Chapter 11 - WHY MY MOTHER CHOSE DAD
The house was quiet after my grandfather was taken away.
Nobody celebrated.
There was too much left unresolved.
My father sat across from my mother.
“What did he mean?”
She looked at him.
“I knew who you were.”
“What?”
“When I met you, I already knew about your family.”
Dad stared.
“You approached me because of the trust?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because I loved you.”
He looked away.
“Then why hide everything?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Of losing you.”
She explained that she had initially approached the family because she was investigating her own father's death.
She discovered that her father had been killed after refusing to cooperate with my grandfather.
She found the trust.
Then she discovered Lillian.
She fell in love with Dad.
And everything became complicated.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your grandfather threatened to kill you.”
Dad closed his eyes.
“I would have fought him.”
“I know.”
“That is why I couldn't tell you.”
Then my mother revealed something else.
Grandma had known about her investigation.
She helped her.
Together, they created the protected trust.
But Grandma became ill.
My mother continued alone.
Then Lillian disappeared.
My mother was forced underground.
She had survived for six years.
Waiting.
Watching.
Protecting me.
I cried.
“You watched me grow up.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you come?”
“Because I knew Vanessa was watching.”
Dad looked at her.
“Vanessa was never working alone.”
“No.”
“Who was behind her?”
“Robert.”
Dad nodded.
“We know.”
“No.”
My mother shook her head.
“Robert worked for someone else.”
Dad stared.
“Who?”
She looked at the family photograph.
“Your grandmother.”
Dad froze.
“What?”
“Before she died, she asked Robert to do something.”
“What?”
“To protect Lily.”
Dad stared.
“My mother hired Robert?”
“Yes.”
“To protect us?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he betray her?”
“Money.”
My mother explained.
Robert had switched sides.
He believed my grandfather would eventually win.
So he manipulated Vanessa.
He forged documents.
He arranged the attacks.
And he helped separate the children.
Dad looked devastated.
“My mother trusted the wrong man.”
My mother nodded.
“But she didn't die without a plan.”
She opened Grandma's final letter.
Inside was a list.
Names.
Dates.
Accounts.
And one final instruction.
Bring the children together.
Dad looked at me.
Then Lillian.
Then Thomas.
Then Clara.
The four heirs.
We sat together at the table.
For the first time, nobody was trying to separate us.
But there was still one problem.
The company.
The trust controlled billions.
And the board wanted a new leader.
The attorneys said the family had to choose.
Dad refused.
“Lily is six.”
The attorney nodded.
“Then the trustees manage her shares.”
My mother looked at me.
“What does Lily want?”
Everyone looked at me.
I thought about Vanessa's words.
You do not belong at this table.
I looked at the dining room.
Then I smiled.
“I want everyone to sit together.”
Dad smiled.
“That is a good beginning.”
But the next morning, a new problem arrived.
The board had filed an emergency motion.
They claimed the trust was invalid.
Why?
Because one of the heirs was allegedly not biologically related.
Lillian.
Thomas.
Clara.
One of them.
The DNA test had been altered.
Dad stared at the report.
“This is impossible.”
My mother looked at the signature.
Then she whispered:
“Robert.”
But Robert was in jail.
So someone else had forged the test.
Someone still inside the company.
Dad called security.
“Lock down the building.”
Then his phone rang.
A text message.
You found the wrong traitor.
Dad stared.
Another message arrived.
May you like
The traitor is sitting beside you.
Everyone looked at each other.
