The City Is Mine

Chapter Seven

Benjamin’s anger rose so hot it nearly slipped from his mouth. You stood by her. You looked down at me. He bit it back. This wasn’t the moment.

Evelyn lunged for the tablet. “It’s fake! You’ll all regret this—”

But cold steel snapped around her wrists before her fingers found the screen. The officers dragged her toward the door, her silk robe dragging like a fallen flag. She spat over her shoulder. “He’s a gutter boy! You think this changes anything? He’ll drown in the Carter name!”

Marcus flinched away when she looked at him, powerless to help. The family clustered back like roaches under a light.

Benjamin turned to the officers. “I have the codes. I have the pendant. Carter Air, the farmland, the trust, Victor left all of it to me. And she’s been trying to bury it.”

The lead officer looked at the trust papers again, then at the pendant. “You’ll need a bank officer to confirm this, legal transfer takes more than signatures.” His voice softened, just a shade. “But this—” He gestured at the drive. “This changes the charge. “Mrs Evelyn Harper you’re coming for questioning.” Evelyn’s face twisted. “Lies! You’ll regret this!” Handcuffs clicked as they led her out, her eyes burning into Benjamin and Clara.

Benjamin’s shoulders dropped. Not relief, but rage that it took this long. Rage at how many nights he’d slept cold under this roof while Evelyn’s silk choked his mother’s ghost.

He felt Amelia at his elbow before she spoke. “So what now?” Her voice was, shaky, her mask halfway fallen. But there was steel under it, too. Harper steel.

Benjamin turned to her. “Now I finish it.” He lifted the pendant between them. “This doesn’t make me family, Amelia. This makes me the last Carter. Don’t stand in my way again.”

Her lip curled like she’d spit at him, but she didn’t step aside, either. “If you’re lying—” she whispered, too close—“I’ll watch you burn.”

Benjamin leaned in until she could see the fire behind his eyes. “You’ll watch me build.”

He slipped out the door before her answer came. Clara grabbed his arm at the garden gate, pressing the tarnished key into his palm. “You’ve got one more lock, lad. That golden marker? Your mother left you more than papers. That’s Victor’s final seal.”

He pressed her hand back. “Clara. I won’t waste what you risked.”

Sirens carried Evelyn away down the drive. Marcus slammed the door shut behind him, already scheming. Benjamin looked at the big house, its windows full of watching eyes that saw him, for the first time, as something they couldn’t bury.

Dawn spilled gold across the garden as he knelt by the dragon-carved stone. The key slipped into the hidden seam like it had waited decades for his hand. Inside, a sealed envelope, Victor’s last word.

“To my heir, Benjamin Carter: Trust no Harper. Take it all”.

“You know what you have to do,” he muttered to himself, his voice low. “Get to Carter Air’s bank, claim every dollar before she buys me out again.”

The bank’s marble lobby gleamed, the Carter Air logo towering. Benjamin approached a clerk, presenting the documents, pendant, and key. “I’m Benjamin Carter, here for the trust.” He recited the 10-digit code. The clerk’s eyes widened, summoning a manager.

At the counter, he met the clerk’s polite smile and laid everything out, papers, the pendant, the old brass key. “I’m Benjamin Carter,” he said quietly. “I’m here for the trust.” He spoke the ten-digit code from memory. The pendant flickered to life, casting a soft light between them.

The clerk’s smile faltered. She gave him a quick, startled look, then turned and hurried off. Moments later, a manager appeared. A woman in a dark suit, hair pulled back.

She barely glanced at Benjamin before scanning the documents, then the pendant in his hand. Her expression changed as the truth sank in.

“So you really are Victor Carter’s heir,” she said, voice low but steady. “Carter Air. Half the city’s stakes. It’s all tied to this trust.” She paused, weighing her words. “But there’s a condition. Harper & Associates still needs to sign off on the final transfer. It can’t clear until tomorrow.”

Benjamin chest’s tight. So close, yet not done—why? No upset, not now.

The manager handed him a sleek access card. “This proves your claim for now, Mr. Carter. By tomorrow, you’ll be the city’s most powerful man—airlines, real estate, bonds, all of it. Just come back then.”

Benjamin gripped the card, thinking about Amelia’s taunts. He wouldn’t forgive her, not after years of scorn, not even if she wavered now.

Back at the mansion, Clara met him in the garden, her face ashen. “Evelyn’s out, called in her favor. She’ll be after me, and says I’ll regret crossing her.” She glanced at the dragon-carved marker. 

Benjamin knelt, fitting the key into the marker’s seam. It clicked open, revealing a sealed contract: “Benjamin Carter, my heir, claims all. Harper’s deal binds you.” The pendant glowed, confirming his blood. But Evelyn’s car roared up, Marcus beside her, his eyes blazing.

Amelia appeared, her voice low. “I saw the video. Mother might be a killer, but I’m not yours, not after everything.” 

Marcus lunged for the contract. “You’re no heir, Carter!”