Homeless Boy Shouts ‘Don’t Eat That!’ Billionaire Freezes When He Finds Out Why
Chapter 7
The next morning, Daniel returned to his childhood home.
It had been empty for years.
He hadn’t visited since his father’s funeral.
Snow covered the driveway.
Ethan parked behind the house.
Lily and Sam stayed inside the vehicle.
Daniel stood before the front door.
For a moment, he couldn’t move.
“This is where it started,” Ethan said.
Daniel nodded.
“Where what started?”
“The theft.”
They entered.
The house smelled old.
Dust covered the furniture.
Daniel walked toward his father’s study.
He remembered being seventeen.
His father had sat behind the desk, telling him that trust was the most valuable currency in business.
Daniel almost laughed.
He had believed him.
Ethan pointed toward the bookshelf.
“Move that.”
Daniel did.
Behind it was a hidden compartment.
Inside were files.
Bank records.
Photographs.
Passports.
Daniel opened one.
His father’s photograph stared back.
But the passport was issued five years after his supposed death.
Daniel’s hands trembled.
“He was alive.”
Ethan nodded.
“For years.”
“Where?”
“Europe. South America. Asia.”
Daniel looked through the files.
His father had built shell companies.
Transferred money.
Manipulated acquisitions.
He had secretly controlled parts of Mercer Holdings.
Then Daniel found something unexpected.
A medical report.
His father’s blood type.
A second document.
A DNA test.
Daniel stared.
The report showed a match between Richard Mercer and Lily.
Daniel looked at Ethan.
“My father knew about her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Ethan didn’t answer.
Lily entered the room.
She saw the papers.
“What does it mean?”
Daniel couldn’t speak.
Ethan explained.
“Your grandfather was monitoring you.”
Lily looked shocked.
“Why?”
“Because he believed you would inherit everything.”
Daniel frowned.
“She isn’t my heir.”
Ethan looked at him.
“According to your father’s documents, she is.”
Daniel read further.
The documents stated that Richard believed Daniel would eventually destroy the family business.
He wanted Lily to inherit instead.
But there was another clause.
Lily would only receive the company if Daniel died before she turned twenty-five.
Daniel’s blood ran cold.
She was twenty.
That meant someone had a five-year window.
Ethan looked at him.
“Now you understand the assassination attempt.”
Daniel nodded.
“But why poison me now?”
“Because you’re about to acquire Vale Systems.”
Daniel stared.
Vale Systems was the company he was scheduled to purchase the following morning.
A $2.4 billion acquisition.
The board vote would give him control.
Unless he died.
Then Lily would inherit his controlling shares.
Daniel looked at the files.
“Who owns Vale Systems?”
Ethan smiled bitterly.
“Your father.”
Daniel froze.
The acquisition wasn’t an acquisition.
It was a trap.
His father had built the company secretly.
The board had been manipulated.
Martin was only one piece.
Then Sam spoke from the doorway.
“I found another name.”
Daniel turned.
The boy handed him a torn newspaper clipping.
The headline read:
RETIRED BILLIONAIRE LIVING QUIETLY IN SWITZERLAND
Daniel stared at the photograph.
His father’s face.
Alive.
Daniel’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A man’s voice spoke.
“You’ve found the house.”
Daniel’s blood ran cold.
“Father?”
A pause.
Then:
“Hello, Daniel.”
The line went dead.
