Chapter 7 - The Mastermind in the Shadows
Adrian stared at the photograph, his mind reeling as piece after piece of the puzzle crashed into place.
"Your sister..." Adrian whispered. "Evelyn talked about you. She said her younger sister went missing years ago after a family fallout..."
"It wasn't a fallout," Grace said bitterly. "I was working undercover for federal narcotics investigation. I had to disappear for my own safety. But when Evelyn died so suddenly eight months ago, I knew her heart hadn't just stopped. Evelyn was an athlete. She was healthy. But when I tried to investigate her death through official channels, every autopsy record was sealed by your company’s legal department."
"By Julian," Adrian realized, his eyes widening. "My cousin. Julian is the head of our legal division. He handled all of Evelyn’s post-mortem paperwork."
"Exactly," Grace said, leaning closer. "I forged my identity and applied for the nanny position to get inside your house. I needed to find out who was poisoning Evelyn. And within three weeks of being there, I realized Vivian Cross hadn't just stumbled into your life—she was planted."
"Planted by whom?"
"By Julian," Grace revealed, her eyes burning with intense conviction. "Vivian was Julian’s former mistress. I found the offshore bank records on Vivian’s laptop three weeks ago, but I didn't have enough physical evidence to take to the FBI without risking Leo's safety. Julian and Vivian have been working together from the very beginning. They poisoned Evelyn so Vivian could marry you, take control of the family trust, and then slowly eliminate both you and Leo to inherit the $5 billion Harrington fortune."
Adrian slumped against the seat, a cold sweat breaking out across his skin. The men he had trusted his entire life—his family, his executive board—had built a meat grinder around him, and he had walked right into it, completely blind.
"They have the police, the media, and the board," Adrian said, his voice laced with despair. "They've framed us for attempted murder and money laundering. We're fugitives, Grace. How do we fight a five-billion-dollar empire?"
May you like
Grace reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, waterproof flash drive.
"Because," Grace smiled thinly, her bruised face suddenly radiating absolute lethal confidence, "Vivian thought she erased the main server backups at the house today. But I installed a secondary mirror server in Leo’s nursery four months ago. Everything that happened in that house—every conversation, every phone call, every poison drop—is stored right here."
