Chapter 5 - THE GARAGE UNDER THE GARAGE
The old garage had been abandoned for thirty years.
Baldric returned that evening.
Rain hammered the roof.
Caleb stood beside him.
“You really think it's here?”
“Our grandfather never trusted banks.”
Baldric laughed.
“Neither do I.”
They moved an old workbench.
Underneath it was a metal plate.
Baldric removed the bolts.
A staircase descended into darkness.
At the bottom was a steel door.
Marcus entered the code from the old family records.
The door opened.
Inside were boxes.
Hundreds of them.
Documents.
Certificates.
Photographs.
Bank records.
And one massive black safe.
Baldric opened it.
Inside was the original Vance trust.
His grandfather's signature was on the final page.
Baldric Vance — controlling beneficiary.
Baldric stared.
“How much?”
Marcus checked the documents.
“Approximately six hundred million dollars.”
Caleb laughed softly.
“And they thought you were poor.”
Baldric shook his head.
“I never wanted this.”
“That's why they couldn't understand you.”
Then Marcus found another document.
He read it.
“Baldric…”
“What?”
“This is an ownership transfer.”
“To whom?”
Marcus looked up.
“To Arianne.”
Baldric froze.
His grandfather had planned everything.
The company.
The trust.
The inheritance.
Arianne had been protected before she was born.
Then Baldric saw one final clause.
His blood ran cold.
“If the beneficiary is ever threatened, controlling authority automatically transfers to the beneficiary's guardian.”
He looked at Marcus.
“That's me.”
Marcus nodded.
Baldric smiled.
For the first time since Arianne was attacked, he felt something other than anger.
Power.
Legal power.
Absolute power.
He picked up the phone.
“Call every board member.”
Marcus nodded.
“Tonight?”
“Tonight.”
“And what should I tell them?”
Baldric looked at the documents.
“Tell them the sleeping owner has finally woken up.”
The emergency board meeting began at midnight.
Derek arrived with lawyers.
Roger arrived.
Bertha arrived.
And Baldric walked in wearing the same old work jacket he had worn for years.
Derek laughed.
“You're making a mistake.”
Baldric placed the trust documents on the table.
“No.”
Derek's smile vanished.
“You don't understand corporate law.”
Baldric pushed another document forward.
“Actually, I understand it very well.”
The board attorney examined the papers.
Then his face changed.
“Mr. Vance…”
“Yes?”
“You control the company.”
Baldric looked at Derek.
“And you don't.”
Derek's face turned white.
Then Baldric added:
“Effective immediately, every Vance family member involved in the attempted poisoning of my daughter is removed from every company position.”
Derek stood.
“You can't do that!”
Baldric smiled.
“I already did.”
Security entered.
Derek was escorted out.
But as Baldric watched him leave, his phone rang.
Arianne.
Her voice was weak.
“Dad?”
He closed his eyes.
“I'm here.”
“There's something I never told you.”
“What?”
“I remember the night Derek injected me.”
Baldric's heart stopped.
“What did you see?”
Arianne whispered:
“Someone else was in the room.”
“Who?”
A long silence.
Then:
“Your brother.”
Baldric slowly turned toward Caleb.
May you like
Caleb was standing across the room.
And his face had gone completely white.
