Chapter 10 - The Hidden WillLate that night, long after Samuel, Rebecca, and Jacob had fallen asleep in their massive new bedrooms, Thomas sat alone in his home office. The room was illuminated only by the soft glow of a desk lamp and the glow of his computer screen.
He was sipping a glass of bourbon, methodically going through the encrypted hard drives his team had confiscated from Robert Vance’s private safe during the takeover. He wasn't looking for anything specific—just ensuring there were no hidden liabilities tied to the acquisition.
Folder after folder contained exactly what he expected: shady tax maneuvers, unpaid invoices, and desperate attempts to secure loans.
But then, he clicked on a hidden, password-protected folder named S.V. Estate.
S.V. Sarah Vance. His late wife.
Thomas’s brow furrowed. He ran a quick decryption algorithm Marcus had installed on his machine. A few minutes later, the folder unlocked.
Inside were scanned legal documents dated exactly twelve years ago—just a few months before Thomas and Sarah had gotten married.
Thomas opened the first PDF. His heart skipped a beat.
It was a Last Will and Testament belonging to Sarah’s grandmother, Eleanor Vance, the true matriarch of the family and the original source of their wealth. Eleanor had passed away a decade ago, and Robert had always claimed she died nearly penniless, having donated her fortune to charity.
But as Thomas read the legal jargon, his blood ran cold.
Eleanor hadn't donated her fortune. She had left an irrevocable trust—eighty million dollars, the family estate in the Hamptons, and 51% of voting shares in Vance Holdings—entirely to her favorite granddaughter, Sarah.
Eleanor had explicitly cut Robert and Helen out, citing their "frivolous and toxic nature."
Thomas frantically scrolled down to the signature pages. Appended to the Will was a secondary document: a Renunciation of Inheritance, allegedly signed by Sarah, legally passing all assets back to her father, Robert.
Thomas zoomed in on Sarah’s signature. He had seen his wife’s handwriting every day for a decade. He knew the loop of her ‘S’, the sharp angle of her ‘r’.
The signature on the document was a forgery. A very good one, but a forgery nonetheless.
Robert and Helen hadn't just mistreated Sarah and her children. They had stolen her entire inheritance. They had robbed her of her birthright to keep their empire, forcing Sarah and Thomas to struggle through the early years of their marriage, living paycheck to paycheck, while her parents lived like kings on stolen money.
And Sarah never knew. She had died thinking her parents, despite their flaws, were just successful business people.
The glass of bourbon in Thomas's hand shattered, sending amber liquid and shards of crystal raining down onto the mahogany desk. He didn't even feel the sharp sting in his palm.
He had taken their company. He had taken their social standing. He had taken their home. He thought he had taken everything.
He was wrong.
He hadn't made them suffer nearly enough.
May you like
Thomas picked up his phone, his eyes blazing with a new, terrifying fury. He dialed a number. It rang once before being answered.
"Marcus," Thomas said, his voice dropping an octave, shaking the very walls of the silent house. "Wake up the legal team. We aren't just bankrupting Robert Vance. We're sending him to prison."
Related Stories
