Chapter 15 - THE FATHER WHO ERASED HIS DAUGHTERS
Lily had not spoken to her father in eleven years.
Jonathan Hartwell was a respected banking executive.
He donated millions to hospitals.
He appeared in photographs beside senators and foreign leaders.
He had also abandoned Lily’s mother before Lily was born.
Grace had discovered Lily’s existence as a teenager.
Their father forbade them from meeting.
They met anyway.
Evelyn searched federal databases.
Jonathan’s name appeared in none of Grace’s official reports.
That made him more suspicious.
“Grace must have hidden the connection.”
Lily remembered the second vault Marcus mentioned.
“My father controlled several private banks.”
Thomas Hale nodded.
“He could hide money without leaving ordinary records.”
Evelyn arranged a secure transfer for Ethan and Lily.
They were taken to an undisclosed safe house outside Chicago.
Victor’s transport vehicle was later found beneath an overpass.
Two fake agents were dead.
Victor was gone.
There was no blood belonging to him.
Lily did not know whether he had escaped or been taken.
That evening, a package arrived at the safe house.
No courier appeared on the cameras.
Inside was Grace’s childhood music box.
Lily wound the handle.
A familiar melody played.
Then the base opened.
A handwritten note rested inside.
Lily recognized Grace’s writing.
Father knows about Ethan.
Do not let him claim the child.
Beneath the note was a birth certificate.
Ethan’s original birth record listed Victor as his father.
A second document had been filed three days later.
It granted Jonathan Hartwell temporary control of Ethan’s trust if both parents died or became legally incapacitated.
Lily looked at Evelyn.
“He was waiting for Victor and Grace to die.”
A phone inside the box began ringing.
Lily answered.
Her father’s voice had not changed.
“Hello, Lilian.”
Her hands trembled.
“Where is Victor?”
“Alive.”
“What do you want?”
“My grandson.”
“He is not yours.”
Jonathan laughed softly.
“Blood says otherwise.”
Lily looked toward Ethan.
Jonathan continued.
“Grace discovered that Serena and Adrian were stealing from me.”
“They believed they were taking Victor’s empire.”
“They were actually taking mine.”
“Where is Victor?”
“At the place where Grace learned the truth.”
The call disconnected.
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A second later, the safe house alarm activated.
Someone had opened the front gate using Evelyn’s private code.
