Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN BEHIND THE ENTIRE EMPIREVictoria disappeared before midnight.
Her suitcase was gone.
Her jewelry was gone.
Her passport was missing.
Nathan stood in the master bedroom staring at the empty wardrobe.
His attorney entered.
“She knew.”
Nathan nodded.
“She knew we'd find the evidence.”
“There is more.”
“What?”
“The police just issued a national alert.”
Nathan turned.
“For Grace?”
“No.”
“For you.”
Nathan's face hardened.
“On what charge?”
“Tampering with evidence. Obstruction. Conspiracy.”
Nathan laughed bitterly.
“They're trying to make me look guilty.”
His attorney looked serious.
“They're trying to make you disappear.”
Nathan understood.
His father had built an empire.
Someone was willing to destroy anyone who threatened it.
Nathan immediately called his security chief.
“Find Victoria.”
“We're trying.”
“She's going to the airport.”
“She already left.”
Nathan froze.
“How do you know?”
“Private jet logs.”
“Where?”
The security chief hesitated.
“Switzerland.”
Nathan stared at the wall.
Victoria was running.
That meant she was afraid.
And frightened people made mistakes.
Nathan returned to the guesthouse.
Grace was sitting beside Lily.
Lily was asleep against her shoulder.
Nathan sat across from them.
For the first time, he allowed himself to look at his daughter without fear.
“She has my eyes,” he whispered.
Grace smiled sadly.
“She has your stubbornness too.”
Nathan almost laughed.
Then Lily opened her eyes.
“Daddy?”
“Yes.”
“Are you staying?”
Nathan's throat tightened.
“As long as you want me.”
She smiled.
Then she fell asleep again.
Nathan looked at Grace.
“I owe you four years.”
“You owe Lily.”
“I know.”
Grace shook her head.
“No, Nathan. You don't understand.”
“What?”
“She wasn't supposed to survive.”
Nathan froze.
Grace's face became pale.
“Your mother had a plan.”
“What plan?”
“She believed the Cole family needed an heir.”
Nathan frowned.
“I am the heir.”
Grace shook her head.
“Not according to her.”
She pulled an old photograph from her bag.
It showed Nathan as a child.
Beside him stood his mother.
And behind them was another boy.
Nathan stared.
“Who is that?”
Grace whispered:
“Your older brother.”
Nathan stopped breathing.
“I don't have a brother.”
“You did.”
“Where is he?”
“Dead.”
Nathan looked again.
The boy had Nathan's eyes.
Same jaw.
Same hair.
Same smile.
His attorney stepped closer.
“That's impossible.”
Grace shook her head.
“Your mother had another son before Nathan.”
Nathan stared.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
“Because he died under mysterious circumstances.”
Nathan's heart pounded.
“What does this have to do with Lily?”
Grace's answer was devastating.
“Your mother believed the Cole bloodline needed a child who could legally inherit everything without being connected to the family scandals.”
Nathan stared.
“She wanted Lily.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Grace looked down.
“Because Lily was the only legitimate descendant she couldn't control.”
Nathan understood.
His mother had planned to use Lily as a shield.
A perfect heir.
A child who could be manipulated.
And Victoria had been selected to control the mother.
But Grace had escaped.
Nathan suddenly realized something.
Victoria wasn't the mastermind.
She was another piece.
“Where is my mother now?” he whispered.
Grace looked at him.
“Dead.”
Nathan nodded.
Then Grace added:
“But someone is still carrying out her plan.”
Nathan looked toward the window.
A black SUV was parked outside.
Someone was watching the house.
Nathan immediately stood.
“Get Lily.”
Grace picked her up.
A gunshot cracked through the night.
The window exploded.
Grace screamed.
Nathan threw himself over both of them.
Another shot struck the wall.
His security team rushed inside.
Nathan pulled Grace toward the hallway.
“Move!”
They ran downstairs.
Then Lily suddenly pointed toward the back door.
“Daddy.”
Nathan looked.
A man stood outside.
He wasn't holding a gun.
He was holding a photograph.
He pressed it against the glass.
Nathan froze.
It was a photograph of his dead mother.
But she wasn't alone.
Standing beside her was a young man.
The same boy from the photograph.
Nathan's dead brother.
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And beneath the photograph was a handwritten message:
YOUR BROTHER IS NOT DEAD.
