Chapter 7 - The Mastermind Unmasked
"Harrison?" Julian's eyes widened in disbelief. "You've been with my family for thirty years. Why?"
"Thirty years of being treated like a dog!" Harrison spat, his face contorting with decades of suppressed rage. "Your father ruined my family before he ruined hers! I was the one who arranged the car crash that put you in a coma! I was the one who suggested the surrogate plan to Victoria! I controlled everything!"
Elena gasped from behind Julian. "You... you told me where Leo was! You brought me into this house!"
"Of course I did, my dear sweet Elena," Harrison chuckled darkly. "I needed a trigger. I knew the moment the child saw you, the truth would explode. I needed Julian to marry you, to transfer fifty percent of the company shares into your name!"
Julian’s eyes narrowed in realization. "Because Elena’s inheritance trust, created by her father before his death, contains a clause... if she marries a Vance, all assets merge into a single liquidateable entity."
"Bingo!" Harrison grinned maniacally. "And once I kill you both tonight, the child becomes the sole heir, and as his appointed legal guardian under the trust... I take complete control of forty billion dollars!"
"You won't lay a finger on my son," Julian hissed, raising his gun.
"Look around you, Julian," Harrison sneered. "You're surrounded. Hand over the signed marriage certificate and trust transfer, or my men will bring your little boy down here in a body bag."
Elena’s blood ran cold. "No! Please! Take whatever you want, just don't hurt my baby!"
"Give him the papers, Julian!" Elena begged, tears streaming down her face. "Please!"
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Julian looked at Elena, then down at the blood-red folder in his hand containing the merged assets. A cold, dark smile suddenly spread across Julian’s face.
"You really thought you were the only one playing chess, Harrison?" Julian murmured.
