Chapter 7: The Man Who Wanted My Mother's Last Secret
Victor Lang stood beneath the crystal chandelier as though he owned the mansion.
His charcoal suit was perfectly tailored. His silver hair was combed backward, and a gold watch gleamed beneath his cuff. He looked like the kind of man who never raised his voice because other people had spent their entire lives learning to obey him.
He held Brianna's USB drive between two fingers.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” he said.
Brianna stared at him.
“You said nobody would come here.””
Victor smiled.
“I said nobody would interrupt us.””
“You promised you'd protect me.””
“And I intend to.””
He slipped the USB drive into his jacket.
I stepped between them.
“Give that back.””
Victor slowly turned toward me.
“Amara. You have your mother's temperament.””
“Don't talk about my mother.””
His smile widened.
“Still stubborn. Eleanor was exactly the same.””
I felt Ethan's hand settle against my back.
“Mr. Lang,” he said, “you need to leave.””
Victor glanced at him.
“Ethan Cole. A man who refuses to recognize a profitable opportunity. I've always wondered whether that was intelligence or simply arrogance.””
“Neither,” Ethan replied.
“I just don't do business with people who forge documents and threaten women.””
Victor laughed softly.
“Careful. You're making accusations that could become expensive.””
I looked at Brianna.
She had moved toward the dressing table, her face pale.
“Brianna, what did you sign?””
She shook her head.
“Not now.””
“Yes. Now.””
Victor interrupted.
“She signed a perfectly legitimate agreement.””
I turned toward him.
“An agreement to marry Ethan?””
“An agreement concerning a proposed family partnership.””
“Using her as a business transaction?””
Victor adjusted his cuff.
“Adults make arrangements. Families negotiate. Money changes hands. It's hardly unusual.””
I stared at him.
“She's your daughter.””
For the first time, his expression changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
He glanced at Brianna.
“Is that what she's told you?””
Brianna looked down.
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Are you denying she's your daughter?””
Victor sighed.
“Biology is an interesting subject, Amara. It can be used to establish facts, but it cannot establish loyalty.””
Brianna's eyes filled.
“You told me I was your daughter.””
“I never denied it.””
“You said you'd give me the property.””
“I said there was a possibility of a settlement.””
“You promised!””
Victor's voice sharpened.
“Lower your voice.””
Brianna flinched.
I stepped toward her.
“Don't speak to her like that.””
Victor looked amused.
“Protecting your sister? How touching. After everything she's done to you?””
“She is still my sister.””
“Then perhaps you should ask why she destroyed your wedding dress.””
I felt my jaw tighten.
“I know why.””
“Do you?””
He placed a hand inside his jacket.
Then he removed a folded document.
“This is the original agreement between Robert Hayes and myself. Your father signed it willingly.””
He laid it on the dressing table.
I approached cautiously.
The document contained several clauses involving the family estate, the company, and the proposed marriage between Ethan and Brianna.
But beneath the financial provisions was a paragraph that made my heart stop.
Upon the marriage of Brianna Hayes to Ethan Cole, the parties shall cooperate in transferring the controlling interests of the Hayes family property portfolio to Lang Capital Holdings.
I looked up.
“You were going to use Ethan's marriage to acquire my mother's property?””
Victor smiled.
“Your mother was a sentimental woman. She never understood how business worked.””
“My mother built that property portfolio.””
“With her family's money.””
“And her work.””
Victor's smile disappeared.
“Your mother made one mistake, Amara. She trusted the wrong people.””
I stared at him.
“You mean she trusted you.””
He leaned closer.
“No. She trusted your father.””
The words settled over the room.
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
Then I asked, “Why did you come here?””
Victor glanced toward Brianna.
“To collect what was promised.””
“Which is?””
“The original trust agreement.””
I felt Ethan tense beside me.
“You already have a copy,” I said.
“I have several copies. None of them contain the amendment your mother made shortly before her death.””
I remembered Margaret's words.
The original agreement.
The amendment that protected my inheritance.
“You want the original documents.””
Victor nodded.
“And I believe you have them.””
I said nothing.
He smiled.
“Your aunt was always sentimental. She kept things she should have destroyed.””
Ethan stepped forward.
“Then you should leave before this becomes a police matter.””
Victor laughed.
“Police? You think a few old documents will frighten me?””
He looked at his watch.
“Robert has already signed a repayment agreement. If I don't receive the original trust documents by midnight, certain assets will be transferred.””
“What assets?””
“Your father's company. Several properties. And potentially the estate Eleanor left behind.””
I stared at him.
“You can't take something that doesn't belong to you.””
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“That's exactly why I'm here.””
He turned toward Brianna.
“Come with me.””
She didn't move.
“Brianna.””
She shook her head.
“I want to see the recording first.””
Victor's expression hardened.
“What recording?””
“The one you told Vanessa to keep.””
For the first time, he looked genuinely surprised.
Brianna took a step toward me.
“I found it in Mom's old cabinet. Vanessa said it was insurance.””
Victor looked at the USB drive in his hand.
“Interesting.””
“Give it to me,” Brianna demanded.
He placed the drive inside his pocket.
“No.””
Brianna's voice cracked.
“You promised!””
Victor approached her.
“You have made enough mistakes today.””
I stepped between them.
“Don't touch her.””
He stopped.
Then he looked at me with an expression I couldn't quite read.
“You really are Eleanor's daughter.””
He turned toward the door.
“Enjoy your wedding preparations, Amara. I suspect there won't be a wedding tomorrow.””
He walked out.
A moment later, the front door slammed.
Nobody spoke.
Then Brianna sank onto the dressing table chair.
I looked at her.
“What recording?””
She covered her face.
“Something Mom recorded before she died.””
“Your mother?””
“Vanessa.””
I crouched in front of her.
“Brianna, listen to me. If that recording proves something about my mother, I need to hear it.””
She shook her head.
“You won't believe me.””
“Try me.””
She slowly lowered her hands.
“Vanessa told me that Mom had changed the trust agreement because she wanted to take everything away from us.””
“Us?””
“Me and Dad.””
I stared.
“Mom left you an inheritance too.””
“Not the one I was promised.””
She wiped her cheek.
“Victor told me that if I helped him, he'd give me the properties that should have belonged to my mother.””
I looked at her.
“And you believed him?””
“I wanted to.””
Her voice dropped.
“Because for years, Vanessa told me I was the reason Dad's life had become difficult. She said he only married her because he felt responsible for me.””
I felt something twist inside my chest.
Brianna continued.
“She told me that if I ever wanted to be more than the unwanted daughter, I needed to make myself valuable.””
I sat back.
“That's why you wanted Ethan?””
She nodded.
“He represented everything I thought I'd never have.””
“And destroying my dress?””
She looked down.
“I wanted you to lose something. Just once.””
I stared at her.
“You wanted me to suffer.””
“Yes.””
She didn't try to deny it.
And somehow, that honesty hurt more than all her previous excuses.
“I was jealous,” she whispered.
“I hated watching you become happy when I felt like my whole life had been decided by other people.””
I stood.
“Your pain doesn't give you permission to destroy mine.””
“I know.””
“No, Brianna. I don't think you do.””
I looked at the ruined gown.
Pink paint had dried along the skirt. Several crystals were missing. The embroidered flowers were almost unrecognizable.
“You didn't just ruin a dress. You ruined something I made to remember Mom.””
Brianna began crying.
I walked toward the door.
“Amara?””
I stopped.
She looked at me.
“I think Vanessa knows what really happened that night.””
I turned.
“What night?””
“The night Mom died.””
Brianna reached into the dressing table drawer.
She removed a small photograph.
It showed Vanessa standing outside a hospital room.
Beside her was Robert.
But the date printed on the back was different from the date Dad had always given me.
My mother had supposedly died on November 14.
The photograph was dated November 12.
Two days earlier.
I stared at it.
“Why is this dated November 12?””
Brianna whispered:
“Because Mom was still alive when they told everyone she was gone.””
My blood ran cold.
“What?””
She looked toward the hallway.
“Vanessa told me Mom died on the fourteenth. But I found the hospital photograph in her private album. It was taken two days earlier.””
I took the photograph.
On the back was a handwritten note.
Eleanor — final night. No visitors.
I looked at Brianna.
“Who took this?””
“I don't know.””
Then she said something that made my stomach drop.
“Amara, I think Dad and Vanessa lied about the exact time Mom died.””
May you like
And suddenly, I understood that the secret wasn't simply about stolen money.
It was about the last forty-eight hours of my mother's life.
