THE HEIR'S REVENGE

chapter 16

"That's what I'm trying to confirm," Maxwell said. "My contact at the nursing facility is checking their records tonight. If someone's being hidden there under Victoria's payment, we'll know by morning."

"Morning might be too late," I said, checking my watch. It was already four in the afternoon. "Victoria's divorce hearing is tomorrow. She's trying to grab everything and run."

"Then we need to move tonight," Maxwell agreed. "I'll have everything ready by eight o'clock. Every document, every transaction, every crime she's committed laid out in perfect order."

After Maxwell hung up, Brandon and I sat in silence for a moment. The weight of what we were uncovering pressed down on both of us. This wasn't just about money anymore. This was about murder, conspiracy, and a child whose entire world was built on lies.

"I need to ask you something," Brandon said suddenly. "That necklace you wear—your mother's necklace. Victoria tried to buy it from you once, didn't she?"

I touched the chain around my neck instinctively. "Years ago. She offered me ten thousand dollars for it. Said it would be better in a museum than around the neck of someone who couldn't appreciate its value."

"She offered you ten thousand for a necklace worth millions?" Brandon laughed bitterly. "That sounds like her. But why does she want it so badly? It's just jewelry, right?"

I pulled the necklace out from under my shirt, letting the sapphire catch the light. It sparkled like captured starlight, but I'd never thought it was worth millions. "My mother said it was a family heirloom. That it had been passed down through generations of Blackwell women."

"Maybe it's more than that," Brandon suggested. "Maybe there's something about it Victoria knows and you don't. Something that makes it dangerous to her."

Before I could respond, my phone buzzed with a text from Henry: "Young Master, Miss Lily is asking when you'll be home. She says she has something important to tell you about her dreams."

My heart softened. With everything happening, Lily remained my anchor to normalcy, to goodness in a world full of corruption. "I should go see her," I said to Brandon. "Can you handle setting up security protocols for the house?"

"Already on it," Brandon assured me. "I've got two men at the front gate, two at the back, and one watching the street. All people I trust, who've quit the Pierces along with me."

I raised an eyebrow. "Others quit too?"

"Four of us total," Brandon confirmed with a small smile. "Turns out I wasn't the only one sick of Victoria's poison. We're calling ourselves the Blackwell Security Team now, if that's okay with you."

"More than okay," I said, standing and extending my hand. "Welcome to the team, Brandon."

He shook my hand firmly, and something passed between us—understanding, respect, maybe even the beginning of friendship. We'd both been shaped by Victoria's cruelty, but we were choosing to be better than what she'd tried to make us.

As I prepared to leave for the mansion, my phone rang again. Gerald this time.

"The meeting with Marcus Pierce is set," he said. "Nine o'clock tonight, private room at the Metropolitan Club. He agreed to come alone."

"Good. Have all the embezzlement evidence ready to show him."

"Ethan," Gerald's voice carried warning. "Marcus is unpredictable when cornered. His wife's betrayal might break him or make him dangerous. Be careful."

"I will," I promised. "But we need him on our side. Victoria's isolated him from everyone else. Once he learns the truth, he'll have nowhere to turn except to us."

After ending the call, I looked at Brandon one more time. "Tonight changes everything. After Marcus learns what Victoria's done, there's no going back."

"Good," Brandon said firmly. "It's time for the truth to come out. All of it."

As I rode the elevator down, I thought about the threads we were pulling, each one connected to others in a web Victoria had spent years weaving. But spider webs, no matter how intricate, could be destroyed with a single sweep. Tonight, we'd begin that destruction.

My phone buzzed one final time. Maxwell again, but this time his message was only four words: "Found something huge. Wait."

Thirty seconds later, another message came through with an attached document. I opened it, and my legs nearly gave out. It was a medical record from Peaceful Gardens Nursing Facility. The patient's name had been redacted, but the admission date was clear—one week after Lily's parents' accident.

The diagnosis line made my blood run cold: "Medically induced coma. Patient stable but requires constant life support. Brain activity present. Recovery possible with proper treatment."

Below that, in the payment authorization section: "Victoria Pierce, financial guarantor."

One of Lily's parents was alive, being kept in a coma by the woman who'd tried to kill them.

I grabbed the elevator wall for support as the implications hit me. If we could prove this, Victoria wouldn't just lose everything—she'd spend the rest of her life in prison.

But first, we had to make sure she didn't run. And we had to keep Lily safe from a woman who'd already tried to kill her parents.

The elevator doors opened to the parking garage, and I saw Brandon's men already in position. As I walked to my car, I felt the weight of the necklace against my chest, warm like it always was when something important was happening.

"I'm going to save them, Mom," I whispered. "All of them. I promise."

Tomorrow, Victoria Pierce's empire would fall. But tonight, I had to prepare for war.