Chapter 4 - THE GIRL WHO WAS PAID TO DISAPPEAR
The next morning, Tessa became the center of a scandal.
A photograph appeared online.
It showed her holding Leo's hand outside her apartment.
The headline read:
GALLAGHER HEIR SECRETLY DATING UNKNOWN WOMAN
By noon, every gossip account in the city had copied it.
By one, Tessa's phone was ringing nonstop.
By two, Declan summoned her.
This time, she wasn't alone.
Dominic was there.
He threw a photograph onto the table.
“You're using him.”
Tessa stared at it.
“I've known him four days.”
“You think that's an excuse?”
“I think you're an idiot.”
Dominic stood.
Tessa didn't move.
“You're playing with a family that kills people.”
“So does your family.”
His expression darkened.
“You don't know what you're saying.”
“I know you humiliated Leo because you thought nobody would stop you.”
Dominic stepped closer.
Then the door opened.
Leo entered.
Everyone froze.
Leo looked at Dominic.
“Leave her alone.”
Dominic laughed.
“You're defending her now?”
“Yes.”
“You're pathetic.”
Leo's hands shook.
But he didn't retreat.
“You're afraid of me.”
Dominic's smile disappeared.
“What?”
“You're afraid I'll become stronger than you.”
Dominic stepped toward him.
Leo didn't move.
Declan entered before things escalated.
“What is happening?”
Dominic pointed at Tessa.
“She manipulated him.”
Leo looked at his father.
“No.”
Declan stared.
“She did not.”
The room became silent.
Leo continued.
“I know what manipulation looks like.”
His voice was quiet.
“I've watched you do it my entire life.”
Declan's face changed.
Leo turned toward Tessa.
“I trust her.”
Dominic laughed bitterly.
“Then you're going to lose everything.”
Leo looked at him.
“Maybe.”
Then he said something that shocked everyone.
“Maybe losing your empire is better than becoming you.”
Declan's eyes widened.
Leo walked out.
Tessa followed.
Outside, she grabbed his arm.
“Are you insane?”
“Probably.”
“You just challenged your entire family.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
Leo looked at her.
“Because you were right.”
“About what?”
“I need to stand up.”
That night, Leo took Tessa to an abandoned office building owned by the Gallagher company.
Inside a locked room was a metal cabinet.
Leo opened it.
Documents filled the shelves.
“What's this?”
“My mother's records.”
Tessa examined them.
Bank transfers.
Property deeds.
Company shares.
Then she saw a name.
Dominic Gallagher.
She looked at Leo.
“Your cousin?”
“Yes.”
“He has been transferring money from your trust.”
Leo nodded.
“For years.”
“How much?”
“Almost forty million.”
Tessa stared.
“Your father knows?”
“I don't know.”
A document slipped from the folder.
Tessa picked it up.
Her blood went cold.
It was an old medical evaluation.
Leo's name was at the top.
The report stated that Leo was fully capable of managing his inherited assets.
But beneath it was another document.
A second evaluation.
This one declared him incompetent.
Same doctor.
Different conclusion.
Tessa looked at the signature.
“Who paid the doctor?”
Leo took the paper.
His face drained of color.
“Dominic.”
A sound came from the hallway.
They both froze.
Footsteps.
Someone was coming.
Leo turned off the light.
Tessa grabbed his hand.
The door handle moved.
Once.
Twice.
Then someone whispered:
“Leo?”
May you like
Leo recognized the voice.
His father.
