Chapter 8 - The Evidence
Daniel’s massive cash bail payment secured my swift release from police custody by three in the morning.
I walked cautiously out of the busy precinct into the freezing Chicago wind.
I didn't bother going back to a house completely filled with my enemies.
I checked into a cheap, dirty motel under a fake name and waited impatiently for the sun to rise.
At exactly nine o'clock, I confidently walked through the heavy brass doors of First National Bank.
The professional vault manager escorted me silently down to the highly secure basement level.
I used the silver key Daniel had given me to eagerly open box number 408.
Inside the long metal box was a single, unmarked brown envelope.
My hands shook slightly as I broke the wax seal and pulled out the thick stack of paperwork.
It was the original trust agreement authorizing the transfer of Sophie’s sixty-three million shares.
But as I eagerly read the signature line on the final page, my blood turned to ice.
Grant hadn’t forged my signature at all.
The signature on the transfer document undeniably belonged to Arthur Whitmore, my supposedly dead uncle.
Uncle Arthur had successfully faked his death three years ago to permanently escape federal embezzlement charges.
I realized with horrifying clarity that Grant wasn't the mastermind behind this hostile corporate takeover.
Grant was just a greedy, stupid puppet being masterfully controlled by my criminal uncle.
And Vanessa was simply Arthur's beautiful weapon of choice.
I rapidly pulled out my phone and dialed the secure number of the private investigator I had hired yesterday.
"Marcus, I urgently need you to run a deep background check on Vanessa Blake."
"I already did that this morning," Marcus replied gruffly.
"Check your encrypted email right now."
I quickly opened my phone's browser and logged into my secure account.
Marcus had sent a large file containing Vanessa's original birth certificate and sealed juvenile records.
Her real name wasn't Vanessa Blake.
It was Vanessa Whitmore.
She was my uncle Arthur's illegitimate daughter.
She was my own first cousin.
And she was pretending to carry my husband's child just to steal my entire company.
I shoved the damning documents back into the envelope and stormed fiercely out of the bank.
It was finally time to end this ridiculous charade once and for all.
I drove straight to Mercer Dynamics and marched aggressively into the glass building.
I walked quickly past the shocked security guards and headed straight for the executive boardroom.
Grant was in the middle of a massive press conference with major financial reporters.
He was officially announcing the transfer of the shares to Vanessa to artificially boost the plummeting stock price.
Vanessa stood proudly by his side, smiling radiantly for the flashing cameras.
I kicked the double wooden doors open so hard they cracked loudly against the walls.
Everyone in the packed room turned rapidly to look at me.
"Evelyn," Grant said, his face paling instantly.
"Security is supposed to keep dangerous criminals out of this building."
I ignored him entirely and walked straight toward the wooden podium.
I held the brown envelope high in the air for all the flashing cameras to capture.
"I have the original trust documents right here!" I shouted loudly over the noise.
"And they definitively prove that the sixty-three million shares were authorized by a dead man!"
The room immediately erupted into absolute chaos.
Reporters aggressively shoved microphones toward my face, shouting questions.
Vanessa took a slow step backward, her fake, radiant smile finally crumbling into terror.
I turned quickly to face her directly.
"Isn't that right, Cousin Vanessa?"
A collective, massive gasp echoed loudly through the crowded boardroom.
Grant looked at Vanessa in complete and utter confusion.
"Cousin?" Grant echoed weakly.
Before I could deliver the final, crushing blow, my phone rang loudly in my pocket.
I pulled it out and saw it was Maria, my loyal housekeeper.
I answered it quickly amidst the shouting reporters.
May you like
"Mrs. Mercer, you need to come home right now," Maria screamed hysterically into the phone.
"Someone just broke in and took Sophie."
