Chapter 6 - The Choice the Millionaire Never Expected
With Richard in custody, the truth began coming apart.
The police discovered hidden accounts.
Corporate documents.
Forged signatures.
Payments to private investigators.
And finally, evidence that Richard and Victor Cole had worked together for years.
But one name kept appearing in the records.
Melissa Grant.
Daniel looked at the documents.
The doctor who had remained calm throughout the trial was not who she claimed to be.
Melissa had been Richard's private consultant.
She had been sent to observe Ethan.
Not because she wanted to become his mother.
Because Richard needed information about the boy.
Ethan had inherited shares in Whitmore Industries.
If Daniel died, those shares would transfer directly to him.
Richard wanted control.
Melissa had been measuring Ethan's fears, habits and weaknesses.
When Daniel confronted her, she didn't deny it.
“I never intended to hurt him.”
“You manipulated him.”
“I studied him.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard needed to know whether Ethan was emotionally stable enough to be used.”
Daniel slammed his hand against the desk.
“He's eight!”
Melissa looked ashamed.
“I know.”
She became the key witness against Richard.
The women were gone.
Vanessa returned home to face her father.
Olivia withdrew from the trial.
Katherine was charged with lying to investigators.
Lauren disappeared into witness protection.
The mansion became quiet again.
But Ethan still had a choice.
Daniel sat with him in the study.
“The thirty days are almost over.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Do I still have to pick someone?”
“No.”
Ethan smiled.
“Good.”
Daniel laughed.
“But I want to ask you something.”
“What?”
“Who do you trust most?”
Ethan looked toward the hallway.
“Emily.”
Daniel nodded.
“Why?”
“Because she never wanted anything from me.”
Daniel's expression softened.
“That matters.”
Ethan thought for a moment.
“Dad?”
“Yes?”
“Why can't Emily be my mom?”
Daniel stopped breathing for a second.
“Ethan…”
“You said I get to choose.”
“I said you get to tell me who makes you happy.”
“She makes me happy.”
Daniel didn't know how to answer.
That evening, he asked Emily to meet him in the garden.
“I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“For bringing those women into your workplace and turning my home into a competition.”
“You didn't know what would happen.”
“I should have.”
Emily looked at the flowers.
“You were trying to find someone for Ethan.”
“I was trying to find someone who could love him.”
Emily looked at him.
“And did you?”
Daniel swallowed.
“I think he already found that person.”
She realized what he meant.
“Daniel…”
“I’m not asking you to become his mother.”
“Good.”
He smiled faintly.
“I’m asking you to stay.”
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
“Why?”
“Because I don't want to imagine this house without you.”
She looked down.
“I thought you were going to say something romantic.”
“I was.”
“That was terrible.”
Daniel laughed.
Then he became serious.
“I care about you.”
Emily looked at him.
“I care about you too.”
Before they could say more, Ethan ran outside.
“Dad!”
Daniel turned.
“What happened?”
Ethan handed him an envelope.
“It came from the mail.”
Daniel opened it.
Inside was a legal document.
A trust.
Robert Parker had created it fifteen years earlier.
The beneficiary was Emily.
The amount was thirty-two million dollars.
Emily stared at the document in disbelief.
“I didn't know.”
Daniel looked at the signature.
It was real.
But the letter contained one more page.
I did not leave this money to make Emily rich.
I left it to ensure she would never again be dependent on anyone who might hurt her.
Emily cried.
Her father had planned for her future even when he knew he might not live to see it.
Daniel took her hand.
“You don't have to work here anymore.”
She looked at him.
“Do you want me to leave?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll stay.”
Ethan smiled.
“Does that mean you're staying forever?”
Emily laughed.
“I don't know about forever.”
“I do.”
Daniel smiled.
“You sound very confident.”
“I am.”
That night, Emily moved into the guest room.
Not as a servant.
Not as a cleaner.
As family.
But the story still had one final missing piece.
The truth about Grace's death.
The police reopened the case.
And the medical examiner found something disturbing.
Grace's original death certificate had been altered.
Her death had not been an accident.
She had been poisoned.
The poison had been administered hours before the car crash.
And someone inside the household had helped.
Daniel looked at the list of employees from that night.
One name stood out.
The head housekeeper.
May you like
Mrs. Helen Morris.
The woman who had hired Emily.
