THE HEIR OF FORTUNE

Chapter 5: Ghosts in the Bloodline

The file in Aiden’s hands was heavy, not from weight, but from what it meant, Photos, timestamps, bank statements. All tied together with a simple truth: Jason Cole had been working with Victor Lang for months, Money exchanged. Silent meetings at private airfields. Secret votes bought long before Aiden had even inherited a dime. It wasn’t coincidence.

It wasn’t luck. It was a trap, The woman beside him, half her face hidden by shadows, tapped the photo of Jason whispering into Lang’s ear. “They planned for you to refuse the inheritance,” she said. “They were going to declare you ‘unfit’ and absorb the consortium. But when you accepted… they shifted gears.”

“Who are you?” Aiden asked again, his voice quiet. She hesitated, then finally answered. “My name is Lyra Voss. I used to work for your uncle. Caleb Remington.”

“Used to?”   “Until he was poisoned.” Aiden felt the breath leave his lungs. “Poisoned?” he echoed.

She nodded. “A neurotoxin that mimics a stroke. Took six hours to kill him. Silent. Untraceable. Unless… you knew what to look for.”        “You think Jason”

“I know Jason helped orchestrate it. But he didn’t do it alone. Lang needed Caleb out of the way to open the path for a board-controlled empire.” Aiden gritted his teeth. “So they killed my uncle. Set me up to fail. And now they’re bleeding me dry from the inside.”

Lyra looked at him. “They’re not done. You’re the last loose thread.” Back at the estate, Whitmore listened carefully as Aiden explained everything, He didn’t blink when he heard the word poison, Instead, he rose and locked the door.

“There’s something you should see,” he said, walking toward the fireplace. He pressed a stone and a small safe opened. Inside: a letter. Handwritten. From Caleb. Aiden opened it with trembling fingers.

If you’re reading this, I’m already dead. They’ll tell you it was natural. It wasn’t. I trusted the wrong men for too long.  and now the wolves are wearing suits. But I left something behind: knowledge. And leverage. And if you’re anything like your grandfather… maybe a chance to set things right. Remember this: everyone has a price. But not everyone has a soul. Find the difference, and you’ll survive.

Aiden stared at the letter long after the words blurred. This was bigger than revenge, This was a war for legacy, Later that night, as he walked back to his suite, he found Melissa waiting by his door. “Aiden,” she whispered, makeup smeared, eyes red. He froze. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I was wrong,” she said. “Jason… he’s dangerous. He told me things I didn’t understand, and now, he’s watching me. I don’t feel safe.”

He didn’t move. “You expect me to believe this?”

“I can prove it,” she said. “He has a list. Names of board members. People he’s paying. He left it in a safe, Unit 32 at Paladin Storage downtown.”

Aiden’s heart stuttered. If she was lying, it could be a trap. But if she wasn’t… “Fine,” he said. “You’re coming with me.” They arrived at the storage unit just after midnight. The air was stale. The building was empty. Security lights flickered like dying stars, Melissa trembled as she typed the access code. Beep.

The metal door groaned open. Inside: files. Folders. A locked case. Aiden reached for it, Click. He froze. Melissa had stepped back. A gun was in her hand. “…I’m sorry,” she whispered, Behind her, footsteps.

Jason stepped out of the shadows, dressed in black, eyes gleaming like a predator, “Hey, cousin,” he said with a grin. “We need to stop meeting like this.”

Jason raises the gun. “I wanted you to back out. Quietly. But you just had to play the hero.”

Aiden’s hands slowly rise. “You don’t want to do this.”

“Oh, I do. But I’m not going to kill you. Not yet.” He nods to Melissa. She presses a button. A side door opens. Men in suits step in armed, Jason leans close.

“You’ll disappear tonight, Aiden. The world will say you cracked under pressure. Vanished. Stress. Suicide, maybe.” Aiden’s voice is steel. “I’m not dying in a storage unit.”

Jason smirks. “Then fight back.” Aiden lunges. Gunfire explodes. Darkness swallows everything.