Chapter 10: The Secret Beneficiary
Chapter 10: The Secret Beneficiary
The digital forensics lab was silent as the final frame of the bridge footage remained frozen on the monitor.
Margaret stood beside the guardrail.
Victor Hale was only a few feet away.
And Ava had just disappeared into the darkness below.
Detective Brooks exhaled slowly.
"Duplicate this file immediately."
The technician nodded.
"Already making three encrypted copies."
"One stays here."
"One goes to the District Attorney."
"And one?"
Brooks looked at the screen.
"One never leaves my possession."
He had investigated enough high-profile cases to know that evidence had a way of disappearing when powerful families were involved.
Not this time.
The following morning...
News of Margaret Carter's arrest spread across the city.
Television crews gathered outside Carter International Headquarters.
Employees whispered in the lobby.
Shareholders demanded answers.
The company's board called an emergency meeting.
Ethan arrived carrying only a single folder.
Every conversation stopped as he entered the boardroom.
Twenty executives stared at him.
Board Chairman Harold Bennett stood.
"Ethan..."
"We're deeply sorry."
Ethan nodded but remained focused.
"My personal situation can wait."
"The company cannot."
He placed several documents on the table.
"Effective immediately, Margaret Carter is suspended from all executive authority pending the criminal investigation."
No one objected.
The vote was unanimous.
For the first time in thirty years...
Margaret no longer controlled the Carter family empire.
At the county detention center...
Margaret sat across from her attorney.
"They're taking everything," she said coldly.
"Not everything."
"They removed me from the board."
The attorney leaned forward.
"That's the least of your concerns."
He slid a folder across the table.
"The prosecution officially added attempted murder charges."
Margaret barely reacted.
"They still don't know why."
The attorney frowned.
"What do you mean?"
She smiled faintly.
"They're chasing the crime."
"They're not chasing the reason."
Meanwhile...
Detective Brooks received an urgent phone call from the financial crimes division.
"We found something unusual."
"What?"
"The forged property transfers weren't the only documents Margaret prepared."
Brooks grabbed his jacket.
"I'm on my way."
Inside the Financial Crimes Unit...
Analyst Rebecca Collins spread dozens of documents across a conference table.
"We traced several shell companies connected to Margaret."
She pointed to a flowchart.
"Money moved through four different corporations."
"Then into offshore accounts."
Brooks studied the records.
"How much?"
"Nearly eighty million dollars."
He looked up.
"Eighty million?"
Rebecca nodded.
"And that's only what we've found so far."
Ramirez frowned.
"What was the money for?"
Rebecca slid over another file.
"We don't know."
"But every transfer had the same coded reference."
Brooks read it aloud.
Project Legacy.
At Mercy General Hospital...
Ava had begun physical therapy again.
For the first time in months...
She insisted on doing every exercise without medication.
Dr. Harper watched carefully.
"You've made remarkable progress."
Ava smiled.
"My mind feels clear."
She managed to lift herself from the wheelchair using the parallel bars.
Her legs trembled violently.
Ethan stood nearby.
"You don't have to push yourself."
"I do."
She took one careful step.
Then another.
Pain shot through both legs.
She nearly fell.
Ethan caught her.
"I'm okay."
She looked determined.
"I have to know if I can walk again."
Dr. Harper's smile grew.
"Your strength is returning faster than expected."
"The sedatives suppressed more than your memory."
"They weakened your muscles."
"Now your body is finally beginning to heal."
Hope filled the room.
That afternoon...
Detective Brooks returned to Victor Hale.
Victor looked exhausted after the attack on his life.
"I have another question."
Victor nodded.
"Ask."
"What was Project Legacy?"
Victor's face immediately changed.
"I was afraid you'd find that."
Brooks sat down.
"Tell me."
Victor rubbed his forehead.
"It wasn't just about money."
"It was about inheritance."
Brooks frowned.
"Whose inheritance?"
Victor hesitated.
Then quietly answered.
"The original Carter fortune."
Brooks waited.
Victor looked directly into his eyes.
"Ethan isn't the only heir."
The detective froze.
"What did you just say?"
Victor swallowed hard.
"Richard Carter had another child."
The room fell silent.
Brooks stared at him.
"Explain."
Victor nodded slowly.
"Years before Ethan was born..."
"Richard had a daughter."
"Her name was Grace."
Brooks quickly checked his notes.
"There are no public records."
"There wouldn't be."
"Margaret made sure of that."
Victor continued.
"Grace was born from Richard's first marriage."
"After her mother died..."
"Margaret entered Richard's life."
"What happened to Grace?"
Victor lowered his eyes.
"She disappeared."
"What do you mean disappeared?"
"Margaret told everyone she'd been sent to live overseas."
"But..."
Victor paused.
"I never believed it."
Brooks leaned forward.
"Do you know where she is now?"
Victor slowly shook his head.
"No."
"But Richard never stopped looking for her."
Across town...
Ethan sat beside Ava's hospital bed as she rested after therapy.
A nurse entered carrying a sealed envelope.
"This was delivered for Mr. Carter."
"There wasn't a return address."
Ethan frowned.
He carefully opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
An old family picture.
His father.
A little girl around six years old.
And written across the back in faded ink:
Grace Carter — Summer 1992
A second piece of paper slipped onto the bed.
It contained only one sentence.
"She's still alive."
Ethan's heart pounded.
There was no signature.
No explanation.
Only a final line typed beneath it.
"Find Grace before Margaret's people do."
As Ethan stared at the mysterious message, neither he nor Ava noticed someone watching from the parking lot below.
A man lowered a pair of binoculars.
He picked up his phone.
"They've received the photograph."
A calm voice answered.
"Good."
"Phase Two begins now."
The line went dead.
The mystery surrounding Ava's attack had just grown even larger.
Because somewhere out there...
May you like
A missing Carter heir was still alive.
And someone was willing to kill to find her first.
