Chapter 10 - THE WOMAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO INHERIT
The archive room erupted into chaos.
Arthur immediately moved toward me.
“Stay behind me.”
Jonathan was already calling the hospital.
The electronic record was still changing.
My name appeared again.
Then disappeared.
Then another document appeared.
A death certificate.
My death certificate.
Dated that morning.
I stared at it.
“This is impossible.”
Jonathan shook his head.
“It's digitally fabricated.”
“But it has a government seal.”
“Forged.”
“Then why is the hospital accepting it?”
“They aren't.”
He paused.
“Someone is forcing the system to display it.”
Thomas smiled.
“You're looking at the power of the trust.”
I turned toward him.
“You created this?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
He looked at Lily's photograph.
“She did.”
I froze.
“Lily?”
Thomas nodded.
“She has spent years preparing.”
I couldn't believe it.
“She has been waiting for me to die.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she believes the trust belongs to her.”
Michael stepped forward.
“She was manipulated.”
Thomas smiled.
“Everyone is manipulated.”
Bennett looked at him.
“Not me.”
Thomas laughed.
“You were the easiest of all.”
Bennett's face tightened.
“You used my mother.”
“Yes.”
“You used Margot.”
“Yes.”
“You used me.”
“Yes.”
Bennett stepped closer.
“And now you think you'll win.”
Thomas looked at him.
“I already have.”
Then the hospital called.
Jonathan answered.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then looked at me.
“Lily is there.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“She walked into the maternity ward twenty minutes ago.”
Arthur immediately turned toward the exit.
“We're going.”
Thomas didn't stop us.
That worried me.
We reached the hospital under heavy security.
The maternity ward was locked down.
Nurses stood behind the reception desk.
Police surrounded the elevators.
Then I saw her.
Lily.
She stood at the end of the hallway.
She looked almost exactly like my mother.
For one second, I couldn't move.
She looked at me.
“Sophia.”
I swallowed.
“Are you Lily?”
“Yes.”
“You know who I am.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I've been watching you.”
I felt my heart break.
“Why?”
She looked down.
“Because I was told you took everything that belonged to me.”
“Who told you?”
She didn't answer.
“Thomas?”
She nodded.
I stepped forward.
“He lied to you.”
“I don't know.”
“He used you.”
“I know.”
I stopped.
“You know?”
She looked at me.
“I found out yesterday.”
My heart raced.
“What did you find out?”
“That my mother wasn't Eleanor.”
Silence.
“Then who?”
Lily looked toward Daniel.
“My mother was your mother.”
I froze.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“But Eleanor raised you.”
“She did.”
“Why?”
“Because she was protecting me.”
I stared.
Lily continued.
“Thomas told me I was the rightful heir.”
“And you believed him.”
“For years.”
“Why did you change your mind?”
She reached into her coat.
She pulled out a letter.
My mother's handwriting.
I recognized it immediately.
“She gave this to me when I was eighteen.”
I took it.
The letter said:
Lily,
If Thomas ever tells you Sophia stole your inheritance, do not believe him.
Sophia was never your enemy.
She is your sister.
Protect her child.
My eyes filled with tears.
I looked at Lily.
“Why didn't you come to me?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of Thomas?”
“Yes.”
“Then why come now?”
“Because he told me he planned to kill you.”
My blood went cold.
“He what?”
Lily nodded.
“He wants the baby.”
I looked toward my stomach.
Arthur stepped forward.
“Where is Thomas?”
“Gone.”
“Where?”
She pointed toward the parking garage.
“He left ten minutes ago.”
Police rushed outside.
But Thomas had already disappeared.
Then Lily grabbed my arm.
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“He has someone inside the hospital.”
“Who?”
She looked at Daniel.
“Dr. Samuel Reed.”
Daniel's face went pale.
“He's already gone.”
“No.”
Lily shook her head.
“He didn't leave.”
She pointed toward the maternity records room.
“He's waiting for the baby.”
I immediately understood.
They didn't need to hurt me.
They only needed access to the genetic records.
The hospital could be manipulated.
The trust could be challenged.
My death certificate could be forged.
And if someone created a false record saying my child was not biologically connected to the Monroe family, the entire inheritance could be frozen.
Arthur ordered security to the records room.
The door was locked.
They broke it open.
Inside, Dr. Samuel Reed stood beside a computer.
He turned.
Daniel raised his hands.
“Don't.”
Samuel laughed.
“You're too late.”
Jonathan checked the screen.
The final genetic report had been altered.
The baby's Monroe marker had been removed.
I stared.
“No.”
Samuel smiled.
“Now the trust cannot activate.”
Arthur stepped forward.
“You're under arrest.”
Samuel shook his head.
“You don't understand.”
He pointed toward the screen.
“The system already transmitted the false result.”
“To whom?”
“The court.”
Jonathan's face went pale.
“And the beneficiary?”
Samuel smiled.
“Lily Carter.”
Lily stepped forward.
“No.”
Samuel stared at her.
“You agreed.”
“I changed my mind.”
“You don't get to.”
She looked at me.
“I do.”
She held up my mother's letter.
“She told me the truth.”
Samuel's expression hardened.
“You should have stayed obedient.”
Lily looked at him.
“I spent my whole life being afraid.”
She stepped beside me.
“I'm done.”
Police arrested Samuel.
But the battle wasn't over.
The false genetic report had already been transmitted.
Jonathan began working with the court.
Arthur contacted the trustees.
Bennett stood beside me.
He took my hand.
“I don't know what happens next.”
I looked at him.
“Neither do I.”
“But I'm not leaving.”
I looked into his eyes.
This time, I believed him.
Then my water broke.
I froze.
Bennett looked down.
Arthur immediately called the medical team.
The nurses rushed toward me.
The entire hospital went into motion.
My baby was coming.
The child everyone had fought over.
The child everyone had tried to control.
The child who could expose the entire family.
As they wheeled me toward the delivery room, Lily walked beside me.
She held my hand.
“You're not alone anymore.”
I looked at her.
For the first time, I believed that too.
But just before the delivery-room doors closed, Jonathan came running down the hallway.
“Sophia!”
I turned.
He was holding a new document.
His face was pale.
“What happened?”
He looked at Arthur.
“The court accepted the false genetic report.”
My heart stopped.
“What does that mean?”
Jonathan swallowed.
“The trust has been temporarily transferred.”
“To Lily?”
He shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
He looked at me.
“The court record names a new beneficiary.”
I stared.
“Who?”
Jonathan slowly turned the document around.
At the top was one name.
THOMAS CARTER.
May you like
The delivery-room doors closed behind me.
And as the doctors prepared for the birth of my child, I realized the real battle had only just begun.
