Chapter 10 - THE WIFE WHO HELD THE EMPIRE IN HER HAND
I had spent three years asking Derek for permission to buy groceries.
Now I was holding a wedding ring that might contain the key to a fortune.
The irony would have been funny if it hadn't been so cruel.
Rachel arranged for the safety deposit box to be opened with the bank's legal department and investigators present.
Alexander accompanied me only after I asked him.
Inside the box was a leather folder.
A small encrypted device.
And a handwritten letter.
To my daughter, Emily.
My hands began shaking.
I recognized my father's handwriting immediately.
If you're reading this, then I failed to keep our family safe.
Tears blurred the words.
But I want you to know something.
You were never a burden.
You were the best thing that ever happened to me.
I covered my mouth.
For years, Derek had told me I was difficult.
Too emotional.
Too expensive.
Too much trouble.
Now my father's words felt like someone opening a window in a room I'd been trapped inside.
I continued reading.
I worked with the Moretti family because I believed their legitimate businesses could survive without the violence and corruption surrounding them.
When I discovered Richard Hayes was stealing money and trafficking illegal payments through the shipping accounts, I collected evidence.
I placed my ownership interest into a protected trust for you.
Not because I wanted you to inherit power.
Because I wanted you to have choices.
My tears fell onto the page.
The documents inside confirmed that my father held a significant interest in a holding company connected to Moretti Maritime.
The trust had been created before his disappearance.
Derek's attempt to gain control through our marriage was based on forged documents.
Rachel smiled for the first time in days.
"This could change everything."
Alexander looked at me.
"Emily, your father's shares must be handled through the legal process. Nobody gets to take them from you."
I nodded.
But something else caught my attention.
A small photograph tucked behind the letter.
It showed my father standing beside Alexander.
Both men were laughing.
On the back, Dad had written:
The young Moretti may yet become a better man than his father.
I looked at Alexander.
He seemed deeply affected.
"Jonathan believed in me," he whispered.
"Apparently."
He smiled sadly.
"Even when I didn't deserve it."
I studied him.
"Then maybe you should prove him right."
He looked at me for a long moment.
Then nodded.
"I intend to."
That afternoon, federal investigators completed a search of the rehabilitation facility connected to Hayes Medical Group.
They located Jonathan Carter.
Alive.
Weak.
But conscious.
When Rachel called with the news, I almost dropped my phone.
"Emily, they found your father."
I couldn't speak.
"He's receiving medical care now."
Tears streamed down my face.
"Can I see him?"
"Yes. They're arranging a safe meeting."
I looked at Alexander.
He stood beside me, his expression filled with relief.
Then Rachel continued.
"There's something else."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"The investigators recovered a second set of documents from your father's room."
I swallowed.
"What documents?"
Rachel hesitated.
"Adoption records."
I frowned.
"Adoption?"
"Yes."
She took a breath.
"Emily, your father had been trying to locate another child."
My heart stopped.
"What child?"
May you like
Rachel's next words changed everything.
"Your younger sister."
