Chapter 9 - The Second Key
The mention of their mother made Victoria stagger backward as if she had been physically struck.
"That's a lie," Victoria breathed, her voice trembling. "Our mother died in a boating accident in Lake Michigan. It was a tragedy."
"It was no accident, Victoria, and you know it," Thomas said quietly, leaning on his cane. "Your mother and your uncle tried to forge signatures to strip Arthur of his majority shares while he was recovering from surgery. When Arthur found out, he didn't send them to prison—he protected the family name. But he never forgot. And he made damn sure that if you ever tried to do the same to Clara, the truth would come to light."
Julian looked at Thomas, then at me. "Clara... did you know about this?"
"Arthur told me part of it on our wedding anniversary," I replied, my eyes fixed on Victoria’s pale, trembling face. "He said he married me not just for comfort, but because I was the only person who didn't want anything from him except his company. He trusted me with the cleanup because his children had long since traded their integrity for bank accounts."
Victoria’s eyes darted wildly around the room, realization dawning on her that their carefully constructed world was crumbling beneath their feet. She couldn't bully us, she couldn't threaten us, and she couldn't legally stop us anymore.
"You're a pair of demented old fools," Victoria spat out, her voice cracking with hysteria. She turned abruptly to her brothers. "Come on. We're leaving. We'll go straight to the federal prosecutor tonight. We'll bypass the probate court entirely."
"Go ahead, Victoria," I said calmly as she marched past me toward the door. "Tell the prosecutor about the 1984 dummy corporations. I'm sure they'll love hearing about your mother's signature on the original fraud documents."
May you like
Victoria froze at the doorway. She didn't look back. With a guttural sound of pure rage, she stormed out of the penthouse, the private elevator doors sliding shut behind her with violent speed. Charles and Richard exchanged a terrified glance before scrambling after her into the elevator, leaving Thomas, Julian, and me alone in the quiet study.
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