Chapter 14 - The Hidden Truth
Twenty-four hours later, under heavy armed guard provided by the state authorities, Julian stepped into his late father’s estate in Westchester. The cavernous mansion felt like a mausoleum of lies. Portraits of five generations of Vances lined the grand hallway, their painted eyes judging the ruins of his family legacy.
Julian walked straight to his father’s private study, a room lined with mahogany bookshelves and leather-bound legal volumes. Following Olivia’s whispered directions, he approached the antique oil painting of the Vance family crest behind the heavy oak desk.
He tilted the frame; hidden beneath the wallpaper was a vintage mechanical dial safe, untouched for three years. Julian dialed the combination—his own birthday, the only numbers his father had never forgotten even in the depths of his dementia.
The heavy steel door swung open with a muffled click.
Inside lay three bound ledgers and an unsealed leather portfolio. Julian pulled out the papers, his eyes skimming the dense legal text. It was the original, unadulterated last will and testament of Arthur Vance, witnessed by his private physician before Victoria took control.
The document was unequivocal. Victoria Hale was explicitly barred from inheriting any Vance asset or corporate governance due to suspected financial misconduct. The entirety of the multi-billion-dollar empire was left in trust to Julian and ""any lawful heirs born of Olivia Vance.""
Arthur Vance had known. In his final moments of lucidity, he had tried to protect them.
Attached to the will was a small micro-cassette tape. Julian picked up an old recorder from the desk, inserted the tape, and pressed play.
A rasping, elderly voice crackled through the speaker: ""Julian... if you are listening to this, Victoria has already begun her play. Do not trust her smile. She wants the bloodline erased. Forgive me, son, for not being strong enough to stop her before the poison took my mind... Find Olivia. Protect the child.""
Julian stood in the quiet room, tears silently streaming down his face. His father had not betrayed him; he had been a victim in the same web of malice that had ensnared Olivia.
May you like
Suddenly, the phone on the desk rang. It was an unlisted, private line that only three people had ever known. Julian picked up the receiver with a steady hand.
""Julian,"" a hoarse, raspy voice hissed through the speaker, accompanied by the mechanical hum of a hospital ventilator. ""Did you find my inheritance?""
