Chapter 7
Elena ran toward the burning ambulance.
Morgan caught her.
“Let me go! My grandfather is inside!”
Firefighters opened the rear doors.
The stretcher was empty.
The explosion had come from a medical supply compartment, not beneath Augustus.
A paramedic lay injured near the front.
Augustus was gone.
Detective Reed dropped the remote and raised his hands.
“I triggered the rear-door release,” he shouted. “I did not cause the explosion.”
Morgan’s agents restrained him.
Security footage later revealed that the device had been hidden inside an oxygen case brought by one of Celeste’s guards.
The explosion created enough confusion for someone to take Augustus through the forest.
Reed admitted helping him fake his death.
“Stefan contacted me about corruption inside the Somor organization,” he explained. “When he was killed, Augustus asked me to hide him.”
“Then why did you release Daniel?” Elena asked.
“Because Daniel’s attorney threatened to expose Augustus before we found the original trust.”
“You chose the plan over my safety.”
“I believed Daniel would lead us to the document.”
“He led me into another trap.”
Reed looked ashamed.
That did not make Elena trust him.
Agents followed a trail from the ambulance into the forest.
They found Augustus’s hospital bracelet beside an old service tunnel leading beneath the lodge.
Sofia recognized it.
“The tunnel connects to the family cemetery.”
Everyone was heading toward Stefan’s grave.
Daniel and Vanessa had escaped police custody after a transport vehicle was attacked.
They needed the trust amendment before Elena could use it.
Morgan led the team through the tunnel.
Elena followed despite orders to remain behind.
They emerged inside the cemetery chapel.
Stefan’s grave stood open.
Daniel held Augustus at gunpoint beside it.
Vanessa was inside the grave, pulling a sealed metal tube from beneath the coffin.
“Give me the amendment,” Elena said.
Vanessa climbed out.
Her elegant white dress was covered in mud.
“You stole my life,” she said.
“I did not know you existed.”
“Augustus did. Your mother did. They let me grow up with nothing while you inherited resorts.”
“You married Daniel to recover your share.”
“I married him because he promised justice.”
Daniel laughed.
“You married me because you wanted the name.”
Vanessa turned on him.
“You said we would control it together.”
“You were useful.”
The cruelty on his face finally destroyed her loyalty.
Vanessa tore open the metal tube.
The original trust was inside.
Daniel aimed at her.
“Hand it over.”
Instead, she threw the document toward Elena.
Daniel fired.
Vanessa fell beside Stefan’s grave.
Elena caught the trust and dropped behind a stone monument.
Morgan’s agents surrounded Daniel.
He dragged Augustus in front of him.
“I want a helicopter and full access to the offshore account.”
Augustus could barely stand.
“You were never worthy of this family.”
Daniel pressed the gun against his neck.
“This family created me.”
“No,” Elena said from behind the monument. “It gave you opportunities. You chose what to become.”
Vanessa moved in the mud.
She was alive.
The bullet had struck her shoulder.
She reached for Daniel’s ankle and pulled.
He lost his balance.
Augustus drove his elbow backward.
Morgan fired.
The bullet struck Daniel’s arm.
Officers forced him to the ground.
As they carried Vanessa toward an ambulance, she grabbed Elena’s hand.
“I did help lock you in the cabin.”
“I know.”
“I thought Daniel only wanted you to miss the hearing.”
“You watched him leave me without shoes or medicine.”
Vanessa began crying.
“I’m sorry.”
Elena pulled her hand away.
“Tell the truth in court.”
Morgan examined the amendment.
It carried another clause no one expected.
If Augustus concealed the wrongful death of a family trustee, his shares transferred to the victim’s descendants.
May you like
Augustus had hidden Stefan’s murder and identity.
That meant Vanessa—not Elena—was now the majority trustee.
