Chapter 8 - THE LAST PAGE
My name wasn't beside a crime.
It was beside a bank account.
An account opened before I was born.
My mother had been depositing money into it for twenty-two years.
The total was enormous.
Forty-three million dollars.
I stared at the screen.
"Why?"
Daniel shook his head.
"We don't know."
Then we discovered the beneficiary.
Me.
The money belonged to me.
My mother had created a trust in my name.
But there was a condition.
I could only access it if every member of the hidden council was exposed.
My mother hadn't been building an inheritance.
She had been building a weapon.
The account contained evidence.
Emails.
Recordings.
Bank statements.
Names.
Everything.
We handed it to federal investigators.
Within days, arrests spread across Austin.
Judges.
Police officers.
Business owners.
Politicians.
The entire network collapsed.
But one person remained free.
The council's final member.
The man who had ordered the attack at our penthouse.
The man who had manipulated my mother.
The man who had threatened Marcus for years.
His name was Victor Hale.
Marcus knew him.
"He killed my father."
"Why?"
"Because my father tried to leave."
Victor wanted the entire network.
He had been manipulating everyone.
Even Isabella.
Even Rebecca, who had once worked with him.
Marcus and I traveled to an abandoned warehouse where Victor was hiding.
We entered together.
For the first time, I wasn't afraid.
Marcus noticed.
"You okay?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
He smiled.
"You've become dangerous."
"Maybe I married the wrong man."
He laughed.
The sound surprised me.
I had rarely heard him laugh.
Then the lights came on.
Victor stood above us.
"Marcus Valentino."
Marcus stepped forward.
"Victor."
Victor smiled.
"You were always your father's weakness."
"And you were always a coward."
Gunfire erupted.
Marcus pulled me behind a concrete wall.
His men returned fire.
Victor escaped through a back exit.
We chased him.
He reached the roof.
Rain poured across the city.
Marcus followed.
I stayed behind.
Then I heard Marcus shout.
Victor had him at gunpoint.
"You always lose what you love."
Marcus looked at me.
"Emma, run."
I refused.
Victor turned toward me.
"Come closer."
I did.
Marcus shook his head.
"Don't."
I kept walking.
Victor smiled.
"Good girl."
Then I threw the metal flashlight I was holding.
It struck his wrist.
His gun dropped.
Marcus tackled him.
They crashed onto the wet roof.
Victor reached for another weapon.
I kicked it away.
Marcus pinned him.
Federal agents arrived seconds later.
Victor was arrested.
The war was over.
But when we returned home, Marcus stood silently by the window.
I walked toward him.
"What?"
He looked at me.
"Nothing."
"You look sad."
"I don't know what to do now."
"About what?"
"My life."
I took his hand.
"You live it."
"How?"
"With me."
He stared at me.
"Emma."
I smiled.
"For three years, you protected me by pretending you didn't love me."
He nodded.
"Now you can protect me by loving me openly."
His eyes filled with emotion.
"I don't deserve you."
"Maybe."
I smiled.
"But you're stuck with me."
He laughed.
Then he kissed me.
This time there was no fear.
No contract.
No arrangement.
Only us.
But the next morning, Marcus received a call.
The voice on the other end said:
"Your father left one secret behind."
Marcus went silent.
"What secret?"
May you like
The caller answered:
"An heir."
