Chapter 5 - The Hostile Takeover
The police dragged Julian out of my house in handcuffs while Maya and Liam watched from the staircase.
I wrapped my arms around them, promising that the scary man was never coming back.
But Julian’s final words echoed in my mind like a ticking time bomb.
"Mr. Harrison, what did he mean by a hostile takeover?" I asked, pacing the living room.
Mr. Harrison was typing furiously on his smartphone, his face growing paler by the second.
"Chloe just filed the handwritten will with the New York state registry," he announced.
"She has legally frozen the board of directors at Vance Tower."
I felt a sudden, crushing weight on my chest.
"How can a handwritten note override a formal trust document?" I asked in disbelief.
"In New York, a holographic will can be valid if it proves the deceased's final intentions," he explained.
"And Chloe has convinced the board that Eleanor was coerced into signing the original documents."
I grabbed my coat and my car keys, my sadness completely replaced by a fierce determination.
"Where are we going?" Mr. Harrison asked, looking up from his phone.
"We are going to New York," I declared.
I called my best friend, Sarah, begging her to come over and watch the kids.
Within an hour, Sarah was barricaded inside the house with Maya and Liam, and I was in the back of a town car speeding toward Manhattan.
The city skyline loomed ahead, a concrete jungle where my future was currently being stolen.
We pulled up to the glittering glass facade of Vance Tower, an architectural masterpiece that belonged to me.
I marched through the revolving doors, ignoring the security guards who tried to stop us.
We rode the golden elevator to the top floor, stepping into the massive executive boardroom.
Chloe was sitting at the head of the mahogany table, surrounded by a dozen corporate lawyers.
She looked up, wearing a designer suit bought with my family's money, and smirked.
"Clara, you really shouldn't have come here," Chloe said, tapping a pen on the table.
"Get out of my aunt's chair," I commanded, my voice echoing across the silent room.
"It is my chair now," Chloe laughed, sliding a piece of paper across the table.
"This is Eleanor’s final will, leaving the entire estate to her beloved step-daughter."
Mr. Harrison inspected the document, his brow furrowing in deep concentration.
"This signature looks authentic, Clara," he whispered, looking defeated.
Chloe stood up, victorious and glowing with pure malice.
"Security, please escort this leech out of my building," Chloe ordered.
Two large guards stepped toward me, reaching out to grab my arms.
"Don't touch me," I snapped, pulling a folded photograph from my purse.
"Because this handwriting might belong to Eleanor, but I know exactly when this note was written."
Chloe’s confident smirk completely vanished.
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"And it wasn't written last week," I said, slamming the photograph onto the table.
"It was written twenty years ago, and I have the proof right here."
