Chapter 7 - THE LAST ACCOUNT
Emergency lights flickered on.
Eleanor heard glass breaking outside.
Police rushed through the hallway.
Marcus grabbed her hand.
“Mom, we have to leave.”
They ran through the rear entrance.
Outside, rain poured.
A black SUV sped away from the estate.
Daniel watched it disappear.
“Thomas.”
Marcus nodded.
“He has the trust.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“Then how do we stop him?”
Marcus hesitated.
“There is another account.”
“What account?”
“The original family account.”
Eleanor frowned.
“I thought everything was in the company.”
“No.”
Marcus explained that Thomas had created a hidden reserve years earlier.
Money had been moved through it after the fire.
The account had never appeared on company records.
“How much?”
Marcus looked at her.
“Almost $40 million.”
Eleanor stared.
“Where?”
“Offshore.”
Daniel asked:
“Do you know the bank?”
Marcus nodded.
“Because Thomas showed me once.”
“Why?”
“To convince me he would make me rich.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“What bank?”
Marcus gave the name.
Daniel immediately contacted federal investigators.
But the account had already been accessed.
Someone was moving the money.
Eleanor watched the numbers on the screen.
Millions disappearing.
“Can we stop it?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Not without the authorization key.”
“What key?”
Marcus looked at Eleanor.
“Your husband's final key.”
Eleanor remembered.
Years earlier, her husband had given her a small metal key.
She had kept it in a jewelry box.
She had never known what it opened.
She pulled it from her purse.
Daniel stared.
“That's it.”
They traced the key to a bank vault.
Inside was a final recording.
Eleanor's husband's voice filled the room.
If you are hearing this, Thomas has returned.
Eleanor closed her eyes.
I know I failed to protect you from him.
But I left you a way to end this.
The recording continued.
The company isn't the inheritance.
The land isn't the inheritance.
The money isn't the inheritance.
The truth is.
Eleanor began crying.
Her husband explained that the original company had been built on land that Thomas wanted.
But he had secretly placed the land into a protected charitable trust.
No one could sell it.
No family member could seize it.
The only person who could dissolve the trust was Eleanor.
And she had one condition.
The company must remain dedicated to caring for vulnerable people.
Eleanor understood.
Thomas wanted the company.
But he couldn't own its most valuable assets.
Unless he controlled her.
The recording continued.
If Thomas comes back, he will try to make you believe you are alone.
You aren't.
There is one person who can stop him.
Eleanor looked at the screen.
A name appeared.
Sophie Hart.
Eleanor stared.
Her husband's plan had been to reunite them.
Not divide them.
Then the recording ended.
Marcus sat silently.
“I destroyed everything.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“You were manipulated.”
“I still chose what I did.”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“I need to take responsibility.”
Eleanor reached for his hand.
“Then start by telling the truth.”
Marcus agreed.
He testified.
His testimony revealed Thomas's entire network.
Brielle cooperated.
The attorney was arrested.
Richard faced additional charges.
But Thomas remained free.
Until that evening.
The police received a call.
Thomas had entered the Hawthorne headquarters.
Alone.
He had one demand.
Eleanor.
She arrived with officers.
Thomas stood in the executive office.
He looked older than the photographs.
But his eyes were cold.
“You finally came.”
Eleanor stared.
“You destroyed your own family.”
“You don't understand.”
“I understand enough.”
Thomas smiled.
“You think the law will save you?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Eleanor looked behind him.
Sophie.
Marcus.
Daniel.
Federal agents.
And dozens of Hawthorne employees.
“They will.”
Thomas's expression changed.
“You brought witnesses.”
“I brought the people you tried to destroy.”
Thomas laughed.
Then he reached into his coat.
Everyone froze.
He pulled out a document.
“Your husband left me something.”
Eleanor stared.
“What?”
Thomas smiled.
“A confession.”
He held it up.
“Your husband was the one who ordered the fire.”
Eleanor's face went white.
May you like
Thomas whispered:
“And I have proof.”
