Chapter 4 - Margaret Aldridge Had Planned Everything From the Beginning
We escaped through a hidden passage.
My mother was moved to another safe location.
Margaret was no longer pretending.
She wanted me married to Cassian.
Not because of Evelyn.
Because the marriage would transfer control over a trust connected to the Vale organization.
My father had created it.
The beneficiary was me.
I had never known.
The moment I married Cassian, the trust would become active.
And whoever controlled my signature could access the money.
Billions.
Enough to buy judges.
Police.
Companies.
Politicians.
Even the loyalty of rival families.
Margaret wanted it.
Cassian wanted to destroy it.
I wanted none of it.
Evelyn agreed to help us.
She told me her mother had been planning the marriage for years.
“Why me?”
“Because she needed someone disposable.”
I laughed bitterly.
“That's comforting.”
Evelyn took my hand.
“I’m sorry.”
“You didn't do it.”
“My mother did.”
“And your father?”
She looked away.
“Dead.”
I froze.
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
“Then who is helping her?”
Evelyn stared at me.
“Someone in the Vale family.”
Cassian's expression hardened.
“My uncle.”
“Victor?”
“Yes.”
Victor Vale.
Believed dead.
Alive.
Hidden.
The man behind the entire plan.
He had killed my father.
He had manipulated Margaret.
He had recruited Bianca.
And he had been using Cassian's own organization as cover.
Cassian wanted to confront him immediately.
I stopped him.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“He killed your father.”
“He did.”
“Then why wait?”
“Because we need proof.”
He studied me.
Then nodded.
For the first time, I realized we had become partners.
Not because of the wedding.
Because we had both been betrayed.
The proof was hidden in the private chapel where I had been forced to stand.
We returned at night.
Beneath the altar was a small compartment.
Inside was a ring.
The same ring Cassian's father had given my father years earlier.
It contained a microchip.
We extracted the files.
Conversations.
Transfers.
Plans.
Everything.
Then we heard footsteps.
Victor entered.
He looked exactly like Cassian.
Older.
Crueler.
He smiled.
“Hello, nephew.”
Cassian froze.
I stepped beside him.
“You killed my father.”
Victor looked at me.
“Your father died because he couldn't accept the world.”
“You murdered him.”
“He betrayed us.”
“He tried to save people.”
Victor shrugged.
“Same thing.”
Cassian raised his gun.
Victor laughed.
“Go ahead.”
Cassian didn't fire.
“You want the trust.”
“Yes.”
“You want Lydia married to me.”
“Yes.”
“And you arranged the six women before her.”
Victor smiled.
“Of course.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed you to look unstable.”
The truth came out.
Each previous marriage had been designed to create scandals.
The wives had been selected, manipulated, threatened, or bribed.
Some were innocent.
Some cooperated.
All were disposable to Victor.
Then Evelyn was chosen.
But she discovered the truth.
She ran.
Margaret needed a replacement.
I was convenient.
A maid.
Poor.
Dependent.
Invisible.
The perfect victim.
Victor turned toward me.
“You were never supposed to survive the wedding.”
I felt sick.
“What would happen?”
“Cassian would be blamed.”
“And the trust?”
“Transferred.”
Cassian's face became terrifyingly calm.
“Then why didn't you kill us already?”
Victor smiled.
“Because I wanted you to find the ledger.”
A clicking sound echoed.
Explosives.
Victor stepped backward.
“The chapel burns tonight.”
He disappeared through the doors.
Cassian grabbed my hand.
“Run.”
We escaped seconds before the explosion.
The chapel collapsed behind us.
Rain poured over the wreckage.
Cassian stared at it.
Everything he had inherited.
Everything his father had built.
Gone.
I stood beside him.
“You okay?”
He looked at me.
“No.”
I took his hand.
“Me neither.”
He squeezed it.
Then he said:
“Lydia.”
“Yes?”
“I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“I was suspicious of you.”
“You had every right.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“I saw you as part of the plan.”
“You were right.”
“I was wrong about the most important part.”
“What?”
“You weren't sent to destroy me.”
He looked at me.
“You were sent here because they knew I'd need someone brave enough to stand beside me.”
My heart stopped.
“Cassian…”
“I don't know what this is.”
“Neither do I.”
“But I know I don't want to lose you.”
The words frightened me.
Because I wanted to say the same.
We returned to the safe house.
My mother was waiting.
She looked at Cassian.
Then me.
And smiled weakly.
“You look at her the way your father looked at me.”
Cassian froze.
“What?”
My mother shook her head.
“Nothing.”
She turned toward me.
“There is something else you need to know.”
“What?”
“Your father didn't leave the trust to you because he wanted you rich.”
“Why then?”
“He wanted you powerful enough to say no.”
The sentence changed everything.
I looked at Cassian.
Then at the ledger.
Then at the future waiting for us.
Maybe the point had never been money.
May you like
Maybe it had always been choice.
And for the first time in my life, nobody was telling me what to choose.
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