Chapter 4 - THE HEIR
Kelsey's pregnancy became public two weeks later.
My father announced it at a charity dinner.
He called the unborn child "the future of the Hale family."
The newspapers repeated the phrase.
My name was nowhere.
Daniel's name appeared only in passing.
I read the article while sitting in my doctor's office.
My blood pressure rose.
The doctor frowned.
"Put the phone away."
I did.
"You're under stress."
"I know."
"Too much."
I nodded.
He looked at my chart.
"You need rest."
I almost laughed.
Rest was a luxury.
My father was attacking the estate.
The company was unstable.
My pregnancy was progressing.
And my sister-in-law—if I could even call her that—was telling people I was mentally unfit.
Then Victor found something.
"There's a second company."
"What?"
"Hale-Mercer has a subsidiary."
"I've never heard of it."
"Neither had I."
He showed me the registration.
The company had been created six months before Daniel died.
Its directors included my father.
And Kelsey.
I stared at the screen.
"Why?"
"We're trying to find out."
"Who owns it?"
Victor hesitated.
"That's the problem."
"Why?"
"The ownership documents have been sealed."
I called Margaret.
She answered immediately.
"I was hoping you wouldn't find that yet."
"Why?"
"Because Daniel suspected something."
"Tell me."
"Your father had been pressuring him."
"For what?"
"Control."
"Of what?"
"Not the company."
Margaret paused.
"Something bigger."
I sat down.
"What?"
"Land."
I frowned.
"What land?"
"Daniel had acquired property along a major transportation corridor."
"How much?"
"Twenty-three thousand acres."
I stared.
"Why?"
"Because a major development project is planned nearby."
My heart raced.
"How valuable?"
"Potentially hundreds of millions."
I understood.
The logistics company was only part of the story.
The land was the real prize.
And my father knew it.
That evening, I found Daniel's old laptop.
It required a password.
I tried his birthday.
Nothing.
Our anniversary.
Nothing.
Grace's name.
Nothing.
Then I remembered something he used to say.
"Your birthday isn't the important one."
He had always said that.
I entered the date we first met.
The computer unlocked.
There was one folder.
FOR EMILY — IF RICHARD MAKES HIS MOVE.
I opened it.
There were videos.
Documents.
Emails.
A timeline.
Daniel had been investigating my father for months.
He had recorded conversations.
He had documented financial transfers.
He had even hired a private investigator.
I watched one video.
My father sat across from Daniel.
"You should sell me the land."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because Emily owns it."
Richard laughed.
"She doesn't know what she owns."
Daniel's face hardened.
"That's why you want it."
Richard leaned forward.
"You don't understand how this family works."
Daniel answered:
"No."
"You don't understand how I work."
Richard smiled.
"Exactly."
The video ended.
I sat in silence.
Daniel had known.
He had been protecting me.
Then another file opened automatically.
A message from Daniel.
Emily,
If you're watching this, Richard has probably tried to take control.
Don't trust anyone who tells you you're too emotional, too pregnant, too inexperienced, or too young.
Those are the words men use when they are afraid of a woman who knows the truth.
Then he said something that made me cry.
"You don't have to become ruthless, Em. You just have to become impossible to manipulate."
The video ended.
I wiped my eyes.
Then the front door opened.
I froze.
Someone shouted from downstairs.
"Emily!"
My father.
Again.
But this time, he wasn't alone.
Three men entered behind him.
May you like
And my father was carrying a folder marked:
FORECLOSURE.
