Chapter 4 - The Letter
Inside was no money. No diamonds. No bearer bonds.
There was only a small black envelope, a brass key, and an old digital storage drive.
Written across the envelope in faded handwriting were three words.
FOR ELENA MORENO.
My legs gave out. I sat on the floor. I knew that handwriting. My father’s G leaned too far left. His M looked like three sharp mountains.
Sofie crawled into my lap. “Is that Grandpa?”
“Yes.” I could barely speak.
Alexander reached for the envelope. I slapped his hand away.
“Don’t touch it.”
For the first time since I had known him, Alexander obeyed me. I opened the envelope. Inside was a letter.
Elena,
If you are reading this, then either I finally found the courage to tell you everything, or I failed. I built Carter Security with Alexander and Richard. I designed the original vault system, including a mechanical archive they could not erase digitally.
I trusted men who loved money more than truth. When I discovered Alexander transferring my patents and company shares without authorization, I created duplicates of everything. The evidence is not inside this vault.
Alexander exhaled. Relief flickered across his face. Then I read the next line.
This vault contains the key. The real archive is where Elena will remember that puzzles are not opened by force. Lunita will know.
He had written my childhood nickname. The letter ended with a series of numbers. And one sentence.
The person you must fear is not Alexander Carter.
I looked up. Richard’s face had changed. So had Alexander’s.
For twenty minutes, I had assumed the monster was obvious. The billionaire who mocked me. But my father had written otherwise.
Richard smiled. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out his phone.
“Everyone relax.”
Alexander stepped toward us. “Give me the key, Elena.”
Richard laughed. “No. He deserves to know what his father actually did.”
Alexander’s face tightened. “My father?”
Richard looked directly at me. “Alexander Carter didn’t steal your father’s company. His father did.”
Alexander went perfectly still.
“Victor Carter controlled the original holding company,” Richard continued. “He forged Gabriel’s transfer documents and threatened all three of us.”
“That’s a lie,” Alexander said.
“Is it? After Victor died, you discovered what had happened.”
I looked at Alexander. “You knew?”
He didn’t answer.
“You knew my father lost everything!” I shouted.
“Yes.”
“You knew who I was when you hired me?”
Alexander looked down at the marble floor. “Yes.”
I stepped back. “Why?”
May you like
His voice broke. “Because I’d been looking for you for thirteen years.”
(Read more of this exclusive drama at https://metro.treeiq.biz)
