Chapter 14: The Billion-Dollar Truth
Chapter 14: The Billion-Dollar Truth
The morning after the courthouse attack, the city awoke to a media frenzy.
Every major news network carried the same headline.
BLACKWOOD FAMILY INVESTIGATION EXPANDS.
Outside Blackwood Tower, reporters crowded the sidewalks while investors watched the company's stock continue to fall.
Inside a secure FBI conference room, Detective Brian Keller, Agent Laura Bennett, Ethan Cross, Emily, and Daniel gathered around a long table.
At the center lay three items:
Charles Blackwood's journal.
The recovered flash drive.
Michael's incomplete birth certificate.
Agent Bennett broke the silence.
"We've finally decrypted the flash drive."
Everyone looked up.
Emily's heart began to race.
"What's on it?"
The agent connected the drive to a secure monitor.
Hundreds of folders appeared.
Financial records.
Property deeds.
Bank transfers.
Shell corporations.
Each file linked Blackwood Corporation to decades of fraud.
But one folder immediately stood out.
PROJECT LEGACY
Bennett opened it.
Inside was a video recorded by Charles Blackwood less than a month before his death.
She pressed Play.
Charles appeared on the screen, older than in the family photographs but calm and composed.
"If you're watching this..."
"...then I've failed."
He paused before continuing.
"The financial crimes inside Blackwood Corporation are real."
"I signed documents I should never have signed."
"I allowed men I trusted to build an empire using corruption."
Emily lowered her eyes.
Charles continued.
"But money isn't the greatest crime."
He leaned closer to the camera.
"The greatest crime happened twenty-six years ago."
Daniel instinctively held his breath.
Charles looked directly into the camera.
"My son Daniel was never stolen from me."
"I chose him."
"I have never regretted that choice."
"But another innocent child..."
"...was stolen from his family."
The room became completely silent.
"I spent the rest of my life searching for him."
Charles reached toward the camera and held up an old photograph.
It showed two infant boys lying side by side.
One wore a blue knit cap.
The other wore a white one.
"I found evidence that he survived."
"But someone always found him before I did."
Charles's expression darkened.
"Every trail led back to one organization."
He slowly pronounced the name.
The Hawthorne Circle.
The video ended.
No one spoke for several moments.
Finally, Daniel whispered,
"My father never gave up."
Ethan nodded.
"He spent twenty-six years trying to find your brother."
Agent Bennett opened another folder.
"This is why Victor Sloan wants the evidence."
Spread across the screen appeared dozens of contracts.
One document had been highlighted by Charles.
Its title read:
Founders' Succession Agreement
Ethan frowned.
"What is that?"
Bennett zoomed in on the final paragraph.
It stated:
If any founder dies without a verified biological heir, ownership of all founder-controlled assets shall be redistributed equally among the surviving founders or their biological descendants.
Daniel looked confused.
"So?"
Emily suddenly understood.
"Oh my God..."
Keller nodded grimly.
"If Daniel isn't Charles's biological son..."
"...then legally Charles died without a biological heir."
The room fell silent.
Bennett continued.
"That clause transferred billions of dollars in founder-controlled assets."
"To whom?" Emily asked.
Agent Bennett clicked another page.
Only one beneficiary remained alive.
Victor Sloan.
Across town, Margaret sat inside her attorney's office.
The television behind them reported the latest developments.
She watched Charles's recorded confession without blinking.
Her attorney muted the broadcast.
"You never told me about the succession agreement."
Margaret remained silent.
"Margaret."
She slowly closed her eyes.
"Charles wanted to destroy everything."
"No."
"He wanted to expose the truth."
Margaret looked toward the window.
"He didn't understand."
"Understand what?"
She whispered,
"Victor was never after the money."
At that moment, Richard Hawthorne regained enough strength to speak with investigators.
Still lying in his hospital bed, he motioned for Keller to come closer.
"I remembered something."
"What?"
"The founders signed two agreements."
Keller frowned.
"Two?"
Richard nodded weakly.
"The succession agreement..."
"...and another one."
"What was it called?"
Richard struggled to breathe.
"The Guardianship Pact."
Ethan looked confused.
"I've never heard of it."
"Almost no one has."
Richard closed his eyes for a moment before continuing.
"It stated that..."
"...if anything happened to the biological heirs..."
"...the remaining founders would become their legal guardians."
Emily stared at him.
"So whoever controlled the heir..."
"...controlled everything."
Richard nodded.
"Exactly."
Meanwhile, the mysterious young man known only as Michael sat in a modest apartment across the city.
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered cautiously.
"Hello?"
A calm voice replied.
"You've been asking questions about your childhood."
Michael stiffened.
"Who is this?"
"You deserve answers."
His pulse quickened.
"What answers?"
"Meet me tonight."
"Where?"
The caller gave an address.
Then added one sentence.
"Bring the blue baby cap."
The line went dead.
Michael looked at the tiny knitted cap lying on his kitchen table.
He had owned it for as long as he could remember.
His adoptive father had always claimed it was the only thing left with him when he was found as an infant.
For years, Michael believed the story.
Now...
He wasn't so sure.
Late that evening, Ethan reviewed the founders' agreement one final time.
Something bothered him.
He flipped through every page until he noticed a handwritten amendment in Charles's handwriting.
It had never been signed.
It read:
Upon verification of the missing child's identity, all succession rights become null and revert to the rightful heir.
Ethan's eyes widened.
If Michael were proven to be the missing twin...
Victor Sloan wouldn't inherit billions.
He would lose everything.
Suddenly, Ethan understood.
Victor hadn't spent twenty-six years hiding Michael.
He'd spent twenty-six years controlling him.
Because as long as Michael's true identity remained hidden...
Victor remained the richest and most powerful man connected to the Blackwood empire.
Ethan immediately grabbed his phone.
He called Keller.
"We're looking at this all wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"Michael isn't just a witness."
"He isn't just Daniel's brother."
"He is the only person standing between Victor Sloan..."
"...and a billion-dollar fortune."
Before Keller could answer, another call came through on Ethan's phone.
It was an unknown number.
He answered.
A calm male voice said only six words.
"You've found him."
Then the caller hung up.
Ethan slowly lowered the phone.
May you like
Someone else already knew the truth.
And now Michael's life was in greater danger than ever before.
