Chapter 6 - THE ORCHID FILE
The flash drive contained one folder.
ORCHID.
Inside were thousands of encrypted documents.
Mercer stared at the screen.
“This could bring down half the operation.”
I looked at him.
“Then decrypt it.”
“We need a key.”
I suddenly remembered something.
A lullaby.
My mother used to sing it.
Then Ethan continued it.
“Three stars, two rivers, one flower…”
I looked at the screen.
Three stars.
Two rivers.
One flower.
I entered the phrase.
The files unlocked.
Mercer stared.
“Oh my God.”
Accounts.
Politicians.
Judges.
Companies.
Foreign transfers.
Everything.
Then one document appeared.
PROJECT ORCHID — SUCCESSION PLAN.
I opened it.
My name appeared.
Then Julian's.
Then Ethan's.
Then Lily's.
And finally—
UNBORN CHILD: PRIMARY ASSET.
I felt sick.
“They planned to take my baby.”
Mercer nodded.
“They believe your unborn child carries genetic information they need.”
“For what?”
He opened another document.
A laboratory report.
My baby wasn't merely related to Ethan.
The child carried a rare inherited marker connected to the original Vance fortune.
A marker that could prove the ownership of billions of dollars of stolen assets.
Arthur didn't want my baby as an heir.
He wanted the baby as evidence.
And if the child was born—
The truth would become impossible to hide.
Then the door opened.
A federal agent rushed inside.
“Mercer!”
“What?”
“We have a problem.”
“What?”
“The Vance lawyers just filed an emergency motion.”
“For what?”
The agent looked at me.
“Temporary custody of the unborn child.”
I laughed.
“They can't do that.”
“They're claiming you're mentally unstable and physically incapable of caring for the baby.”
My smile disappeared.
“Who signed the affidavit?”
The agent hesitated.
“Julian Vance.”
My heart sank.
He had betrayed me again.
Or so I thought.
Because five minutes later, Julian entered the room.
He placed a folder on the table.
“I signed it.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
He looked at me.
“Because if I hadn't, they'd have killed you.”
He opened the folder.
Inside was a recording.
Arthur's voice.
“If Clara survives the delivery, eliminate her.”
My blood ran cold.
Julian whispered:
“I was trying to keep you alive.”
Then the recording continued.
Arthur said:
“And if Julian refuses…”
A second voice answered.
Chloe.
“I'll handle him.”
I looked at Julian.
“Chloe?”
He nodded.
“She was never my mistress.”
May you like
I froze.
“She was working for my father.”
