My Parents Kicked Me Out When I Locked Away My $3 Million Inheritance. They Didn't Know I Also Took The Key To Their Biggest Secret

Back at my apartment, Julian ran the decryption software.

We sat on the floor, eating takeout pizza while the computer crunched numbers.

"So," Julian said, taking a bite. "How does an eighteen-year-old stay so calm while robbing her own father's servers?"

I chuckled dryly. "I learned to perform early. Kingsley daughters don't show emotion, remember?"

"Well, you can show it here," he said softly.

I looked at him. He was genuinely kind. It was something I wasn't used to.

"Bingo," Julian suddenly announced.

The screen filled with spreadsheets, banking records, and email archives.

"Look at this," he pointed. "He didn't just embezzle the client funds. He funneled them into a shell company."

"Apex Holdings," I read off the screen. "Who owns that?"

Julian typed furiously. A few seconds later, a name popped up on the registry.

"Grant Kingsley," Julian read, his voice tight.

I felt sick. "Grant? My brother?"

"Your father used Grant's name to set up the shell company," Julian explained. "If the FBI comes knocking, the paper trail leads directly to your brother."

"Dad set him up as the fall guy," I realized, horrified.

"And Grant probably has no idea," Julian added. "He thinks he's just in debt to loan sharks. He doesn't know he's the registered owner of a massive fraud scheme."

"My grandfather must have found this," I said, putting my head in my hands. "That's why he gave me the money. He knew the whole ship was sinking."

"We have the proof now, Evelyn," Julian said. "We can take this to the authorities."

"No," I said, looking up. "Not yet."

"Why?"

"Because if we just hand this over, Dad will spin it. He'll throw Grant to the wolves to save himself."