She Thought He Was a Poor Taxi Driver… He Was a Billionaire, but Why Was He Hiding His Identity?
Chapter 7
Ethan stared at Victoria.
“What are you talking about?”
She placed a document on the desk.
A trust agreement.
The original corporate ownership structure.
Ethan read it.
His father’s controlling shares had been transferred into a family trust years before.
The trustee wasn’t Ethan.
It was Victoria.
“How?”
“Your father appointed me.”
“Why didn’t I know?”
“Because he believed you weren’t ready.”
Rachel looked at Ethan.
“This changes things.”
Victoria nodded.
“It changes everything.”
She explained that the trust was designed to protect the company from internal attacks.
But the structure had been corrupted.
Several board members had exploited it.
Victoria admitted she had concealed information.
But she insisted she wasn’t stealing.
She was protecting the company.
Ethan didn’t know what to believe.
“Why did my mother warn me about you?”
“Because she misunderstood.”
“What did she misunderstand?”
Victoria looked tired.
“She thought I wanted control.”
“You did.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your father was losing his.”
Silence.
Victoria finally confessed that the company had been infiltrated by executives who wanted to break it apart.
She had been fighting them.
But she had made compromises.
Some of those compromises were illegal.
Ethan asked:
“Did you kill my mother?”
“No.”
“Did you cause her death?”
Victoria paused.
Then answered:
“No.”
Ethan believed her.
Maybe.
But someone still had.
The historical records suggested a hidden player.
And the modern conspiracy was bigger.
Rachel found another company.
One called Meridian Legacy Partners.
The owner was anonymous.
But the payments led back to an investment firm.
The firm belonged to a man named Samuel Cole.
Ethan froze.
His uncle.
His father’s younger brother.
Samuel had disappeared fifteen years earlier.
Everyone believed he had moved abroad.
He had not.
He had been quietly buying shares in companies connected to Cole Meridian.
Rachel stared at the documents.
“Your uncle is alive.”
Ethan nodded.
“And he’s been preparing for this.”
Before they could investigate further, Victoria received a message.
A video.
Samuel appeared on screen.
“Hello, nephew.”
Ethan watched silently.
“You’ve spent your life hiding from the family business.”
Samuel smiled.
“And yet here you are.”
He explained his plan.
He wanted Ethan to sell his controlling interest.
If Ethan refused, he would release documents suggesting Ethan’s father had been involved in financial crimes.
The company’s reputation would collapse.
Thousands of employees would lose their jobs.
Samuel believed Ethan would surrender to protect them.
Then came the threat.
“Bring me the trust documents.”
Samuel leaned closer.
“Or Rachel disappears.”
Ethan’s face changed.
Rachel looked at him.
“You can’t let him control you.”
“He already knows about you.”
“I know.”
“Then we need to move.”
They left immediately.
But Samuel wasn’t interested in killing Rachel.
He wanted Ethan emotionally compromised.
He wanted him desperate.
And Ethan knew exactly what that meant.
The man had found his weakness.
Rachel.
