CHAPTER 9 — “Ryan Didn't Order the Murder… He Took the Fall for Someone Else.”
Emily replayed the phone call over and over.
"We've arrested the man who ordered your husband's murder..."
"...but he says he wasn't the mastermind."
She stood frozen in her office while Lily laughed outside with the other children.
For the first time in months...
Emily felt afraid again.
Two days later.
Inside a maximum-security prison.
Ryan Carter sat behind thick glass, his once-expensive suit replaced by an orange jumpsuit.
Dark circles hung beneath his eyes.
He looked nothing like the arrogant executive who had thrown Emily and Lily into the rain.
Emily entered alone.
Ryan laughed bitterly.
"So..."
"The queen finally came."
Emily remained standing.
"I only have one question."
"Who killed Daniel?"
Ryan looked away.
"I already confessed."
"No."
"You confessed to helping cover it up."
"You never planned anything."
"I've read every document."
"You weren't smart enough."
Ryan's jaw tightened.
For nearly a minute...
Neither of them spoke.
Finally...
Ryan whispered,
"I loved my brother."
Emily frowned.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I hated him."
"I envied him."
"But I never wanted him dead."
Emily stared silently.
Ryan leaned closer to the glass.
"It wasn't supposed to happen."
"They told me..."
"...they only wanted to scare him."
Emily's heartbeat accelerated.
"They?"
Ryan slowly closed his eyes.
"The Board."
Emily shook her head.
"The Board protected me."
Ryan laughed.
"You think the Board is one person?"
"There are twelve directors."
"Only five stood beside Daniel."
"The other seven..."
"...wanted him gone."
Emily's blood turned cold.
Ryan continued.
"They promised me the company."
"They promised Mother everything."
"But after Daniel died..."
"They betrayed us too."
Emily suddenly remembered something.
Daniel had once said:
"Never trust anyone who smiles before a meeting begins."
At the time...
She had laughed.
Now...
She understood.
Ryan reached beneath the table.
The guards immediately tensed.
Instead of a weapon...
He pulled out a folded piece of paper.
"I've hidden this for months."
"I kept it alive because I knew..."
"...one day you'd come."
Emily unfolded it.
Inside was a list.
Seven names.
Seven directors.
Each name had millions of dollars transferred into offshore accounts.
At the bottom...
One name was circled in red ink.
VICTOR BLACKWOOD
Chairman of Carter Global Holdings.
The man who had publicly welcomed Emily as Chairwoman.
Ryan looked directly into her eyes.
"Daniel trusted the wrong man."
Emily suddenly realized something horrifying.
Victor Blackwood hadn't saved her.
He had moved first...
...because Daniel's death had benefited him the most.
As Emily walked out of the prison...
Her phone vibrated.
A text message.
No number.
May you like
Only one sentence.
"Stop digging... or Lily dies next."
