EPISODE 16 — HALF OF HIS EMPIRE
1009 Words
Maya stared at Elena.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
The words kept repeating inside her head.
Half of Cole International.
She looked at Adrian.
“You knew?”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
Maya studied his face, searching for any sign that he was lying.
“You’re telling me my father somehow left me half of one of the biggest companies in the country?”
Elena nodded.
“Yes.”
“But why?”
“Because your father knew they would come for you.”
Maya looked confused.
Elena continued.
“Michael wasn’t interested in becoming rich. He wanted to expose the people who were using the company for their own purposes. Before he died, he discovered that the Cole family had been hiding assets and manipulating the company for years.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“And my grandfather?”
“He was at the center of it.”
Maya looked at Adrian.
“Then why would your father allow this contract to exist?”
Elena sighed.
“Because Adrian’s father regretted what happened.”
Adrian looked shocked.
“My father never told me.”
“He couldn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because someone was listening.”
Maya suddenly remembered the cameras inside the red room.
“That’s why someone was watching us.”
Elena nodded.
“They’ve been watching the Cole family for years.”
Adrian took a step forward.
“Who?”
Elena looked toward the mansion.
“The person behind all of this.”
Maya’s heart raced.
“Your uncle?”
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
Adrian frowned.
“Then who?”
Elena looked directly at Maya.
“The person who ordered your father’s murder is someone you have already met.”
Maya’s blood ran cold.
“Who?”
Before Elena could answer, headlights appeared in the distance.
A black SUV was speeding toward them.
Adrian immediately pulled Maya behind him.
“Get inside!”
The SUV stopped suddenly.
Three men jumped out.
One raised a gun.
BANG!
The bullet struck the ground.
Adrian pushed Maya down.
“Run!”
They rushed toward the mansion.
Another shot rang out.
Elena grabbed Maya’s hand.
“Don’t let go!”
They reached the back entrance.
Adrian opened the door and pushed them inside.
Marcus appeared with two security guards.
“Mr. Cole!”
“Lock every entrance!”
Marcus nodded.
The mansion doors slammed shut.
Maya looked outside.
The SUV was gone.
“They’re gone.”
Adrian’s breathing was heavy.
“They weren’t trying to kill us.”
Maya looked at him.
“Then what were they doing?”
Adrian looked at the ground.
A small black envelope had been left outside the door.
Marcus picked it up carefully.
“Sir.”
Adrian opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Maya’s eyes widened.
It showed Sarah.
But this photograph was different.
Sarah was standing beside a man Maya had never seen before.
On the back were four words:
“Ask her about him.”
Maya stared at the photograph.
“That’s not my father.”
Elena’s face suddenly changed.
She recognized him.
Maya noticed.
“You know him.”
Elena didn’t answer.
“Mum.”
Elena slowly looked at her.
“That man…”
She swallowed.
“was the person who helped me escape twenty-four years ago.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Who is he?”
Elena looked terrified.
“His name is Victor Kane.”
Maya frowned.
“Who is Victor Kane?”
Elena whispered:
“Your father’s older brother.”
Adrian froze.
“My father’s brother?”
“Yes.”
“But my father was an only child.”
Elena shook her head.
“That’s what the Cole family wanted everyone to believe.”
Maya looked at the photograph again.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A message appeared.
“You have until midnight.”
Another message arrived.
“Bring the ring and come alone.”
Then a final message:
“Or Sarah dies.”
Maya’s hands began shaking.
Adrian saw the messages.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
Maya looked at him.
“They have my mother.”
“We’ll get her back.”
“What if they kill her?”
“They won’t.”
“How do you know?”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Because they need something from you.”
Maya looked at the ring.
“The evidence.”
He nodded.
“They think the ring contains everything.”
Elena suddenly spoke.
“It doesn’t.”
Everyone turned toward her.
Maya frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Elena took a deep breath.
“Your father didn’t put the most important evidence inside the ring.”
“Then where is it?”
Elena looked at Maya.
“He hid it inside the one thing they could never take from you.”
Maya didn’t understand.
“What?”
Elena touched her chest.
“Your memories.”
Maya’s eyes widened.
“What?”
“Your father knew you were too young to understand what happened that night. But he knew you would remember pieces of it as you grew older.”
Maya suddenly remembered the red door.
The rain.
Her father’s voice.
The silver ring.
And a man’s face.
A face she had never been able to remember clearly.
Maya closed her eyes.
Then she whispered:
“I remember him.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Who?”
Maya opened her eyes.
Tears filled them.
“The man who killed my father.”
Silence filled the room.
Elena grabbed her hand.
“Who was it?”
Maya stared at the photograph.
Her breathing became unsteady.
Then she pointed at the man standing beside her mother.
“Him.”
Adrian looked at the photograph.
His face turned pale.
“Victor…”
Suddenly, every light in the mansion went out.
A voice came through the security speakers.
“Very good, Maya.”
Everyone froze.
The voice laughed.
“You’ve finally remembered me.”
Then the mansion doors unlocked by themselves.
And somewhere outside, a car engine started.
Victor Kane was coming for her.
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