Chapter 6 - The Vanishing Heir
That afternoon, Sarah Lin sat in the records room of the county courthouse, sifting through property transfers and estate trusts. Officer Miller, out of uniform and wearing a canvas jacket, joined her at the viewing table.
"I ran the vehicle plates on the town car that dropped Elena off yesterday," Miller said, sliding a sheet of paper across the table. "The car is registered to a holding company managed by Julian Sterling."
Sarah looked up, her brow furrowing. "Julian disappeared six months ago. Clara told me he walked out of their apartment one evening to buy groceries and never came back. She filed a missing persons report, but the local precinct dismissed it as an abandoned partner case."
"It wasn't abandoned," Miller said grimly. "Look at the dates. The day after Julian vanished, Elena filed an application for legal conservatorship over his financial estate, claiming he was incapacitated by addiction. But Julian had no record of substance abuse. None."
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Sarah leaned back in her wooden chair, the implications settling into her mind. "She didn't just want Noah. She wanted Noah because Julian’s grandfather left the Sterling family estate—over sixty million dollars—directly to Julian's firstborn legitimate or acknowledged child. If Julian is missing, and Clara is declared legally unfit, Elena becomes the legal guardian of the heir’s trust."
"This wasn't just pride," Miller realized, his fists clenching beneath the table. "It was an inheritance heist."
