“Marry Me and I’ll Help Raise Your Daughters” — Billionaire to Single Dad, His Daughter Said…
Chapter 9
Richard contacted us two days before the wedding.
Not directly.
He sent a video.
In it, he stood inside an abandoned warehouse.
Behind him was a wall covered with photographs.
My daughters.
Victoria.
Me.
Rachel.
He looked into the camera.
“You should have stayed out of this.”
I watched in silence.
Richard continued.
“You think you can destroy me with old records?”
He laughed.
“You still don’t understand what your wife discovered.”
The video showed another file.
A bank transfer.
A payment made by Rachel to another account.
I looked at Victoria.
“What’s that?”
She shook her head.
Richard continued.
“She wasn’t just investigating us.”
“She was building something.”
He smiled.
“She was preparing to expose people who were more powerful than your family.”
The video ended.
We searched Rachel’s files again.
This time, we found a hidden folder.
PROJECT DAWN.
It contained names of executives from several companies.
Banks.
Hospitals.
Construction firms.
Politicians.
Not because Rachel was involved in politics.
Because the network had spread beyond Sterling.
Richard wasn’t the final target.
He was only one part of a larger operation.
And Rachel had found evidence.
I asked Margaret.
“Did she know?”
“Yes.”
“She wanted to expose everyone.”
“Yes.”
“And that’s why they killed her.”
“Probably.”
Victoria looked at the list.
“We need more than one company.”
“Then why did Richard focus on us?”
“Because the Sterling trust controls the largest remaining asset.”
The land beneath the children’s foundation.
If Richard gained control, the asset could be sold.
He needed Victoria removed.
He needed me discredited.
He needed Rachel’s evidence destroyed.
But he hadn’t counted on the memory card.
The next morning, federal investigators told us something disturbing.
Someone had tried to access the evidence server.
One of the investigators had been compromised.
The entire case could collapse.
We decided to move everything.
The wedding would happen.
Then the evidence would go public through multiple channels simultaneously.
No single person could erase it.
Victoria was terrified.
“Are we putting the girls at risk?”
I looked at her.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ll protect them.”
“That’s not enough.”
She took my face in her hands.
“We protect them together.”
I smiled.
“Together.”
The wedding morning arrived.
The girls woke before sunrise.
Sophie wore a robe.
Emma was carrying the rings.
Victoria’s dress was waiting upstairs.
I stood alone for a moment.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Richard.
If you marry her, the girls die.
I felt my blood run cold.
I showed Victoria.
She read it.
Then looked at me.
“Don’t cancel.”
“What?”
“Don’t let fear make the decision.”
“You just said you’re terrified.”
“I am.”
She took my hand.
“But I won’t let him decide what happens to our family.”
Our family.
She had said it without hesitation.
I looked at her.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
She kissed my forehead.
“Let’s get married.”
