2026-10-25 22:58:31
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Chapter 69
Kaleb had barely reached the front steps when Lyon caught up with him.“Leaving so soon, Uncle?”Kaleb stopped beside his car.“You've embarrassed the family enough for one evening.”“I asked whether you knew Elliot Ward. You could have answered without making a scene.”“I told you I don't know him.”“Then why did you recognize his photograph?”Kaleb turned sharply. “Be careful, Lyon. You're beginning to confuse money with power.”Lyon glanced at the expensive car waiting beside them.“I used to polish the floors in Gun Jameson's villa. I know the difference between looking powerful and actually having power.”Kaleb's jaw tightened.“Whatever game you're playing, leave the dead out of it.”“Elliot isn't dead.”For a moment, Kaleb looked genuinely startled.Lyon caught the reaction.“You thought he was?”“I don't know what you're talking about.”“That's becoming the family motto.”Kaleb opened his car door.“Stay away from this matter.”“Why? Because the original agreement might expose
Chapter 68
Lyon didn't look away from Richard.The message remained open on his phone.You are looking for a dead man's son. Stop. The heir is already sitting at your family table.Richard read it again, then shook his head.“This has to be a trick.”“Probably.”“You don't believe the heir is someone in our family?”“I believe someone wants us to suspect everyone.”Lyon pocketed his phone and picked up the appointment record.“Who attended the family gatherings regularly when you were growing up?”Richard looked confused. “The usual people. My father, Henry, Kaleb, the other branches. Why?”“Who was allowed to sit with the elders despite having no clear position in the family business?”Richard thought for a moment.“Victor attended some private gatherings, but he wasn't family. He was there to handle financial matters.”“Anyone else?”“Not that I remember.”Lyon studied him.“Think harder.”Richard rubbed his forehead. “There was a man who sometimes accompanied my father. He was introduced as a
Chapter 67
Lyon read Richard's message a third time.The payment came from Henry himself.That was the detail he couldn't ignore.If Henry had paid Richard's father to keep a child out of the family records, then the arrangement had been deliberate. It wasn't simply an attempt to hide a scandal. Someone had decided that a child connected to Thomas Dwayne couldn't be allowed to carry his real name.But why?Lyon called Richard.“Have you touched anything else in the safe?”“No. I found the document underneath the false bottom. It was folded inside an envelope with my father's handwriting.”“Read it to me.”Richard cleared his throat.“‘The payment is complete. The child will remain outside the family register until further notice. No claim to the reserve or the estate will be recognized. If Henry asks, the matter is settled.’”“Who signed it?”“My father. But the payment authorization is signed by Henry.”“What's the amount?”Richard paused.“Twenty million.”Lyon's expression hardened.Twenty mi
Chapter 66
Lyon read Richard's message a third time.The payment came from Henry himself.That was the detail he couldn't ignore.If Henry had paid Richard's father to keep a child out of the family records, then the arrangement had been deliberate. It wasn't simply an attempt to hide a scandal. Someone had decided that a child connected to Thomas Dwayne couldn't be allowed to carry his real name.But why?Lyon called Richard.“Have you touched anything else in the safe?”“No. I found the document underneath the false bottom. It was folded inside an envelope with my father's handwriting.”“Read it to me.”Richard cleared his throat.“‘The payment is complete. The child will remain outside the family register until further notice. No claim to the reserve or the estate will be recognized. If Henry asks, the matter is settled.’”“Who signed it?”“My father. But the payment authorization is signed by Henry.”“What's the amount?”Richard paused.“Twenty million.”Lyon's expression hardened.Twenty mi
Chapter 65
Lyon read the message again.Ask Richard what happened to his father on October 17.He called his uncle.Richard answered on the fourth ring. “Have you found something?”“I'm the one asking questions today. Where are you?”“At home.”“Stay there. I'm coming over.”“Lyon, what's happened?”“That's what I'm about to find out.”He ended the call before Richard could ask anything else.Paul returned to the office a few minutes later, carrying a folder of newly recovered records.“Any news from Marcus?” he asked.“He's conscious. He claims someone used Thomas Dwayne's identity to issue the order against me.”Paul set the folder down. “That would explain why the name doesn't appear in the modern records.”“It might explain something. It doesn't prove anything.”“There's another issue. The court order authorizing the removal of Thomas's remains was signed by Henry, but the application was submitted by a private attorney representing the estate. That attorney's name appears in several early N
Chapter 64
“Someone who died before I was born?”Lyon repeated the words slowly.Paul's voice crackled through the phone. “That's what Marcus said. He insists the person who gave Gun the final order was already dead when you were born.”“Did he explain how a dead person could give an order?”“He was about to, but he lost consciousness. The paramedics are treating him now.”Lyon glanced at the photograph in his hand.Henry Dwayne stood beside Marcus Vale, Victor Hale, and Kaleb Dwayne. Adrian Sterling's name appeared on the back, but the man himself wasn't in the picture.Someone else had been there.Someone Henry apparently trusted enough to bring into a private meeting.And someone whose influence had survived death.“Keep Marcus alive,” Lyon ordered. “Nobody questions him until a doctor clears him. Put him somewhere secure, and don't let the police take him away without informing me.”“Understood.”“One more thing. Did you catch the attackers?”“One vehicle escaped. The second crashed into a b
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