Chapter 8 - THE TRUST THAT CHOSE ME.
My mother stepped forward
Older.
Of course.
But unmistakable.
My grandmother.
She was sitting beside the fireplace.
Calm.
Elegant.
Alive.
My father stopped walking.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
She smiled.
“Everyone thought so.”
My mother began crying.
“You ruined my life.”
My grandmother looked at her.
“You were weak.”
“You took my daughter.”
“I protected the family.”
“You destroyed it.”
My grandmother looked at me.
“No.”
She pointed toward my stomach.
“I protected the heir.”
My father stepped forward.
“You don't own her.”
“She belongs to the family.”
I felt anger rising.
“I belong to myself.”
My grandmother laughed softly.
“You sound like your mother.”
“I am nothing like you.”
She looked at me.
“That's what makes you dangerous.”
I stepped closer.
“You sent Damon.”
“I approved him.”
“You tried to take my home.”
“I tried to secure the inheritance.”
“You put me in a kennel.”
Her expression changed.
“That was not my instruction.”
“Then why did it happen?”
She looked toward Evelyn.
Evelyn lowered her head.
“Damon exceeded the plan.”
My grandmother's face hardened.
“Idiotic.”
I stared.
“You knew about it.”
“I knew enough.”
“You knew I was pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“You knew he was cheating.”
“Yes.”
“And you still let it happen.”
“You were supposed to leave him.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You planned to destroy my marriage.”
“I planned to remove a threat.”
“Me?”
“No.”
She looked at my father.
“Arthur.”
My father froze.
“You?”
My grandmother nodded.
“Your father was investigating the trust.”
My father frowned.
“I didn't know.”
“You didn't need to.”
She explained that my father had been searching for evidence of the family network.
He had accidentally discovered that my grandmother had hidden assets in my name.
He had been trying to protect me.
But she feared he would expose everything.
So she created the illusion of his involvement.
The forged documents.
The secret accounts.
The photograph.
Everything had been designed to make me distrust him.
I looked at my father.
He looked devastated.
“I spent twenty-nine years believing I failed you.”
My grandmother shrugged.
“That was the point.”
My mother stepped forward.
“You're sick.”
My grandmother looked at her.
“No.”
She smiled.
“I am practical.”
Then she looked at me.
“You have two choices.”
“What?”
“Sign the trust away.”
“And the second?”
“Refuse.”
“What happens?”
She smiled.
“Then your child becomes the target.”
My father moved instantly.
“You threaten my grandchild?”
She remained calm.
“I don't need to.”
She pointed toward the window.
A black vehicle sat outside.
“You should ask yourself who is driving it.”
My father looked.
His face changed.
James Warren stepped out.
He wasn't alone.
Damon was beside him.
He had been released on bail.
My stomach tightened.
My grandmother smiled.
“You see?”
“You arranged this.”
“I arranged everything.”
My father stepped forward.
“You won't touch my daughter.”
My grandmother smiled.
“Then perhaps we should discuss the final clause.”
She handed Rachel a document.
Rachel read it.
Then her expression changed.
“What?”
She looked at me.
“Emily…”
“What does it say?”
“The trust requires the heir to remain married until the child is born.”
My heart stopped.
My grandmother smiled.
“Exactly.”
She had planned one final trap.
If I divorced Damon before the baby was born, I could lose control of the inheritance.
If I stayed married, Damon remained legally connected to me.
Either way, she thought she won.
But Rachel turned another page.
Her eyes widened.
“There is an amendment.”
My grandmother's smile disappeared.
“What amendment?”
Rachel looked at her.
“The amendment was signed three months ago.”
“By whom?”
Rachel looked at me.
“Emily.”
I froze.
“I never signed anything.”
Rachel smiled.
“You didn't.”
She turned the page.
“Your mother did.”
May you like
My grandmother stood.
For the first time, she looked afraid.
