CHAPTER 10 — THE TRAP
For thirty-one years, I had believed I was an only child.
For thirty-one years, I had believed my mother was dead.
For seventeen years, I had believed my father had built Vale International from nothing.
And for the last three days, every one of those beliefs had collapsed.
Now I knew the truth.
I had a sister.
She was alive.
She was Victoria Ashford.
And she had my mother.
I stared at the photograph in the hidden nursery.
Two little girls.
Two heirs.
One family.
One inheritance.
One winner.
I should have been terrified.
Instead, something inside me became strangely calm.
Because for the first time, the enemy had given me something valuable.
A name.
Victoria.
I turned toward Daniel.
“Tell me everything.”
He stared at me.
“About Victoria?”
“About everything.”
“Claire—”
“No more secrets.”
He looked away.
I stepped closer.
“You knew about her.”
“I knew there was another heir.”
“You didn't know who?”
“No.”
“But you knew she existed.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew my father had hidden her.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know if she was alive.”
I pointed at the photograph.
“She is.”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
I looked at Adrian.
“And you?”
He didn't answer.
That was enough.
“You knew something too.”
Adrian sighed.
“My father mentioned her.”
“When?”
“Years ago.”
“What did he call her?”
He hesitated.
“The Ashford daughter.”
“That's all?”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“He called her the real heir.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“Because he believed the Vale trust should never have been transferred to you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“But that's not what you think.”
“Then explain.”
“My father wasn't protecting Victoria.”
“Then what was he doing?”
“Protecting himself.”
I studied his face.
“How?”
“He believed whoever controlled Victoria could control the original Vale succession.”
“So he joined Meridian.”
“Yes.”
“And my father?”
“Joined it too.”
I looked at Daniel.
“And Grandfather?”
Daniel answered.
“Created it.”
I closed my eyes.
Three generations.
Three families.
And everyone had been playing the same game.
Except me.
Until now.
I opened my eyes.
“Then we're going to change the game.”
An hour later, the three of us sat in the library.
Every curtain was closed.
Every light was off.
The mansion was surrounded by Victor Hale's security team.
At least, the men I still trusted.
There weren't many.
I placed the trust documents on the table.
“We have seven months.”
Daniel nodded.
“Until your thirty-second birthday.”
“Victoria thinks she can force me to surrender the trust before then.”
“Yes.”
“Elias said she needed my signature.”
Adrian shook his head.
“Not exactly.”
I looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
He took a folder from his coat.
“My father's documents.”
He opened it.
“There are two succession mechanisms.”
He pointed.
“First, the original beneficiary.”
“That would be Victoria.”
“Correct.”
“Second?”
“You.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“Because your grandfather created a conflict.”
“A conflict?”
“A safeguard.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“What kind?”
Adrian pointed to the final paragraph.
“If both heirs are alive, neither can independently control the core.”
I read it again.
“Then neither of us can inherit.”
“Not alone.”
“What happens if one heir dies?”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“The surviving heir receives everything.”
Silence.
I looked at Daniel.
Then at Adrian.
Victoria didn't want my signature.
She wanted me dead.
The thought settled over the room.
Suddenly, every event made sense.
The attack at the gala.
The pressure.
The forged signature.
The disappearance of my mother.
The photograph.
The cemetery.
Victoria wasn't trying to convince me to surrender.
She was trying to isolate me.
Make me afraid.
Make me reckless.
Then kill me.
And inherit everything.
I sat back.
“So that's the trap.”
Adrian nodded.
“Yes.”
I stared at the documents.
“No.”
Daniel looked at me.
“What?”
I smiled.
“That's the trap she thinks we're walking into.”
We needed one thing.
Proof.
Not suspicion.
Not family stories.
Not hidden photographs.
Proof that Victoria was orchestrating the transfers.
Proof that Edward Blackwell was involved.
Proof that Meridian was using the Vale trust to move money.
And proof that my mother was being held against her will.
Without that, even if we exposed the network, they could deny everything.
I looked at Adrian.
“Can you get us into Blackwell Tower?”
“Yes.”
“Can you access your father's private files?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe isn't enough.”
He looked at me.
“I can.”
Daniel frowned.
“You said the building was under federal surveillance.”
“It is.”
“Then how?”
Adrian smiled.
“My father taught me one thing.”
“What?”
“Every security system has a back door.”
He reached into his pocket.
Placed a small black device on the table.
“What's that?”
“A maintenance key.”
“For what?”
“Blackwell Tower's private network.”
I looked at him.
“You've had that this entire time?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you use it?”
“Because I was afraid.”
I stared.
“Of your father?”
“Of what I'd find.”
His voice dropped.
“I knew he was involved with Meridian.”
“But I didn't know how deep.”
I understood.
Fear had kept all of us silent.
My father.
My mother.
Daniel.
Adrian.
Everyone had been afraid of what the truth would cost.
I wasn't anymore.
“Let's go.”
Blackwell Tower looked different at night.
The upper floors were dark.
Only a few windows remained illuminated.
The lobby was empty.
We entered through an underground parking level.
Adrian led us to a service elevator.
He placed the device against the control panel.
The doors opened.
“Forty-seventh floor.”
I stepped inside.
Daniel followed.
Adrian entered last.
The elevator rose.
No music.
No security announcements.
Only the hum of machinery.
Then Adrian spoke.
“My father knows we're coming.”
I looked at him.
“How?”
“He always knows.”
“Then why isn't he stopping us?”
Adrian stared at the elevator doors.
“Because he wants us to find something.”
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened.
The corridor was empty.
At the end was Edward Blackwell's private office.
The door was unlocked.
I stopped.
“This is too easy.”
Daniel nodded.
Adrian whispered:
“That's because it isn't the office.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
He pointed toward the wall.
“There.”
A tiny camera.
Watching us.
I smiled.
“Then let's give them a show.”
I walked into the office.
The lights turned on automatically.
A screen activated.
Edward Blackwell appeared.
Older.
Tired.
But smiling.
“Claire.”
I stood in front of the screen.
“Edward.”
“You came.”
“You expected me.”
“Yes.”
“Where's my father?”
Edward laughed.
“Still asking about Jonathan.”
“I'll keep asking until I find him.”
“He's exactly where he belongs.”
“Where?”
“Under investigation.”
I stepped closer.
“Your son told me you helped Meridian.”
Edward's expression hardened.
“Adrian has always misunderstood his place.”
Adrian walked into the room.
“My place?”
Edward looked at him.
“You should have stayed out of this.”
Adrian stared at the screen.
“You lied to me.”
“I protected you.”
“You used me.”
“I made you useful.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
Edward looked back at me.
“You see what happens when family members forget their obligations?”
I smiled.
“That's why you're losing.”
His expression changed.
“Losing?”
“You still think this is about inheritance.”
“It is.”
“No.”
I stepped toward the screen.
“It's about control.”
Edward said nothing.
“You don't want the Vale trust.”
“You want the person who controls it.”