CHAPTER 8 — “The Last Gift”
The detective carefully examined the document.
His expression suddenly changed.
"This signature..."
"It's dated six months after your father was officially declared dead."
The room froze.
Richard looked up.
"That's impossible."
"Our father died before the company launched."
Thomas slowly shook his head.
"Maybe..."
"...he wanted us to believe that."
At that exact moment...
An elderly man walked into the abandoned bank.
No one had noticed him standing quietly near the entrance.
He leaned on a wooden cane.
His silver beard reached his chest.
His eyes...
Were identical to both brothers'.
Thomas dropped the notebook.
Richard staggered backward.
His lips trembled.
"No..."
"It can't be..."
The old man smiled sadly.
"I waited thirty years..."
"...to see whether my sons would choose money..."
"...or each other."
The detective whispered,
"Who are you?"
The old man answered with tears in his eyes.
"I'm Edward Ashford."
"The man the world buried thirty years ago."
The room erupted into chaos.
Richard collapsed to his knees.
"Dad..."
Edward walked past the reporters, ignored the billionaires, and stopped in front of Thomas.
He gently placed a trembling hand on his scarred face.
"I never stopped looking for you."
Thomas could no longer hold back his tears.
The father embraced the son everyone believed was dead.
Then Edward turned toward Richard.
His voice was calm...
But devastating.
"You lost your company the day you betrayed your brother."
"But you almost lost your soul."
Richard sobbed uncontrollably.
Edward reached into his coat and revealed one final envelope.
"The company was never my greatest legacy."
He handed it to both brothers.
"It contains my real inheritance."
Thomas slowly opened it.
Inside...
There was no money.
No deeds.
No shares.
Only a handwritten letter.
It read:
"If you're reading this together... then my family is finally whole again."
For the first time in thirty years...
The Ashford family stood together.
Not as billionaires.
Not as enemies.
But as a father...
May you like
And two brothers who had finally found the courage to face the truth.
THE END.
