Chapter 5 - THE DAUGHTER NOBODY KNEW EXISTED
Ava replayed the recording three times.
Find the daughter Richard has been hiding.
Each time, her mother's voice made the words feel more impossible.
“My father had another daughter?” she whispered.
Samuel Bennett lowered his eyes.
“Yes.”
“Bianca?”
“No.”
Ava stared at him.
For years, she had believed Bianca was Richard’s stepdaughter from Victoria’s previous marriage.
Samuel opened the black leather notebook.
“Richard began an affair with Victoria before Eleanor died. Bianca was born during their marriage.”
Ava felt sick.
“Bianca is my half-sister?”
“Yes.”
Niko stood beside the door, allowing Ava room to absorb the news.
But Samuel had not finished.
“Your mother discovered the affair. She also discovered that Richard had been secretly using her company to move money into offshore accounts.”
Ava gripped the desk.
“Was Victoria involved?”
“She managed some of those accounts.”
“Then why didn't Mom leave him?”
“She intended to.”
Samuel opened a sealed envelope.
Inside was a divorce petition.
Eleanor Monroe had signed it two weeks before her death.
Ava touched the paper.
“She was leaving.”
“She was trying to protect you.”
Samuel’s voice grew rough.
“She planned to transfer her controlling shares into a protected trust and expose the financial fraud. She asked me to prepare everything.”
Niko leaned forward.
“What stopped her?”
Samuel hesitated.
“Someone found out.”
A loud crash came from downstairs.
Niko immediately turned toward the doorway.
Dante’s voice crackled over his radio.
“Boss, two men just forced the rear entrance.”
“Secure the stairwell.”
Ava flinched as footsteps echoed below.
Samuel quickly gathered the documents.
“They've followed me.”
Niko moved toward Ava.
“Stay close.”
A window shattered in the outer office.
Dante and two security officers rushed into the corridor.
Niko ushered Ava and Samuel through a second exit leading to the freight elevator.
Ava clutched the notebook against her chest.
They reached the street as police sirens approached the building.
Inside the SUV, Ava finally opened the notebook.
The first pages recorded shipments, bank transfers, and company meetings.
Then she found a photograph tucked into the back cover.
It showed Richard standing beside Victoria outside a hospital.
Victoria held a newborn baby.
Bianca.
On the reverse, Eleanor had written a date.
Ava stared at it.
“Samuel.”
He turned.
“What is it?”
“This photograph was taken the week before my mother died.”
“Yes.”
Ava's eyes moved to a second handwritten line.
May you like
There were only five words.
Victoria was driving that night.
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