Chapter 11 - The Heir They Erased
Adrian stared at Mia.
Her eyes were the same dark green as Julian’s.
He had noticed it before.
He had refused to understand why.
“My father was Julian?”
Mia’s voice was barely audible.
Victor nodded.
“Julian Vale.”
Mia looked at Adrian.
“You’re my uncle?”
Adrian knelt despite the pain in his shoulder.
“Yes.”
The word broke something inside both of them.
Mia began crying.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
The tears simply fell as years of loneliness finally found a name.
Adrian pulled her into his arms.
“You have a family.”
Mia gripped his jacket.
“Why didn’t anyone find me?”
Victor answered from behind the officers.
“Because Celeste made sure no one knew Isabella was pregnant.”
Adrian stood.
“Take him away.”
Victor resisted.
“You need me.”
“I know where Isabella is buried.”
Mia froze.
Adrian’s anger nearly overwhelmed him.
Detective Brooks stepped between them.
“You will tell us at the station.”
Victor looked at Mia.
“Your mother died trying to protect Julian’s evidence.”
Mia turned away.
Brooks ordered the officers to remove him.
Evelyn was moved to a secure hospital room.
Adrian stayed beside Mia until dawn.
DNA testing confirmed the truth.
Mia was Julian’s daughter.
That made her an heir to half of the Vale family trust.
A trust worth more than one billion dollars.
News leaked within hours.
Reporters surrounded the hospital.
Commentators called Mia the lost Vale heiress.
Strangers who had ignored her on the streets now begged for photographs.
Relatives Adrian had not seen in years suddenly called to offer help.
Mia watched the crowd through the window.
“They didn’t care yesterday.”
Adrian stood beside her.
“They don’t care today either.”
“They care about your name.”
Mia pulled the curtain closed.
The company board called an emergency meeting.
Nathan participated by encrypted video.
He had not been captured.
He demanded Adrian resign as chief executive.
Several directors supported him.
They claimed Adrian’s personal scandal had damaged the company.
Adrian joined the meeting from the hospital.
He looked at the faces on the screen.
Some had attended the gala.
Some had watched Mia accuse Celeste.
None had tried to help.
Nathan spoke first.
“For the company’s survival, Adrian must step aside.”
Adrian remained calm.
“You are wanted for kidnapping.”
“That accusation is based on the word of a housekeeper.”
“And the gunshot in my shoulder?”
Nathan smiled.
“You have many enemies.”
Adrian placed a folder on the table.
“I have evidence showing that seven board members approved payments to the hospital program.”
Silence followed.
One director closed his laptop.
Another tried to leave.
Federal agents entered their offices simultaneously.
Nathan’s smile disappeared.
Adrian leaned toward the screen.
“You taught me that money makes people easier to buy.”
“But you forgot something.”
“It also makes transactions easier to trace.”
Nathan disconnected.
Detective Brooks entered the room.
“We located his signal.”
“Where?”
“At your company headquarters.”
Adrian looked at the skyline.
“He’s inside my building?”
“He has taken several employees hostage.”
Brooks handed him a phone.
Nathan was calling.
Adrian answered.
Nathan’s voice was calm.
“Bring Mia to the executive floor.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Never.”
Nathan laughed.
“Then I’ll start throwing your employees from the roof.”
A scream came through the phone.
May you like
Then the line went dead.
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