Chapter 6 - What the Snow BuriedThey found Lyric beneath the old pier.
She had slipped through a broken section of the dock.
Caspian climbed down.
“Lyric!”
“I’m here!”
She was trapped between beams.
Caspian reached her.
“Are you hurt?”
“My ankle.”
He lifted her carefully.
“I'm getting you out.”
She buried her face against him.
“Don't leave me.”
“I won't.”
Behind them, Elias found Amara.
She was sobbing.
“I lost her.”
“You didn't.”
“I almost did.”
“No.”
Elias hugged her.
“You didn't.”
At the hospital, doctors confirmed that Lyric's ankle was fractured.
Nothing permanent.
Caspian stayed beside her bed all night.
She slept.
Amara sat nearby.
Elias stood at the window.
Caspian finally asked:
“What did my father want with the trust?”
Elias turned.
“He wanted to protect the company.”
“From Victor?”
“Yes.”
“Then why hide you?”
“Because he believed one heir had to disappear to keep the others alive.”
Caspian frowned.
“He sacrificed you.”
“Yes.”
“What kind of father does that?”
“A frightened one.”
Then Amara spoke.
“Your father wasn't the only one who made mistakes.”
Caspian looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
She pulled a folded paper from her bag.
“I signed something years ago.”
“What?”
“A transfer.”
“For what?”
“Lyric's inheritance.”
“To whom?”
“Your father.”
Caspian stared.
“And he never used it.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because he changed his mind.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
She looked at him.
“That's why he left you the letter.”
Caspian remembered.
For Caspian. Eventually.
His father's final secret wasn't a confession of greed.
It was a confession of regret.
The next morning, Caspian read the rest of the letter.
His father admitted he had manipulated everyone.
He had hidden Elias.
He had controlled Amara.
He had protected Victor.
But eventually he had learned something too late.
Victor didn't want the company protected.
He wanted it owned.
The letter ended with:
Caspian,
You inherited my mistakes.
Do not inherit them twice.
Caspian closed his eyes.
For years, he'd believed money made him strong.
His father had believed it too.
But money had only made their secrets larger.
Caspian decided to do something his father never had.
Tell the truth.
He called a family meeting.
Everyone came.
Lawyers.
Trustees.
Executives.
Amara.
Elias.
Lyric.
Caspian stood at the head of the table.
“I am releasing everything.”
The room erupted.
But he continued.
“Every hidden trust document.”
“Every transfer.”
“Every payment.”
“Every secret.”
Victor's attorneys objected.
Caspian ignored them.
He signed the papers.
Elias watched.
Amara cried.
Lyric whispered:
“Are we rich now?”
Caspian smiled.
“No.”
She frowned.
“Not yet.”
May you like
He crouched beside her.
“But we're free.”
Related Stories
