CHAPTER 7 — The Daughter They Tried to Erase
The courtroom had never been so quiet.
Victor Lang stood in chains, yet he smiled as though he still controlled the room.
Judge Whitmore narrowed her eyes.
"You said Richard Ashcroft hid a secret."
Victor nodded.
"He didn't hide it."
"He protected it."
Marcus stepped forward.
"What secret?"
Victor looked directly at Iris.
"You were never Richard Ashcroft's only child."
The words struck Iris harder than any bullet.
"No..."
She whispered.
"That's impossible."
Victor slowly laughed.
"That's exactly what your father wanted you to believe."
Federal agents rolled in another evidence cart.
Inside were adoption records.
Birth certificates.
DNA reports.
And an old photograph.
A little girl, no older than six, stood beside Richard Ashcroft in the gardens of the family estate.
He was smiling.
Holding her hand.
Iris stared at the picture.
She had never seen it before.
Marcus carefully picked it up.
"Who is she?"
Victor answered without hesitation.
"Your younger sister."
Gasps swept through the courtroom.
Julian looked just as stunned as everyone else.
Even he hadn't known.
Victor continued.
"When Richard realized people were willing to kill for his research, he separated his daughters."
"You stayed with him."
"The younger one disappeared under a new identity."
Iris's hands trembled.
"Where is she?"
Victor's smile faded.
"I don't know."
"But Julian does."
Every head turned toward Julian.
His face had gone completely white.
"I never..."
Victor interrupted him.
"Stop lying."
"You've been searching for her for eight years."
The prosecutor slammed a thick folder onto the table.
Inside were hundreds of private investigator reports.
Maps.
Airline records.
Bank transfers.
Surveillance photos.
Julian hadn't only been trying to kill Iris.
He had been hunting someone else.
Someone worth even more than the company.
Marcus looked at Julian.
"Why?"
Julian lowered his head.
His answer was barely audible.
"Because Richard transferred something to her..."
"What?"
Marcus demanded.
Julian slowly closed his eyes.
"The original patent."
The courtroom erupted.
The technology worth billions...
Didn't legally belong to Iris.
Or Julian.
It belonged to the missing sister no one even knew existed.
May you like
And somewhere...
She was still alive.
