Chapter 7 - The Sixth Wife Returned With a Secret That Changed Everything
The person who entered the vault wasn't Elias Voss.
It was Clara.
She emerged from the shadows holding a flash drive.
“I knew you'd find it.”
Cassian lowered his weapon.
“You followed us.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I found the real ledger.”
“What?”
Clara held it up.
“The one you opened is a decoy.”
My stomach dropped.
“How?”
“The original was moved years ago.”
“By whom?”
She looked at me.
“Your father.”
I felt dizzy.
Another hidden layer.
Another secret.
Cassian took the drive.
“What’s on it?”
“Everything.”
They connected the drive.
Names flooded the screen.
Then a video appeared.
My father.
Older.
Tired.
Alive on camera, recorded days before his death.
He looked directly into the lens.
“If Lydia is seeing this, I'm sorry.”
I started crying before he even continued.
“I couldn't save her from the world I entered, but I could leave her a way out.”
He explained the truth.
The Aldridges had been laundering money for years.
The Vale organization had once been legitimate.
Elias Voss had slowly corrupted it.
Cassian's father tried to stop him.
Victor Hale betrayed them.
Margaret's family joined the scheme.
And the six wives were selected because each had a connection to someone Voss wanted compromised.
They were never the target.
They were bait.
Cassian watched silently.
Then my father said something that made my heart stop.
“Cassian, if you're watching this, know that your father loved you.”
Cassian looked away.
The video continued.
“The woman you will marry someday may be the key to your survival. Not because of her blood. Because of her courage.”
I looked at Cassian.
His eyes were wet.
My father had known.
In some strange way, he had known someone would come into Cassian's life.
Maybe not me.
But someone.
A partner.
A person willing to stand beside him.
Then the video changed.
A second recording.
Evelyn appeared.
She confessed.
She had helped Margaret initially.
She believed Cassian was dangerous.
She wanted out.
Then she discovered the truth.
She had stolen money because she planned to expose her family.
“I didn't run because I hated you,” she said.
She looked at Cassian.
“I ran because I was afraid you'd never believe me.”
Cassian closed his eyes.
He believed her now.
We found Evelyn the next day.
She was brought back to New York under protection.
Margaret was arrested.
Daniel disappeared.
Victor Hale was captured after trying to flee.
But Elias Voss remained.
And he sent one final message.
A photograph of my mother.
Alive.
Bound.
The message beneath it read:
COME TO THE OLD CHURCH.
BRING THE GIRL.
I knew exactly which church.
The chapel where the wedding had never happened.
Cassian tried to stop me.
I refused.
“I am not letting him use my mother.”
“He wants you.”
“Yes.”
“He’ll kill you.”
“Then help me make sure he doesn't.”
He stared at me.
“You really are impossible.”
“I've been told.”
He almost smiled.
Then he handed me a bulletproof vest.
“Wear it.”
I did.
The chapel was empty.
Except for Elias Voss.
He looked nothing like the monster I expected.
He was an older man in an expensive coat.
Calm.
Almost gentle.
That made him worse.
“You look like your father.”
I stood still.
“Where is my mother?”
“Safe.”
“Bring her out.”
He smiled.
“You think this is about your mother.”
“It is.”
“No.”
He looked at Cassian.
“This is about family.”
Cassian stepped forward.
“You're not my family.”
Voss laughed.
“Blood doesn't care what you believe.”
He revealed the DNA evidence.
Cassian's face tightened.
“I know.”
“And you know your father chose the wrong side.”
“He chose me.”
Voss smiled.
“That’s why I had him killed.”
I inhaled sharply.
Cassian raised his weapon.
I grabbed his arm.
“Not yet.”
Voss watched.
“You see?”
He smiled.
“She controls you.”
Cassian’s eyes turned cold.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“She reminds me who I am.”
The doors exploded open.
Police stormed in.
Voss reached for a gun.
Cassian tackled him.
The fight was brutal.
But before Voss was restrained, he whispered to me:
“You don't know what your husband is capable of.”
I looked at Cassian.
May you like
“I know.”
And I didn't move away.
