Chapter 6 - My Son Took My Stepdaughter Hostage in the Warehouse Where I Built the Empire With My Bare HandsThe old factory smelled exactly the same.
Oil.
Dust.
Metal.
Memories.
I walked inside with Samuel.
Edward stood above us on the second floor.
Alice was tied to a chair.
“Mom.”
I stared.
“You should let her go.”
Edward laughed.
“You always did think you were smarter than everyone.”
“I am.”
“You're nothing without the company.”
“No.”
I looked around.
“This is where I built it.”
“Exactly.”
“You were never there.”
He raised a folder.
“The original contracts.”
“You think they make you owner?”
“They prove Dad founded the company.”
“No.”
“They prove the family owns it.”
“Read them.”
He opened them.
His expression changed.
My father had signed away his ownership.
I had built the company.
Every legal document confirmed it.
Edward's face went pale.
“You lied.”
“I didn't.”
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell us?”
“Because you didn't need to know until you were mature enough.”
He laughed.
“We were adults.”
“You were children with money.”
That sentence enraged him.
“You never respected us.”
“I respected you enough to expect more.”
He raised his gun toward Alice.
“Where is the real trust?”
I smiled.
“Gone.”
“What?”
“Already transferred.”
“To Alice.”
His face changed.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
He looked at Alice.
She nodded.
“The trust is final.”
Edward's hands shook.
“I will kill her.”
“No.”
“You think I won't?”
“No.”
I stepped forward.
“Because you still want me to forgive you.”
He froze.
“You're wrong.”
“No.”
I looked into his eyes.
“You haven't stopped being my son.”
Tears appeared.
“You still want approval.”
He lowered the gun.
Samuel moved.
Police entered.
Edward was arrested.
Alice was freed.
The crisis was almost over.
Almost.
Then Henry called.
“Helena.”
“What?”
“We found another trust.”
“What kind?”
“A hidden one.”
“Who created it?”
“Howard.”
My late husband.
“And?”
“It names Monica.”
I froze.
Monica wasn't simply greedy.
Howard had left her a separate inheritance.
But there was a condition.
She had to transfer Sterling's assets to Victor.
Howard had planned the takeover before his death.
My husband.
The man I had loved.
Had been working against me all along.
I couldn't breathe.
The children weren't the beginning.
They were the continuation.
The betrayal started with Howard.
He had built a contingency.
He wanted the company after his death.
When I didn't cooperate, he used the children.
I sat down.
“I loved him.”
Samuel looked at me.
“He may have loved you.”
“Then why?”
“Power.”
I laughed bitterly.
“That word destroys everything.”
“Yes.”
We found Monica.
She wasn't hiding.
She was at my mother's old house.
Waiting.
She knew we were coming.
“You ruined everything.”
I stared.
“You tried to kill me.”
“We tried to make you cooperate.”
“You tied me to a tree.”
“I didn't know they'd hurt you.”
“You knew.”
She cried.
“Mom, I was desperate.”
“You wanted money.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I was never enough.”
I was silent.
“You loved Edward more.”
“No.”
“You loved Brian's weakness.”
“No.”
“You loved Alice.”
“Yes.”
She looked down.
“I thought you were always comparing us.”
I sighed.
“Maybe I was.”
That was my failure.
I had built an empire.
But I had not built a family.
Monica confessed.
Howard's plan.
Victor's money.
The medication.
The staged accident.
Everything.
There was only one question left.
“Where is Victor?”
She smiled sadly.
“He has gone to the place you fear most.”
“Where?”
May you like
“The orphanage.”
My childhood home.
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