Chapter 10 - THE LAST PERSON I TRUSTED
David was transferred to a secure location.
I demanded to speak with him.
Carter refused.
Then Samuel intervened.
"If he knows who the mastermind is, we need the information."
We connected through a secure video call.
David appeared on the screen.
He looked different.
Smaller.
Exhausted.
The arrogance was gone.
The expensive confidence.
The smile.
All gone.
He looked like a man who had finally realized the consequences of his choices.
I stared at him.
He looked away.
"I'm sorry."
I typed:
Don't.
He swallowed.
"I know."
I typed:
Tell me who.
He hesitated.
Then said:
"Your CFO."
I froze.
Samuel stared at the screen.
David continued.
"Jonathan Pierce."
I couldn't breathe.
Jonathan had worked beside me for twenty years.
He had been at my wedding.
He had visited me in the hospital.
He had sent flowers.
He had called me his sister.
I typed:
Why?
David closed his eyes.
"Because he knew about the patents."
Samuel asked,
"How?"
"Thomas told him."
"And your father?"
David shook his head.
"Jonathan was already involved."
My hands trembled.
David continued.
"He approached me a year before you became sick."
"Why?"
"He told me you were going to replace him."
That sounded ridiculous.
I had never planned to replace Jonathan.
But David said more.
"He told me the company was going to collapse."
Samuel frowned.
"That isn't true."
"I know that now."
David looked at me.
"But I believed him."
He admitted Jonathan had convinced him that I was secretly planning to divorce him and leave him with nothing.
Jonathan showed him forged documents.
Bank statements.
Emails.
A fake divorce agreement.
Then he introduced him to Thomas.
Together, they created the poisoning plan.
David would appear to be the devoted husband.
Jonathan would manipulate the corporate side.
Thomas would control the financial transfers.
And after my death, David would supposedly inherit enough assets to keep everyone satisfied.
But there was one person David didn't know about.
Michael.
Michael had been investigating them for years.
And once Michael returned, the entire operation began collapsing.
David looked at me.
"I never knew you owned that much."
I stared at him.
He laughed bitterly.
"I thought I was killing a rich woman."
His voice cracked.
"I didn't realize I was killing my wife."
I typed:
You knew exactly what you were doing.
He lowered his head.
"I know."
Then the connection suddenly froze.
The screen went black.
Carter jumped up.
"What's happening?"
Samuel checked the system.
"We've lost the connection."
A moment later, an officer rushed inside.
"Detective!"
Carter turned.
"What?"
"David's transport vehicle was attacked."
My heart stopped.
"Is he alive?"
The officer hesitated.
"We don't know."
Samuel grabbed his coat.
"We need to go."
Twenty minutes later, we arrived.
The police vehicle was overturned.
Two officers were injured.
The back doors were open.
David was gone.
On the pavement was a piece of paper.
Samuel picked it up.
There were only six words.
THE HUSBAND WAS NEVER THE TARGET.
I stared at the message.
Then my phone vibrated.
A text appeared.
Emma, come to your office.
Another message followed.
Bring Michael.
Then:
Come alone.
I looked at Michael.
He already knew.
"This is a trap."
I typed:
Of course it is.
Samuel stepped closer.
"We don't go."
I stared at him.
Then typed:
Yes, we do.
He shook his head.
"Emma..."
I typed again.
He wants me to come.
Michael looked toward the city.
"Then we make him believe we're alone."
That night, I returned to the headquarters of the company I had built from nothing.
The building was dark.
Every office empty.
Every light off.
I entered the executive floor.
My old office door stood open.
Inside was Jonathan.
My trusted CFO.
He was standing beside the window.
Waiting.
I stopped.
He turned.
And smiled.
"Hello, Emma."
Michael stepped from the shadows behind me.
Jonathan's smile disappeared.
"You were supposed to come alone."
Michael answered:
"She doesn't follow instructions very well."
Jonathan reached into his coat.
Carter's officers moved instantly.
But Jonathan didn't pull a weapon.
He pulled out a photograph.
He placed it on my desk.
I walked closer.
It showed me as a little girl.
Standing beside my father.
And beside him was Jonathan.
But that wasn't the shocking part.
Written across the bottom was a date.
The day before my father supposedly died.
And underneath the photograph was a sentence in my father's handwriting:
Jonathan is my son.
I stared at the words.
Michael went completely silent.
Jonathan smiled.
Then he whispered:
"Now you finally understand."
He looked at me.
"Your father didn't have one child."
He pointed toward Michael.
"He had two sons."
Then he pointed toward himself.
"And one daughter."
My entire world stopped.
Jonathan was not simply my CFO.
He was my brother.
The secret brother nobody had ever told me existed.
And suddenly every betrayal, every hidden account, every death, and every lie had a new meaning.
Jonathan stepped closer.
"I never wanted your money."
He smiled.
"I wanted what your father promised me."
I typed:
What?
Jonathan looked directly into my eyes.
"The company."
Then the doors behind us slammed shut.
And every security camera in the building turned toward me.
The screen on the wall flickered.
May you like
A final message appeared:
WELCOME HOME, SISTER.
