Chapter 7 - My Mother Revealed the Truth About My Bloodline, and Ronin Refused to Let Anyone Choose My Fate
My mother entered the courthouse.
She had come alone.
I stared at her.
"Is it true?"
She nodded.
"My father is Edward."
Edward smiled.
"You always were stubborn."
My mother looked at him.
"I learned from you."
He laughed.
"You were always meant to inherit."
"No."
"Then why did you hide her?"
"Because she deserved a life without you."
Edward's expression changed.
"Everything I did was for this family."
"You destroyed it."
Ronin moved between them.
Edward stared at him.
"You are Daniel's son."
Ronin didn't answer.
"Your father was weak."
Ronin stepped forward.
"My father chose his family."
Edward smiled.
"And lost everything."
Ronin raised his gun.
I grabbed his wrist.
"No."
He looked at me.
"This is my fight."
"No."
I shook my head.
"If you kill him, he gets to make you exactly what he always believed you were."
Ronin lowered the weapon.
Edward looked almost disappointed.
He turned toward me.
"You think kindness will save you?"
"No."
I held up the ledger.
"I think truth will."
He laughed.
"You don't understand the power inside that book."
"Then explain."
He did.
The Black Ledger contained the evidence necessary to seize control of hundreds of businesses.
It had been used for generations to blackmail rivals.
But the original creators had included a failsafe.
A series of legal documents that transferred ownership of the legitimate assets to whoever the heir selected.
Edward had spent decades searching for the heir.
My mother refused.
So he targeted me.
Preston was assigned to marry me.
If I married him, the legal transfer would activate.
I felt sick.
"This was never about love."
Preston smiled.
"Don't pretend I didn't care."
I looked at him.
"You hurt me."
His expression twisted.
"I was trying to control you."
"That's what hurt means."
For once, he had nothing to say.
Edward stepped closer.
"Sign the transfer."
"No."
"You don't understand."
"I understand enough."
He smiled.
"Then your mother dies."
A gun appeared in his hand.
My mother froze.
Ronin moved.
Edward fired.
I screamed.
But the bullet never reached her.
Marcus stepped in front.
He fell.
The courthouse erupted.
Ronin rushed toward him.
"Marcus!"
The old man smiled.
"Finally."
Ronin knelt.
"You idiot."
Marcus laughed weakly.
"I've been waiting eighteen years to hear you say that."
Then he looked at me.
"Choose."
I didn't understand.
"The ledger."
He nodded.
"Choose what to do with it."
I opened the book.
There were pages of names.
Lives that could be destroyed.
Companies that could be seized.
Power that could make me one of the most influential people in the country.
I thought about Preston.
My father.
My mother.
Ronin's father.
Every person destroyed by the obsession with power.
Then I tore the ledger in half.
Edward screamed.
"No!"
I tore it again.
And again.
The room went silent.
I dropped the pieces.
"I don't want it."
Edward stared.
"You're throwing away everything."
"No."
I looked at Ronin.
"I'm choosing something else."
He stood.
"What?"
I took his hand.
"Freedom."
The legal documents activated automatically.
Not because of the ledger.
Because the heir had rejected the power.
The assets couldn't be controlled by Edward.
They transferred into independent trusts.
Money for victims.
Housing for families.
Scholarships for children.
Legal defense funds.
Everything my family had used to control others would be used to help them instead.
Edward's face collapsed.
Preston tried to run.
Gideon stopped him.
Police surrounded them.
Edward was arrested.
Preston was arrested.
The courthouse emptied slowly.
Marcus survived.
Barely.
He was taken to the hospital.
Ronin stayed beside him.
I sat outside.
My mother sat next to me.
"I'm sorry."
I looked at her.
"For what?"
"All of it."
I took her hand.
"I know why you did it."
"You deserve to hate me."
"No."
I smiled sadly.
"You were trying to give me a childhood."
She cried.
"I failed."
"You came back."
That was enough.
Later that night, Ronin found me on the hospital roof.
He leaned against the railing.
"Marcus is stable."
"Good."
"Doctors think he'll recover."
I smiled.
"That's good."
He looked at me.
"You chose freedom."
"Yes."
"Why?"
I thought about it.
"Because I spent too long letting other people decide who I was."
He nodded.
"Good."
Silence.
Then he said:
"You don't owe me anything."
I turned.
"I know."
"You don't owe me trust."
"I know."
"You don't owe me a relationship."
I smiled.
"I know."
He stepped closer.
"I would still like one."
My heart skipped.
"Ronin."
"I mean it."
He stopped a few feet away.
"I won't ask again."
I smiled.
"Good."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Good?"
"Because I was going to answer."
For the first time, Ronin looked nervous.
"I choose you."
He closed his eyes briefly.
Then smiled.
But before he could touch me, my phone rang.
Gideon.
"Boss."
Ronin answered.
A pause.
Then:
"Marcus woke up."
Ronin smiled.
"What did he say?"
Gideon's voice came through.
"He said the danger isn't over."
Ronin's expression hardened.
"Why?"
"Because there is one name missing from the ledger."
I looked at Ronin.
Gideon continued.
May you like
"Richard Mercer."
My father.
