Chapter 15: The Final Inheritance
Chapter 15: The Final Inheritance
Alexander disappeared without leaving a trace.
No cameras.
No witnesses.
No evidence.
Exactly like someone who had spent years preparing for escape.
Mariana stood in Victor's study, staring at the empty space where the final file had been kept.
"He wanted us to find him."
Adrian looked at her.
"You think this was planned?"
"Everything he does is planned."
She touched the empty shelf.
"He didn't steal the file."
Adrian frowned.
"Then what?"
"He took it because he wanted us to chase him."
The search led them to an abandoned Valmont property outside the city.
A place nobody had visited for decades.
The old family vineyard.
When Mariana and Adrian arrived, the doors were already open.
Inside was a room filled with documents.
Photos.
Records.
Evidence.
The entire history of both families.
Adrian looked around.
"This is impossible."
Mariana picked up a photograph.
It showed Victor.
Her father.
And Alexander.
Working together.
She turned pale.
"Alexander wasn't Victor's enemy."
Adrian looked at her.
"What?"
"He was investigating with him."
A voice came from the darkness.
"Finally."
They turned.
Alexander stepped forward.
"You understand."
Mariana stared at him.
"You framed me."
"I needed Adrian to choose."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"You manipulated us."
Alexander nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Alexander looked at Mariana.
"Because I needed to know if he was different."
Mariana frowned.
"Different from who?"
Alexander's eyes became cold.
"From everyone who betrayed us."
He opened the final file.
Inside was a letter from Victor.
Mariana read it.
Her hands began trembling.
Mariana, if you are reading this, then the truth has finally arrived.
The Valmont fortune was never built by blood alone. It was built by loyalty.
But someone in this family destroyed that loyalty.
She continued reading.
Then she stopped.
Because the final sentence changed everything.
The person responsible for my death is not Vivienne. She was only protecting the real mastermind.
Mariana looked up.
Adrian whispered:
"Then who?"
Alexander looked toward the door.
And everyone froze.
Because someone was standing there.
Someone they never expected.
Someone who had been helping them from the beginning.
The person who knew every secret.
Every document.
Every hidden account.
The person Victor trusted most.
Eleanor.
The family housekeeper.
Mariana stared.
"Eleanor?"
The old woman slowly entered.
And for the first time in thirty years...
she removed the mask of loyalty.
"I was never just the housekeeper."
The room went silent.
Eleanor looked at Mariana.
"I was the guardian of the Valmont legacy."
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A pause.
"And I was the only person who knew the truth."
