Chapter 20 - The Trust
Richard stepped from the shadows holding a gun.
He was bleeding.
His face was pale.
But his eyes were steady.
Anna stood in front of Samuel.
“You're not taking him.”
Richard looked at her.
“I don't want him.”
“Then what do you want?”
“The trust.”
Evan stepped forward.
“You've destroyed everything for a piece of paper.”
Richard laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
“Explain.”
“The trust isn't money.”
He pointed at me.
“It never was.”
Everyone went silent.
Richard looked at me.
“Your father created it because he knew the merger would eventually expose what we had done.”
“What did you do?”
“I moved assets.”
“Like Victor?”
“Victor stole. I protected.”
Anna laughed bitterly.
“You killed me.”
“I thought you were going to expose us.”
“I survived.”
Richard looked at her.
“Yes.”
“You told everyone I was dead.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor was coming for Samuel.”
Anna shook her head.
“You could have told David.”
“David couldn't be trusted.”
The investigator stepped forward.
“You're going to jail.”
Richard smiled.
“Maybe.”
He raised the gun.
Evan moved in front of me.
Richard fired.
The bullet hit the wall.
Police tackled him.
The gun skidded across the floor.
Samuel screamed.
Anna held him.
Diane collapsed.
Richard was handcuffed.
But before they took him away, he looked at me.
“You still don't know what your father did.”
I stared at him.
“My father?”
“Open the trust.”
The investigator found the original deed in Richard's coat.
He handed it to me.
My hands shook as I opened it.
The first page contained the names.
Natalie Lane.
Evan Brooks.
Samuel Brooks.
And Anna Brooks.
But then I saw a final clause.
Beneficiary rights shall transfer only when all four heirs are alive and legally acknowledged.
Evan stared.
“Four?”
“There are only three children.”
Anna looked at me.
“No.”
She whispered.
“There are four.”
I turned the page.
At the bottom was a name I had never seen before.
LUCAS BROOKS.
Birth date.
Twelve years after Evan.
Four years after Samuel.
I stared.
“That can't be.”
David’s handwriting appeared below the name.
Lucas is not to be told of his inheritance until the others are reunited.
Evan looked at Anna.
“Who is Lucas?”
She didn't answer.
Rachel stepped forward.
“Anna?”
Anna's face went white.
“There was another child.”
“Whose?”
Anna looked at me.
“David's.”
My heart stopped.
“Another son?”
She nodded.
“But he wasn't born to me.”
Evan's expression hardened.
“Then who?”
Anna looked toward Diane.
Diane began crying.
“No.”
Evan turned.
“Mom?”
Diane shook her head.
“No.”
Anna whispered the truth.
“Lucas is Diane’s son.”
The room went silent.
Evan stared at his mother.
Diane couldn't look at him.
“You had another child?”
Diane nodded.
“Before you were born,” she whispered.
“Why didn't I know?”
“Because he was taken.”
“By who?”
Diane looked at Richard.
Richard smiled.
“I gave him away.”
Evan stepped toward him.
“You did what?”
“I needed the fourth heir gone.”
Anna screamed.
“You said he died!”
Richard shrugged.
“I lied.”
Diane collapsed into a chair.
“My baby…”
She covered her face.
“I was told he was dead.”
Richard laughed.
“You believed exactly what I needed you to believe.”
I felt sick.
“How old is he?”
Diane looked at the deed.
Then at the date.
“Twelve.”
Samuel stared at Evan.
“There's another brother.”
Evan nodded slowly.
“Apparently.”
The investigator moved toward Richard.
“Where is Lucas?”
Richard smiled.
“I don't know.”
The room became silent again.
Then my phone rang.
No number.
Everyone looked at me.
I answered.
A boy's voice spoke.
He sounded young.
Calm.
“I was told not to call you.”
My heart hammered.
“Who is this?”
“I think you know.”
“Lucas?”
Silence.
Then:
“Yes.”
Evan grabbed my hand.
“Where are you?”
The boy hesitated.
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because the man watching me is standing right beside me.”
I stopped breathing.
“What man?”
The boy whispered:
“He says his name is Victor.”
The line went dead.
Nobody spoke.
The investigator immediately began giving orders.
Anna pulled Samuel close.
Diane was crying.
Evan stared at me.
I stared at the phone.
Victor was alive.
Lucas was alive.
Richard was in custody.
And somehow, the one man we thought had finally been cornered still had another child hidden somewhere beyond our reach.
Then Evan noticed something on the floor.
The trust deed.
A small handwritten note had fallen from behind the last page.
He picked it up.
His face changed.
“What?”
He handed it to me.
The note was written in David’s handwriting.
Find Lucas.
But whatever you do…
Do not let him meet his mother.
I looked at Diane.
She whispered through her tears:
“Why?”
No one answered.
And for the first time that night, I realized something terrifying.
We had spent years trying to uncover the family secret.
But maybe the secret was never who Victor was.
May you like
Maybe it was what David had been protecting his children from.
And somewhere out there, a twelve-year-old boy was already carrying the answer.
