Chapter 8: The Inheritance Nobody Expected
The laboratory director placed the folder on the table.
“My name is Dr. Rebecca Ellis.””
She looked at Julian.
“I was the director of Mercer Medical Labs six years ago.””
Julian stared at her.
“Why are you here now?””
Rebecca glanced at Margaret.
“Because I spent six years trying to correct what happened.””
Margaret stepped forward.
“You are making a mistake.””
Rebecca didn’t even look at her.
“No. I made one mistake six years ago.””
She opened the folder.
“And I have regretted it every day since.””
I watched Julian carefully.
He looked exhausted.
Like every answer created another question.
“What happened?”” he asked.
Rebecca took a breath.
“The original DNA results were never changed.””
Thomas frowned.
“But the report Danielle received said otherwise.””
“Yes.””
“How?””
Rebecca removed several pages.
“Someone created a fake report using our laboratory system.””
Daniel looked at the papers.
“They had access?””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
Rebecca looked around.
Then she answered.
“Someone inside Mercer Holdings.””
Margaret immediately said:
“This is absurd.””
Rebecca finally looked at her.
“Your company’s legal department requested access to private medical records.””
The color left Margaret’s face.
Julian noticed.
“You knew.””
“I was investigating.””
“You knew.””
Margaret’s silence was enough.
I looked at Rebecca.
“Why hide the truth?””
Her expression fell.
“Because I was threatened.””
The garden became quiet again.
“By who?””
Rebecca looked at the crowd.
Then toward Victoria.
Victoria froze.
“No.””
Rebecca continued.
“Victoria Mercer contacted me two days after the false report was created.””
Victoria shook her head.
“That’s impossible.””
“You offered me money.””
“I never—”
“You told me if the truth came out, my career would end.””
Nobody spoke.
Victoria’s confident expression disappeared.
Julian looked at her.
“Why?””
Victoria’s eyes filled with anger.
“Because everything was supposed to be mine.””
The confession escaped before she could stop it.
Margaret turned sharply.
“Victoria.””
But it was too late.
“You promised me,” Victoria said.
“I promised you nothing.””
“You said Julian would marry me.””
“I said it was possible.””
“You said Danielle would disappear.””
I felt every eye turn toward me.
Victoria looked around.
Then she realized what she had done.
She had revealed too much.
Julian’s voice was quiet.
“You were all planning my life.””
Nobody answered.
Rebecca continued.
“There was another reason they changed the report.””
She turned the page.
“A hidden clause in the Mercer family trust.””
Daniel read it.
His eyes widened.
“What clause?””
Rebecca looked at me.
“Julian’s child wasn’t just an heir.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
“The trust was designed to prevent the company from being controlled by anyone who used deception or illegal methods.””
Julian looked confused.
“Meaning?””
Rebecca pointed at the documents.
“If the family attempted to remove your child through fraud, control of the company would transfer.””
“To who?””
She looked at Amara.
“Her.””
The garden went completely silent.
I stared.
“My six-year-old daughter?””
“Not directly. A guardian would manage the assets until she became an adult.””
Margaret’s expression turned furious.
“That’s why.””
Everyone looked at her.
She whispered:
“That’s why she had to disappear.””
Julian stepped closer.
“What did you say?””
Margaret realized everyone had heard.
She looked trapped.
“I was protecting the company.””
“No.””
Julian’s voice was cold.
“You were protecting yourself.””
Thomas picked up another document.
“There’s one final piece.””
He looked at me.
“A private account was created six years ago.””
“What account?””
“One that received payments connected to the fake DNA report.””
My heart sank.
“Whose account?””
Thomas hesitated.
Then he turned the paper around.
The name was visible.
I recognized it instantly.
I stepped backward.
“No.””
Julian looked at the document.
Then at me.
“Danielle…”
I couldn’t speak.
Because the account wasn’t under Margaret’s name.
It wasn’t under Victoria’s.
It wasn’t under Thomas’s.
It was under mine.
And beside my name was a date.
The same day Julian’s car went over the cliff.
A date that suggested something impossible.
Someone had created an account in my name.
Someone had been using me as part of the plan.
And then my phone started ringing.
The screen showed a number I had never seen before.
May you like
But the message underneath made my blood freeze.
*I know who really caused Julian’s accident.*
