BETRAYED ONCE: FROM NOTHING TO BILLIONIARE POWER

Chapter 17: Legally Binded

When Harrison ignored him, Nikolai turned to Katerina. “So this was what you were worth to him! 10 percent while someone who has not been in his life comes along and collects everything!”

Katerina's face didn't change, but her hands were starting to shake.

“He didn't give me everything because he loved me more,” Ryna's voice echoed, and the room turned silent. 

Everyone turned to look at him.

“He gave me controlling interest because he knew something like this would happen.”

“What do you mean?” Nikolai spat.

Ryan smiled, holding his gaze; he didn’t need to give them an explanation. They were already aware of what he was talking about. 

“My father made sure that the only person who could stop outsiders from having access to Archer's group was someone you couldn't bribe or manipulate for your schemes.” Ryan looked right at Nikolai. “He outplayed you from the grave.”

Nikolai’s face shifted through a storm of emotions. “We’ll appeal!” He growled.

Harrison didn’t blink. He simply adjusted the papers in front of him and shook his head. “On what grounds?”

“Undue influence,” Nikolai snapped. “My brother in law was clearly not of sound mind.”

“The will was reviewed by three independent psychiatrists,” Harrison replied calmly. “All three confirmed he was mentally competent at the time it was signed.”

Nikolai’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t stop. “We’ll find other grounds,” he said, already calculating, already searching for cracks. “Fraud, coercion. The son was dead at the time of the father’s death—”

“Ryan Wright was declared dead by the hospital,” Harrison cut in smoothly, and the room was quiet. “That declaration was based on false information provided by Zhou Industries.”

Another pause followed, and Ryan narrowed his gaze to Zoula, who stared at Harrison for his next words.

“The body that was buried was never examined by a coroner. There is no valid death certificate,” Harrison added, allowing his words to settle, heavy and undeniable.

“Are you telling me—”

“Yes,” he interrupted. “The declaration holds no legal standing, and if Mr. White decided to pursue this, the court would see it as murder.”

Zoula and Christopher had pale expressions as if their world would crumble at any time.

Harrison pulled out another document. “In fact, I have filed a motion this morning to have the declaration of death overturned by the end of the week. Ryan Wright will be legally alive again.”

Nikolai pulled his gaze from the Zoula, and her associate finally stared at Harrison.

“You planned this,” the old man's voice was calm and cold.

Harrison with a straight face shook his head. “His father planned it; I just executed it.”

Even with the table far away, Ryan could see the clenched fist under.

The room was still filled with tension when Katerina stood up from her seat, moving for the first time. She didn't look at Nikolai or at Ryan. She stepped towards the door, about to walk out, but before she could disappear, Ryan's voice called.

“Katerina.”

She stopped but didn't turn around. It was the first time they were meeting, but the familiarity in his voice was visible.

"Wait," he called, his footsteps echoing behind her.

When she finally did. Her eyes were wet but not crying. “What?” Her voice was calm. “What do you want from me? You already got everything: the company, the house, his love." She scoffed, the corner of her lips lacing with sarcasm.

“Katerina—“

"You got all of it, and I got ten percent and a lifetime of being told I wasn't good enough because I wasn’t the son!”

“Katrina—“

“What?!” Her voice thundered, making the entire turn towards them. 

The rage in her eyes was evident, but her legs remained rooted to the ground. “You don’t know me, nor do I, so you can stop pretending, and we can return to being the strangers we are.”

Ryan walked toward her. “I didn't ask for this."

“You didn't have to." Her voice broke. “He gave it to you anyway. He never even met you not as an adult. He never saw you graduate, never saw you work, and never saw you achieve anything, and still you were his favorite. You were always his favorite."

Ryan stopped a few feet away. “He left me when I was six years old,” he replied, and his voice dropped to a whisper.

A brief lump dropped down Katerina's throat, but she didn’t say anything.

“He walked out the door and I didn't see him again for seventeen years,” Ryan muttered, a hint of pain lingering in his voice. “I thought he was a coward, I thought he didn't care, and I hated him for most of my life." He paused.

The silence behind them was heavy, as if the eyes were trying to listen or make out their words.

“And then I found out the truth, the real reason he left,” Ryan said, his voice dropping cold.

“What do you mean?” Katrina finally replied.

“He left to protect us because the Volkovs threatened to kill me and my mother if he stayed, and he spent seventeen years watching from a distance.”

Katerina's face fell. 

“He told me about you," Ryan continued. “In the video he left, he said you were the best thing that ever happened to him. He said he wished he could have been there for you, but they wouldn't let him."

Katerina scoffed, shaking her head. “Lies. Everything you're saying are lies.”