CHAPTER 6: The Billionaire Who Walked Out of the Shadows
The bodyguards reached into their jackets.
Emma instinctively stepped in front of her mother.
"Stay behind me."
Isabella smiled as if the ending had already been written.
"Goodbye, cousin."
One of the men pulled out a pistol.
The lawyer closed his eyes.
This was the end.
Then—
BANG!
A gunshot echoed across the lake.
But no one fell.
The armed man looked down in horror.
His weapon had been blasted out of his hand by a single bullet.
Black helicopters roared overhead.
Dozens of armored SUVs surrounded the cabin.
Within seconds, heavily armed security officers stormed the property.
"DROP YOUR WEAPONS!"
The bodyguards froze.
Even Isabella's smile disappeared.
A tall silver-haired man stepped out of the lead vehicle wearing a perfectly tailored black suit.
Every security officer immediately stood at attention.
"Sir."
The man ignored everyone else.
His eyes never left Emma.
Slowly...
He walked toward her.
When he finally stood only inches away, tears filled his eyes.
"So..."
"You survived."
Emma frowned.
"I'm sorry... do I know you?"
The man gave a sad smile.
"No."
"But I've known you since the day you were born."
The lawyer suddenly gasped.
"It can't be..."
The old man nodded.
"My name is Alexander Ashford."
The room fell silent.
Everyone knew the name.
Alexander Ashford had disappeared from public life more than twenty years earlier after selling one of the world's largest technology companies.
Many believed he had died.
Others believed he was hiding somewhere in Europe.
None of the rumors were true.
He had been searching for one person.
Emma.
Alexander slowly removed an old photograph from his wallet.
It showed a young woman holding a newborn baby.
Emma.
"Your grandfather didn't leave only one heir," Alexander said quietly.
"He left one guardian."
Emma looked confused.
"What does that mean?"
Alexander smiled.
"When your grandfather realized someone inside the family wanted to erase his bloodline..."
"...he entrusted me with protecting you."
Emma couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"You knew where I was?"
Alexander lowered his head.
"No."
"I lost you."
"And I have spent twenty-five years trying to earn the right to apologize."
Before Emma could respond...
One of Alexander's security officers hurried toward him.
"Sir."
"We've searched Isabella's vehicle."
"What did you find?"
The officer placed a silver briefcase on the table.
Inside were passports.
Stacks of cash.
Plane tickets.
And a signed contract.
Emma picked it up.
Her heart nearly stopped.
The document wasn't for kidnapping.
It was a murder contract.
At the bottom of the page...
Someone had already been paid fifty million dollars to eliminate Emma before midnight.
But what shocked everyone even more...
Was the signature authorizing the payment.
It wasn't Isabella's.
It belonged to someone everyone believed had been dead for over twenty years.
Emma stared at the name.
Her voice trembled.
"Impossible..."
"My grandfather signed this."
Alexander's face instantly turned pale.
Then he whispered the words that changed everything once again.
"No..."
"That isn't his signature."
He looked directly into Emma's eyes.
"It means only one thing."
"The man buried in your grandfather's grave..."
"...was never your grandfather."
Outside, thunder shook the sky.
Somewhere in the darkness...
May you like
The real mastermind smiled.
Because the game had only just begun.
