Chapter 7 - THE TRIAL IN THE SHADOWS
Helena backed away, her head spinning. “That... that doesn't make sense! My mother spent twenty years working in sweatshops! She couldn't even afford her heart medication!”
“Look at the dates, Helena,” Adrian said urgently, holding the documents closer to the flashlight beam. “Twenty-one years ago, right after the boat fire, your mother didn't just hide. She made a deal with my grandfather—my father’s father—before he died. He gave her controlling trust stock in the family’s international holding accounts as compensation for her husband’s death, but on one condition: the shares were locked in escrow until the day you turned twenty-five or until the Falkner and Vance families attempted to destroy each other.”
Adrian turned the page over, highlighting a red stamp across the legal contract. “Richard Vance didn't buy Falkner Enterprises today with his own money. He fell into a trap! He borrowed billions from Aegis Global to buy those stock shares, not realizing that Aegis Global was legally owned by you as Eleanor’s sole heir.”
Helena took a deep breath, realization washing over her like a tidal wave. Her mother hadn't been an helpless victim all these years. She had been playing a twenty-year game of patience, waiting for the corrupt dynasties to overreach so her daughter could pull the trigger and destroy them both.
“So Richard Vance didn't buy my company,” Adrian said, a ruthless smile spreading across his face. “He just handed complete control of Vance Corporation and Falkner Enterprises to you.”
Suddenly, the heavy double doors of the library slammed shut with a deafening bang.
The room was plunged into total darkness for a second before powerful tactical flashlights illuminated the dust-filled air. Four armed men in dark tactical gear stepped out from the shadows, their weapons trained directly on Adrian and Helena.
Behind them walked Richard Vance, holding a silver handgun, his face twisted in a sinister grin.
“I had a GPS tracker installed on your car, Adrian,” Richard said smoothly, stepping over the rotten floorboards. “I knew you’d come looking for your father’s ghosts. But I didn't expect you to find the Aegis papers so quickly. Hand them over.”
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“You’re too late, Vance,” Adrian said, stepping in front of Helena to shield her with his body. “The moment these documents hit the public court system, you go to prison for life for fraud, conspiracy, and attempted murder.”
“Then it’s a good thing those documents—and both of you—are about to perish in another tragic fire,” Richard sneered, raising his gun.
