CHAPTER 3 – The Evidence That Could Bury Them All
The room exploded into chaos.
Daniel shouted at the bodyguard.
Victoria demanded answers.
Charles tried to leave.
But Eleanor's voice cut through the noise.
"No one walks out."
For the first time in years, her children looked at her with fear.
Not pity.
Not disrespect.
Fear.
The police arrived within minutes.
Detectives sealed the mansion gates, took statements, and ordered everyone to remain inside.
Eleanor sat quietly at the head of the table, her hands folded over her purse.
Daniel stared at her.
"You planned this."
Eleanor looked at him calmly.
"No, your father did."
Then she opened her purse again.
This time, she removed a small black flash drive.
Victoria's lips parted.
Charles whispered,
"Where did you get that?"
Eleanor smiled sadly.
"From Vault Seven."
The detective took the flash drive and connected it to a laptop.
A video appeared.
The screen showed the Ashford mansion hallway.
Twenty-five years earlier.
Eleanor's husband, Richard Ashford, stood near his study door.
He looked younger.
Healthier.
Terrified.
Then another figure entered the frame.
The face was hidden at first.
But the voice was clear.
"You should have left the company to us."
Richard answered coldly,
"I was never afraid of losing money."
"I was afraid of what my own children had become."
Suddenly, the figure stepped closer.
And the entire room gasped.
Because the person in the video...
was not Daniel.
Not Victoria.
Not Charles.
It was their beloved uncle.
Edward Ashford.
The man who had raised them after Richard's death.
The man who had comforted them at the funeral.
The man sitting quietly in the corner of the room right now.
May you like
Edward slowly lifted his eyes.
And smiled.
