CHAPTER 6 — The Billion-Dollar Secret
The room exploded into chaos.
Police surrounded Michael.
Clara hugged Lily so tightly she could barely breathe.
Ethan stood frozen.
His sister had never been buried.
The funeral had been nothing more than a lie.
Michael suddenly burst into laughter.
Not nervous laughter.
The laughter of a man with nothing left to hide.
"You still don't understand," he sneered.
"You think this was about revenge?"
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"No."
"It was about money."
Michael slowly reached into his jacket.
The officers raised their guns.
But instead of a weapon...
He pulled out a faded document.
A trust agreement.
Victor's face drained of color the moment he saw the Blackwood family seal.
Michael smiled.
"Your daughter changed her will three days before she died."
He looked directly at Ethan.
"Everything—every company, every mansion, every dollar—belongs to him."
The room went silent.
"The inheritance is worth..."
Michael paused, enjoying every second.
"...over eight billion dollars."
Even the police officers gasped.
"But there's one condition," Michael continued.
"The fortune can only be transferred if both children are officially declared dead... or if Ethan signs the inheritance papers after turning eighteen."
Victor whispered,
"My God..."
Michael nodded.
"So I hid Lily."
"I raised Ethan under a false identity."
"And when he became an adult..."
"He would unknowingly sign everything over to me."
Ethan couldn't believe what he was hearing.
His entire childhood...
Every birthday...
Every bedtime story...
Every hug...
Had been part of a twenty-year con.
Just then, a sniper's red laser dot appeared on Michael's chest.
Then another.
Then five more.
Everyone looked toward the shattered window.
Outside, dozens of black armored SUVs surrounded the house.
A voice thundered through loudspeakers:
"This is the Federal Bureau of Investigation! Nobody move!"
Michael slowly smiled.
"They're too late."
He pressed a tiny remote hidden inside his palm.
Somewhere beneath the house...
May you like
A countdown began.
10... 9... 8...
