Chapter 14 - The Final Document)
Julian survived.
But the attack changed everything.
The police found no attacker.
No fingerprints.
No usable surveillance.
Only one clue.
A small envelope placed on the table.
Elena opened it.
Inside was a copy of a document.
The document contained a list of names.
Politicians.
Bank executives.
Lawyers.
Business owners.
And at the bottom was one final name.
Elena Carter.
Next to her name was a date.
Tomorrow.
Margaret immediately told her to leave the country.
But Elena refused.
"I've spent my entire life running from people who knew the truth."
She looked at Julian.
"Not anymore."
Julian nodded.
Together, they returned to the Carter estate.
The house was empty.
But Elena remembered something.
Her father had once told her that the safest place in a house was the place nobody wanted to enter.
The old library.
Behind a bookshelf, Elena found a hidden compartment.
Inside was a metal box.
The key her mother had carried was missing.
But there was another way to open it.
Her father's birthday.
The box clicked.
Inside was a final document.
Margaret read it first.
Her expression changed.
"What?"
She handed it to Elena.
It was not a will.
It was a confession.
Elena's father admitted that he had known Thomas was alive.
He admitted that he had created the financial network.
He admitted that he had lied about Elena's mother's death.
But one paragraph remained blacked out.
Only one sentence was visible.
The person Elena trusts most is the person I fear most.
Elena looked at Julian.
Julian looked at her.
Neither spoke.
Then Margaret noticed something.
The blacked-out paragraph was not printed.
It had been covered afterward.
"Someone removed the truth."
Elena touched the page.
"No."
She turned it over.
There was writing on the back.
A single sentence.
He never told you who your real father was.
Elena stared at the words.
Julian's face went pale.
"What?"
Elena looked at him.
"What did my father mean?"
Julian did not answer.
Margaret looked at him.
"Julian."
May you like
He slowly closed his eyes.
"I was hoping we'd never have to find out."
