Julian moved first.
He stepped between Elena and the corridor.
"Stay here."
"No."
"Elena."
"We leave together."
A shadow passed beneath the door.
Then the lights went out.
The darkness was complete.
Elena heard Julian breathe.
A metallic object struck the floor somewhere outside.
Then came the smell of smoke.
"Fire," Julian whispered.
Elena grabbed his arm.
"We're leaving."
They moved toward the staircase.
Smoke began creeping beneath the archive door.
Someone had started a fire in the corridor.
Julian pulled the emergency release.
The door opened.
Heat struck them immediately.
"Back!"
He slammed it shut.
The archive was sealed.
Elena looked around.
"There has to be another exit."
"There is."
"Where?"
"Your mother's office."
They moved through the shelves.
Julian found a hidden panel.
He pressed it.
Nothing happened.
"Try the key."
Elena inserted the key.
The panel opened.
Behind it was a narrow passage.
They entered.
The door closed behind them.
Smoke remained outside.
The passage led upward.
At the top, another door opened into an abandoned office.
Elena coughed.
Julian closed the door.
They could hear distant alarms.
"Who knew we were here?"
Elena asked.
"I don't know."
"You called no one."
"No."
"I told no one."
"No."
She looked at him.
"Then someone was already watching us."
Julian nodded.
"Yes."
They left through a rear stairwell.
Outside, firefighters were already arriving.
The old building had been evacuated.
Elena stood across the street.
Smoke rose from the lower windows.
She watched until the fire crews entered.
Julian stood beside her.
"The archive is gone."
"Not everything."
He looked at her.
She held up a small folder.
She had taken it before they escaped.
The label read:
ORIGINAL AGREEMENTS.
Julian stared.
"You took that?"
"Yes."
He almost smiled.
"Your mother would be proud."
Elena looked at the burning building.
"I don't want her approval anymore."
"Why?"
"Because I need to make my own decisions."
The next morning, investigators determined that the fire had been deliberately started.
No one had been injured.
The official report called it arson.
Elena called Margaret.
No answer.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
Her heart tightened.
She contacted the address Margaret had given her.
A neighbor answered.
"Margaret?"
"She left last night."
"Did she say where?"
"No."
Elena ended the call.
Someone had reached Margaret.
She knew it.
Julian looked at her.
"We need security."
"We already have it."
"More."
Elena nodded.
Then she opened the recovered folder.
Inside were original agreements from years earlier.
One contained Evelyn's signature.
Another contained Richard's.
A third contained Alexander's.
The fourth had no signature.
But the handwriting was unmistakable.
Victoria's.
Elena read the document.
It was an agreement between a private intermediary and Blackridge.
Victoria had provided information about Sterling Holdings.
In exchange, she would receive a percentage of the recovery profits.
Elena closed her eyes.
Victoria had not created the entire conspiracy.
But she had participated.
She had given Blackridge access.
She had used the company's weakness for personal gain.
And she had helped create the pressure that eventually made Alexander desperate.
Elena called Victoria.
She answered immediately.
"Elena?"
"I know."
Victoria went silent.
"I found the agreement."
Another silence.
"Where?"
"Does it matter?"
"No."
"Did you sign it?"
Victoria began crying.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I was trying to save the family."
"By selling information?"
"I thought I could control it."
"You couldn't."
"I know."
"Did Alexander know?"
"No."
"Did Richard?"
"No."
"Who else?"
Victoria didn't answer.
"Victoria."
"I don't know."
"You do."
"I swear I don't."
Elena heard something in her voice.
Fear.
Not guilt.
Fear.
"Who are you afraid of?"
Victoria whispered.
"Daniel."
Elena froze.
"Daniel Cross?"
"Yes."
"He's been gone for years."
"He never left."
"What?"
"Not really."
Victoria was crying harder now.
"He disappeared from the company, but he continued working through other people."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"How did he contact you?"
"Letters."
"Where are they?"
"At the old house."
"The mansion?"
"Yes."
"Is anyone there?"
"No."
Elena ended the call.
She turned to Julian.
"We're going to the old Sterling house."
They arrived an hour later.
The mansion was empty.
Dust covered the furniture.
The rooms felt smaller without people.
Victoria had left most of her belongings behind.
Elena found the study.
A locked drawer contained several letters.
All unsigned.
All written in Daniel's hand.
The first demanded money.
The second demanded information.
The third contained a threat.
If you stop cooperating, Elena learns everything.
Elena read it twice.
"Daniel controlled Victoria."
Julian nodded.
"Looks like it."
She opened the final letter.
The date was only six weeks old.
You were warned. The girl is becoming too curious.
Elena's face hardened.
"Girl."
Julian looked over her shoulder.
"They're watching you."
"No."
She shook her head.
"They're afraid of me."
Julian said nothing.
Elena folded the letter.
Then a floorboard creaked behind them.
They turned.
A man stood in the doorway.
He was older.
Thin.
Gray hair.
A dark coat.
Elena recognized him from the photograph.
Daniel Cross.
He looked at her.
"Your mother was right."
Elena's voice remained steady.
"About what?"
"You're harder to fool than she was."
Julian stepped forward.
Daniel smiled.
"Don't."
He lifted one hand.
"I didn't come here to hurt you."
"Then why?"
"To finish something your mother started."
Elena stared at him.
"What?"
Daniel looked at the letters.
"An explanation."
"You burned the archive."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because there were things in it that should never have survived."
"You mean evidence."
"I mean people."
Elena frowned.
Daniel continued.
"Your mother built a network of secrets."
"To protect people."
"To control them."
"No."
"You don't know what she did."
Elena stepped closer.
"Then tell me."
Daniel looked at Julian.
"He knows."
Julian's face tightened.
"Don't."
Daniel laughed.
"Still protecting her."
Elena looked between them.
"What does he know?"
Daniel ignored the question.
"Your mother wasn't trying to stop Blackridge."
"Then what was she doing?"
"She was using them."
The words landed hard.
Elena stared.
"Why?"
"To find the person inside her organization who was selling information."
Elena's eyes narrowed.
"Did she know who it was?"
Daniel smiled.
"Yes."
"Who?"
"That's the part she never told anyone."
He stepped backward.
"Ask Julian."
Then he disappeared through the doorway.
Elena ran after him.
By the time she reached the hall, he was gone.
Julian remained behind.
She turned toward him.
"What did he mean?"
Julian looked exhausted.
"Your mother suspected someone inside Vance Capital."
"I know."
"She never knew who."
Daniel said she did."
"Daniel lies."
"Then why did he tell me to ask you?"
Julian stared at her.
"Because he wants you to distrust me."
"Do I?"
Julian didn't answer.
Elena walked past him.
She stopped at the front door.
"Find Daniel."
"I will."
"And find Margaret."
"I will."
She looked back.
"And Julian?"
"Yes?"
"If you know something you're hiding from me, tell me now."
He stood in silence.
Finally he said:
"There is one thing."
Elena waited.
"Your mother didn't die naturally."
The room seemed to tilt.
"What?"
Julian's face was pale.
"She was poisoned."
Elena stared at him.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because she ordered me not to."
"Why?"
"Because she knew the person responsible would come after you next."
Elena's voice became barely audible.
"Who poisoned my mother?"
Julian looked at her.
"We never found out."
Click here to continue reading: PART 11: The Truth About Evelyn’s Death Changed Everything, and Elena Realized the Conspiracy Had Been Built Around Protecting Her From One Final Betrayal
They Expected Me to Leave the Courthouse Broken, But I Had Already Made One Quiet Decision They Never Saw Coming
Part 10 of 15
