Chapter 9 - The Murder Weapon
I stood frozen in the dingy motel room as the weight of her horrific words crushed the air from my lungs.
My entire life was a carefully constructed lie built on the blood of my real parents.
I did not scream or cry.
My mind sharpened into a cold, terrifying weapon.
I suddenly understood why Catherine had been so protective of the heavy blue vase on the mantel.
It was never about the expensive porcelain or the aesthetics of the living room.
I immediately dialed Special Agent Miller on my encrypted cell phone.
I gave him the location of the foreclosed house and told him exactly what to look for.
The FBI raided the empty house within the hour.
They found the shattered pieces of the blue vase scattered across the tile floor.
Hidden inside the thick, hollow base of the porcelain structure was a secret compartment.
The agents pulled out a rusted, blood-stained hunting knife wrapped in plastic.
Beside the knife was a solid gold signet ring bearing the crest of a billionaire tech dynasty.
The DNA on the blade perfectly matched a high-profile double homicide cold case from twenty-five years ago.
Richard was immediately pulled from his holding cell and charged with two counts of capital murder.
Catherine was arrested at the motel by a swarm of tactical officers for being an accessory after the fact.
The violent syndicate learned that Richard was going to spend the rest of his life in maximum security.
They knew he could never repay his massive debts.
They sent an assassin into the county jail disguised as a guard.
Richard was brutally attacked in the cafeteria, leaving him permanently paralyzed and unable to speak.
I sat in my office reading the police report when a courier arrived with a black envelope.
May you like
I opened it to find a letter from a prestigious law firm in New York.
The letter stated that my biological grandfather had passed away, and I was the sole remaining heir to a billion-dollar tech empire.
