Chapter 5 - Cornered by the Truth
Daniel skidded into the living room, breathing heavily, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw the three of us standing around Clara's rocking chair.
His eyes darted from Clara to Olivia, and finally landed on me, holding the open envelope.
"You shouldn't be here," Daniel said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, low pitch. "You've ruined everything."
"You knew," Olivia accused, stepping away from him in disgust. "You knew all along about the payments, didn't you?"
"Of course I knew!" Daniel snapped, taking a step forward. "Do you think maintaining twenty-eight million dollars in assets happens by magic? Grandmother kept this woman quiet for two decades to protect the family name!"
"To protect your inheritance, you mean," I said, my voice steady despite the adrenaline pumping through my veins. "What is in that envelope, Olivia? Read it out loud."
Olivia swallowed hard, picking the paper back up from the table.
"It's a signed affidavit from eighteen years ago," she read, her voice shaking. "It states that... that none of us are our parents' biological children."
Daniel closed his eyes, rubbing his temples in frustration.
"Shut up, Olivia."
"Keep reading," I demanded, stepping closer to him.
"We were all bought," Olivia continued, tears spilling over her lashes. "We were orphans selected from different families across the state, brought to the mansion to compete in a sick, twisted game designed by our grandmother to find a worthy heir who could outsmart her web of lies."
The silence in the room became suffocating.
Eighteen years of memories, family dinners, holidays, and shared laughter suddenly dissolved into a fabricated lie.
We weren't siblings. We were test subjects in an inheritance experiment.
"She wanted to see if nature or nurture would win," Daniel said bitterly, dropping his hands to his sides. "She wanted to see if three strangers raised as siblings could tear each other apart for twenty-eight million dollars."
Clara Vance watched us with cold, detached eyes from her rocking chair.
"And you are tearing each other apart," Clara rasped. "Just like she predicted."
"Where is the original adoption paperwork, Clara?" I asked, looking down at the elderly woman. "There has to be more. Who are our real parents?"
Clara reached out slowly and pointed a shaking finger toward the stack of cardboard boxes in the corner of the room.
"In the blue box," she whispered. "The file your grandmother tried to burn the night before she died."
Daniel lunged toward the box, but I was faster.
I sprinted across the room, shoving past him, and tore open the cardboard flaps.
Inside lay a thick manila folder labeled with a single word in my grandmother's handwriting: REVELATION.
Daniel grabbed my shoulder, spinning me around. "Hand it over. If the board sees this, the company stock will tank. I'll lose everything."
"You care more about the company than the truth?" I asked, glaring into his eyes.
"The company is my life!" Daniel yelled.
Before either of us could move, the front door of the apartment was kicked open a second time.
Three men in dark suits stepped into the hallway, blocking the exit.
May you like
One of them smiled coldly, pulling a silver badge from his jacket.
"Daniel Vance," the man said smoothly. "You're under arrest for corporate fraud and embezzlement of estate funds."
