CHAPTER 8 — The Woman Behind Every Lie
The room fell silent.
Victor's hands trembled so violently he dropped the laptop.
"No..."
"You died."
Elizabeth laughed.
"Oh, Victor..."
"Only fools believe billionaires die when newspapers say they do."
She leaned closer to the camera.
"Michael wasn't the mastermind."
"He was only my employee."
Every FBI agent stared at the screen.
Elizabeth continued calmly.
"I never wanted the company."
"I wanted the dynasty."
She revealed another photograph.
It showed Ethan and Lily as newborn babies.
Both wore matching silver bracelets.
Then she flipped the picture over.
On the back was a handwritten sentence:
'Only one child can inherit. The other must disappear.'
Ethan's heart nearly stopped.
Elizabeth smiled.
"I never intended to kill either of you."
"I simply needed the world to believe one child was dead... and the other belonged to someone else."
Victor's eyes filled with tears.
"You destroyed our family..."
Elizabeth nodded without regret.
"I perfected it."
Then she pressed a button beside her chair.
The camera moved, revealing Michael standing nearby...
Holding Lily.
But the little girl wasn't crying.
She looked at Elizabeth...
And smiled.
Then she softly whispered the word that shattered Ethan's heart.
"Grandma."
Clara gasped.
Victor covered his mouth.
Ethan couldn't believe what he had just heard.
Lily hadn't been kidnapped.
She had been raised by Elizabeth her entire life.
She didn't know Ethan.
She didn't remember her real parents.
To her...
The woman who destroyed their family...
Was the only grandmother she had ever loved.
The video ended.
The screen went black.
Seconds later, an FBI analyst rushed into the room carrying a satellite phone.
"We traced the signal!"
"Where are they?" Victor shouted.
The analyst swallowed hard.
"They're not leaving the country..."
"They've already boarded a private yacht."
He hesitated.
"And according to the harbor cameras..."
Elizabeth wasn't escaping with one heir.
She was escaping with two.
Everyone turned toward Ethan.
The room was suddenly empty.
His backpack was gone.
A small handwritten note lay on the table.
Don't follow me. If Lily doesn't remember who she really is... I'll bring her home myself.
The FBI agents rushed outside.
May you like
But Ethan had already disappeared into the darkness.
To be continued...
