Chapter 10 - THE ISLAND OF LIES
We found Richard's boat forty minutes offshore.
The island ahead was uninhabited.
No resort.
No lights.
Only an abandoned mansion overlooking the ocean.
Daniel's team surrounded the property.
I entered through the front door.
“Mia!”
No answer.
I heard footsteps upstairs.
Then Sarah screamed.
“ELENA!”
I ran.
Sarah was trapped inside a room.
The door was locked from the outside.
I opened it.
“Where's Mia?”
She pointed toward the hallway.
“He took her downstairs.”
We ran.
A hidden staircase led beneath the mansion.
At the bottom was another surveillance room.
Richard was waiting.
“You came.”
I stared at him.
“Where's my daughter?”
He pointed toward the screen.
Mia was sitting in a chair.
She wasn't tied up.
She was crying.
But she was alive.
“Mommy!”
I stepped forward.
Richard raised his hand.
“Don't.”
I stopped.
“Give me the trust.”
“No.”
He smiled.
“You're willing to risk your daughter?”
“I’m willing to risk myself.”
Richard looked surprised.
“You really are different from your father.”
“Where is he?”
“Alive.”
“Let them go.”
Richard shook his head.
“First, you sign.”
Mark stepped forward.
“There are no enforceable conditions here.”
Richard laughed.
“You lawyers always think paper protects you.”
He pressed a button.
The screen changed.
It showed my father's old office.
Then another video appeared.
My father was signing documents.
Richard had forced him.
The date was twenty years earlier.
I watched in silence.
Then another video.
My mother.
Then another.
Greg.
All of them had participated.
But one person was missing.
Sarah.
I looked at her.
“You told me you were involved.”
She shook her head.
“I wasn't.”
Richard smiled.
“Exactly.”
He turned toward her.
“You were never part of the plan.”
Sarah stared.
“What?”
“You were bait.”
She looked horrified.
Richard explained.
The wedding had been designed to make Sarah emotionally dependent on Greg.
Greg would convince her that Elena was jealous.
Sarah would pressure me.
My parents would pressure me.
The wedding would become a public event.
If I refused to sign, they would destroy my reputation.
Then Richard would step in.
It had all been calculated.
I looked at Richard.
“You underestimated me.”
He smiled.
“Did I?”
A door behind me opened.
Mia walked through.
She ran into my arms.
I held her tightly.
“Mommy.”
“I've got you.”
Richard watched us.
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
“The trust isn't the prize.”
I looked at him.
“What is?”
May you like
He smiled.
“You are.”
