Chapter 8 - Sins of the Father
I stared at the ghost from my past, feeling the air completely leave my lungs.
Richard had aged, his hair completely gray, but his cruel, calculating eyes were exactly the same.
“You,” I breathed, the sheer shock momentarily freezing me in place.
Ethan stood up slowly, holding Lily securely behind his back, staring at the man he had not seen since he was six years old.
“Who are you?” Ethan demanded, his voice shaking with absolute confusion and fear.
Richard smiled widely and spread his arms out in a mocking gesture of paternal love.
“I am your father, Ethan, and I am the true mastermind behind the Obsidian Syndicate,” Richard announced proudly.
He explained that he had spent decades building an illegal gambling empire in the city’s dark underbelly.
He had specifically targeted Claire, feeding her gambling addiction to create massive debt and gain leverage over my family.
“I knew Claire was greedy enough to betray you, Eleanor, and I used her to finally get my hands on your immense wealth,” he gloated.
Ethan looked at his father with pure, unadulterated disgust, finally realizing the true nature of his lineage.
“You kidnapped your own innocent granddaughter just to steal money from the woman you abandoned?” Ethan asked in horror.
“Family is just another word for leverage in the business world, my boy,” Richard replied coldly.
He demanded a fifty million dollar wire transfer immediately, or his hidden snipers would ensure we never left the warehouse alive.
I nodded slowly, playing the role of a defeated, terrified mother perfectly.
I pulled out my phone and began typing rapidly on the illuminated screen, pretending to authorize the massive transfer.
“You win, Richard, you can have the money, just let us walk away from this nightmare,” I said softly.
Richard threw his head back and laughed, a cruel, echoing sound that filled the empty mill.
“The money is just a bonus, Eleanor, because I already won the real prize yesterday afternoon,” he bragged.
He pulled a folded legal document from his tailored jacket and waved it arrogantly in the air.
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“I forced Claire to forge Ethan’s signature on the master proxy forms for your holding company,” he revealed.
“I have already officially filed the paperwork, which means I legally control every single asset in your billion-dollar empire.”
