Chương 8
I did not know why my mother lied.
I did not know why Sloan risked everything to find something hidden.
And I did not know how much of my own life had been built around someone else’s secrets.
Alora reached over and touched my hand.
“We need to find out before they can hide anything else.”
I looked at her.
“You’re not scared?”
“I am.”
Her answer surprised me.
She gave a small smile.
“But being scared doesn’t mean we stop.”
The next morning, I called my attorney.
His name was Victor Lang.
He had represented my company for almost eight years.
He was one of the few people I trusted because he had no emotional connection to my family.
He cared about facts.
Not feelings.
When he arrived at the house, he carried a thin leather folder and a serious expression.
“I heard about what happened.”
“From who?”
“Detective Hale.”
I nodded.
Victor looked around the room.
“This is worse than I expected.”
“You knew something was happening?”
“No.”
He placed the folder on the table.
“But I knew your father’s name was attached to something unusual.”
I froze.
“What?”
Victor looked at me.
“Thane, your father had a private investment account.”
My heart slowed.
“What kind of account?”
“One created before you were born.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t know you were the beneficiary.”
I stared at him.
“The beneficiary?”
Victor opened the folder.
Inside were copies of documents.
Old documents.
The paper was yellowed from time.
“Your father established a trust.”
I picked up the first page.
My name was written there.
My hands became cold.
“No.”
Victor looked at me.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Your father created it twenty-two years ago.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because he died twenty years ago.”
Victor nodded.
“And that is exactly why this matters.”
I looked at Alora.
She moved closer.
“What was in the trust?”
Victor turned another page.
“Assets.”
“What assets?”
He looked uncomfortable.
“That is the problem.”
“What?”
“The trust documents reference a company that no longer exists.”
“What company?”
Victor paused.
“Sterling Holdings.”
I almost laughed.
“That’s my company.”
“No.”
His voice was firm.
“It isn’t.”
The room went quiet.
Victor continued.
“The company you built was Sterling Technologies.”
I stared at him.
“The name came from me.”
“No.”
Victor shook his head.
“The name came from your father.”
I felt like the floor moved.
“My father never owned my company.”
“Not officially.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
“Explain.”
Victor opened another document.
“Before he died, your father transferred ownership of certain assets into a trust.”
“What assets?”
“Technology patents.”
I stared at him.
“Patents?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“That is what I have been trying to understand.”
Victor looked at the papers.
“Your father was involved in research.”
I thought about my childhood.
The basement filled with machines.
The late nights.
The locked office door.
I had always assumed he was just a man who worked too much.
“He never told me.”
“Because he was trying to protect you.”
I looked up.
“How do you know?”
Victor hesitated.
“Because he wrote instructions.”
My chest tightened.
“What instructions?”
Victor reached into the folder and removed a single page.
The handwriting was old.
But I recognized it immediately.
I had seen it on birthday cards.
On notes left beside my lunch.
On the few letters he wrote me before his death.
My father’s handwriting.
The page contained only a few lines.
Thane,
If you are reading this, something happened before I could explain everything.
Do not trust anyone who tells you they are protecting you without showing you the truth.
The people closest to you may be the ones who fear what you will discover.
Your future depends on knowing what happened, not accepting what you were told.
I could not breathe.
Alora covered her mouth.
Victor watched me carefully.
“There is more.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“The trust was designed to unlock after your twenty-fifth birthday.”
I frowned.
“That was years ago.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t I receive anything?”
“Because someone blocked the release.”
“Who?”
Victor did not answer.
He did not need to.
I already knew.
My mother.
The realization was not dramatic.
There was no sudden explosion of anger.
Just a quiet understanding.
She had not only lied about my father.
She had controlled access to the truth.
“How much was in the trust?” I asked.
Victor looked down.
“Originally?”
“Yes.”
He turned a page.
“Approximately forty-three million dollars.”
The number meant nothing for several seconds.
It was too large to feel real.
Then it did.
My mother had spent my entire life telling me she sacrificed everything.
She had accepted my money every month.
She had made me feel responsible for her comfort.
And all along, there had been something my father left for me.
Something she kept hidden.
“What happened to it?”
Victor’s expression became serious.
“That is what we need to find out.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone in the room went silent.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A man’s voice spoke.
Older.
Calm.
Familiar in a way I could not explain.
“Is this Thane Sterling?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Daniel Voss.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
The name from the photograph.
The name connected to my father.
“I know who you are.”
There was a pause.
“Then you know why I’m calling.”
“No.”
I looked at Victor.
“I don’t.”
The man exhaled.
“Your father asked me to contact you if your mother ever tried to access the trust.”
The room went still.
“Where are you?”
“I’m nearby.”
“How do you know about last night?”
“Because your mother called me before she went to your house.”
My blood ran cold.
“She called you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
The answer came after a long pause.
“Because she wanted me to help her find what your father left behind.”
I looked at Alora.
“What did my father leave behind?”
Daniel’s voice lowered.
“The evidence that your mother destroyed his life.”
May you like
I said nothing.
Because suddenly the broken safe was no longer the biggest betrayal.
