Millionaire Sent Her $200K by Mistake — And He Never Expected What She Did Next!
Chapter 10
When the lights returned, Voss was gone.
So was Michael.
Emma stood beside the vault door.
Daniel was furious.
“He took my father.”
“No.”
Emma pointed.
A message was scratched into the metal.
FOLLOW THE MONEY.
Daniel looked at her.
“It’s a clue.”
They returned to the office.
The banking records showed something strange.
Money had been transferred from Victor Whitmore’s accounts to a trust.
The beneficiary was listed as Thomas Reed.
Daniel stared.
“My mother’s maiden name was Reed.”
Emma frowned.
“Your mother?”
“Before she married my father.”
Daniel searched further.
Thomas Reed wasn’t his uncle.
He was his half-brother.
His father’s secret son.
The third key had been passed through the family.
And Thomas had disappeared as a child.
Emma asked:
“Where is he?”
Daniel didn’t know.
But the records showed a recent payment.
A warehouse near the harbor.
They went there.
A man was waiting.
Early thirties.
Dark hair.
Same gray eyes as Daniel.
He held the third key.
Daniel stopped.
“Thomas?”
The man smiled.
“Hello, brother.”
Emma looked between them.
Thomas stepped closer.
“You look just like Dad.”
Daniel stared.
“I thought you were dead.”
“Everyone did.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor made me disappear.”
Thomas handed him the key.
“I’ve been working against him for eight years.”
Daniel frowned.
“Then why hide?”
“Because he controls half the people in this city.”
Thomas looked at Emma.
“And because your father asked me to protect her.”
Emma stared.
“My father knew you?”
“Of course.”
“He knew you were alive?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t he tell me?”
Thomas smiled sadly.
“Because every piece of information was a weapon.”
Daniel looked at the three keys.
“Then let’s open the vault.”
They returned.
The keys fit.
The vault door opened.
Inside was a black ledger.
Exactly like the photograph.
Emma reached for it.
Then stopped.
Something was wrong.
The ledger was too clean.
Daniel opened it.
The pages contained names.
But most were blank.
Only the first page had writing.
The real ledger is in the hands of the person you trust most.
Daniel looked at Emma.
Emma looked at Thomas.
Thomas looked at Daniel.
A voice came from behind them.
“Exactly.”
Victor Whitmore stepped into the vault.
Armed men surrounded them.
Emma’s heart raced.
Victor smiled.
He looked older than his photographs.
But unmistakably alive.
“Daniel.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“You killed my father.”
Victor laughed.
“No.”
“I know you did.”
“Your father died because he couldn’t stop.”
Victor looked at Emma.
“And her father made the same mistake.”
Emma stared at him.
“You destroyed our families.”
Victor shook his head.
“I gave them choices.”
“You call murder a choice?”
Victor smiled.
“Everyone chooses what they are willing to lose.”
Daniel moved toward him.
An armed guard raised a gun.
Victor said:
“Don’t.”
Then he looked at Thomas.
“Tell your brother what you did.”
Daniel turned.
Thomas lowered his eyes.
Emma felt the tension.
“What did he do?”
Victor smiled.
“The $200,000 wasn’t sent by me.”
Daniel froze.
“Then who?”
Victor pointed at Thomas.
“Your brother.”
Thomas didn’t deny it.
Daniel stared.
“Thomas?”
“I sent it.”
“Why?”
Thomas looked at Emma.
“Because I needed you to find the truth before Victor found your mother.”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“You put Emma at risk.”
“I had no choice.”
Victor laughed.
“Everyone says that.”
Then he pulled out a phone.
A live video appeared.
Diane.
Tied to a chair.
Emma screamed.
“Mom!”
Victor smiled.
“Now we negotiate.”
