Chapter 8 - I Was Ordered to Deliver the One Document That Could Destroy an Empire—And Viktor Followed Anyway
We went to the river at midnight.
The city lights trembled on the water.
Elizabeth stood beneath an abandoned bridge.
Thomas was beside her.
And Stefan stood behind them.
I had imagined the man responsible for my family's suffering a hundred times.
I expected someone terrifying.
Instead, Stefan looked old.
Ordinary.
That was worse.
He smiled.
“Mara.”
I stepped forward.
“Where is my father?”
“Alive.”
I looked at Thomas.
“Prove it.”
A phone was handed to me.
A video.
My father lying unconscious.
I looked up.
“You promised he wouldn't be hurt.”
“I didn't hurt him.”
“Your people did.”
Stefan smiled.
“Your father made enemies.”
Viktor stepped from the shadows.
Stefan's expression changed.
“I asked for the girl alone.”
Viktor stood beside me.
“She doesn't go anywhere alone.”
Elizabeth sighed.
“Of course.”
Thomas raised a gun.
Viktor's men emerged from the darkness.
For a moment, everything froze.
Stefan smiled.
“This is exactly why I needed the girl.”
I looked at him.
“What do you want?”
“The authorization.”
“You don't need it anymore. Pierce has been arrested.”
“Pierce was disposable.”
Elizabeth looked at me.
“You still don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
She stepped forward.
“The original trust recognizes blood heirs.”
She pointed toward me.
“Your signature activates the transfer.”
“What transfer?”
“Ownership of the North Atlantic transportation network.”
My stomach dropped.
“You want me to sign?”
“No.”
She smiled.
“We want you to inherit.”
Stefan looked at Viktor.
“And then we make sure she remains controlled.”
Viktor's voice became lethal.
“You won't touch her.”
Stefan laughed.
“Still playing protector?”
“Yes.”
“Your father did the same.”
I looked at Stefan.
“What happened to him?”
“He chose your mother over power.”
“Good.”
Stefan's smile disappeared.
“He chose badly.”
I stepped closer.
“You're wrong.”
Everyone turned.
My voice shook.
“But I don't care anymore.”
I held up the authorization.
“This document can expose you.”
Stefan's eyes narrowed.
“You think so?”
“It contains more than ownership.”
Viktor looked at me.
I continued.
“It contains the names of everyone who moved money through the shell corporations.”
Elizabeth's face changed.
Thomas looked at Stefan.
Stefan's confidence cracked.
“You read it?”
“With Viktor's help.”
Viktor looked at me.
“You shouldn't have revealed that.”
“I had to.”
Stefan stepped forward.
“Give me the document.”
“No.”
Elizabeth raised her gun.
“Then your father dies.”
I stared at her.
“You said you wanted me alive.”
“We do.”
“Then you won't shoot him.”
She hesitated.
I smiled.
“You're bluffing.”
Elizabeth's eyes hardened.
“You sound like your mother.”
“I'll take that as a compliment.”
Viktor moved slightly.
I knew his signal.
Three fingers.
Three seconds.
I dropped the document.
Every gun turned toward it.
Viktor attacked first.
Chaos exploded.
Thomas fired.
Elizabeth ran.
Stefan disappeared into the crowd.
I grabbed the document.
Then someone grabbed me.
Thomas.
He dragged me behind a concrete column.
“Don't move.”
“Get off me.”
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
“My sister thinks Stefan killed our mother.”
“What?”
“He didn't.”
Thomas's eyes filled with anger.
“Helena betrayed Stefan, but he spared her.”
“Where is she?”
“Alive.”
I froze.
“Where?”
“Inside the warehouse.”
Before I could respond, Thomas released me.
Then he turned toward the river.
A gunshot.
Thomas fell.
Stefan stood behind him.
He disappeared into the darkness.
I screamed.
Viktor ran toward us.
“Thomas?”
Thomas was barely breathing.
He grabbed Viktor's sleeve.
“Pierce…”
“What?”
“Pierce wasn't the one…”
His eyes moved toward me.
“Daniel.”
Then he died.
I stared.
Daniel.
My manager.
Viktor grabbed my shoulders.
“Don't think yet.”
“But Thomas said—”
“I know.”
We returned to the mansion.
Daniel was waiting.
He looked devastated.
“I didn't betray you.”
I wanted to believe him.
“Thomas said your name.”
“He meant Elizabeth.”
“How?”
Daniel pulled out a file.
“Because Elizabeth used my identity.”
Inside were bank records, emails, and legal transfers.
My name appeared repeatedly.
Someone had been using Daniel's credentials to move money.
“It was Elizabeth.”
Viktor looked toward the door.
“Where is she?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Gone.”
A message arrived on my phone.
Unknown number.
THE WOMAN WHO RAISED YOU WAS NOT YOUR MOTHER.
I stared.
Another message.
ASK ADRIAN WHO YOUR REAL MOTHER WAS.
I looked at Viktor.
“My mother?”
He went pale.
Then my father walked into the room.
May you like
He said the words that shattered the last thing I thought I knew.
“Eva wasn't your biological mother.”
