was wearing Adrian Wolfe's watch."
