Chapter 13 - THE KING BEHIND THE CURTAIN
For decades, everyone believed Victor Vale had controlled the family empire.
Then Dominic inherited it.
But Adrian was telling us that someone else had been pulling the strings.
Someone quieter.
Someone who rarely appeared in public.
Someone who used charity foundations and legal offices to move money without attracting attention.
“Who?” Dominic asked.
Adrian looked exhausted.
He took a slow breath.
“Daniel Cross.”
The supposedly dead lawyer.
Dominic's expression hardened.
“He was never just our attorney?”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
“He controlled the financial network?”
“Yes.”
I swallowed.
“And Margaret?”
“She helped him.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
Adrian looked toward the window.
“Because Daniel promised her control of the foundation.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
For years, he had believed he ran the family organization.
But the financial records suggested Daniel had been using its legitimate businesses to conceal illegal operations.
Dominic had inherited a system he didn't fully understand.
And now he was discovering that his own family had been manipulated by people who preferred to remain invisible.
Marcus opened a folder.
“Boss, investigators have located Daniel Cross.”
Dominic turned.
“Where?”
“At a private airfield.”
My heart raced.
“Is he leaving?”
“Apparently.”
Dominic looked toward the investigator standing nearby.
“Can your people stop him?”
The officer nodded.
“We have units moving into position.”
Within an hour, Daniel Cross was detained.
Margaret Sinclair was arrested at her estate.
Authorities began examining financial records connected to Hawthorne and the Vale Family Foundation.
The investigation uncovered fraudulent identities, unlawful confinement, witness intimidation, and years of concealed financial activity.
But for me, the most important part wasn't the money.
It was the people.
Adrian.
Isabella.
Marcus.
Elise.
The family that had been stolen from us.
One by one, we began finding each other.
And for the first time in my life, I wasn't alone.
Then Dominic received a call from his attorney.
He listened silently.
His expression changed.
“What do you mean?”
I looked up.
“Dominic?”
He lowered the phone.
“Rachel, there's something else.”
My stomach tightened.
“Please tell me nobody else is secretly related to me.”
Marcus laughed.
Dominic almost smiled.
Then he handed me a document.
It was a copy of Adrian's original family trust.
The beneficiary section listed three names.
Rachel Vale.
Elise Vale.
Andrew Vale.
Marcus leaned forward.
“What is this?”
Dominic swallowed.
“My uncle established a trust for his children before they were born.”
I stared at the document.
“And?”
Dominic looked directly at me.
“The trust still exists.”
My heart pounded.
“How much?”
He hesitated.
May you like
Then answered:
“Just over eighty million dollars.”
