Chapter 3 — Every Lie Fell Apart
The attorney read aloud.
If you're hearing this letter, someone has attempted to change what I built.
The room became impossibly still.
Your father loves power more than fairness. I pray I am wrong. But if I am not, protect each other—not him.
Marissa slowly stepped backward.
The color disappeared from Uncle Victor's face.
My father shouted,
"That letter is fabricated!"
The attorney ignored him.
My mother had attached bank records.
Original trust amendments.
Signed witness statements.
Copies stored with three different law firms.
Everything.
She had anticipated exactly this day.
Dean stared at our father.
"Did you really steal from Mom?"
Silence.
That silence was louder than any confession.
Marissa whispered,
"Elias..."
He looked at her.
She took one step away from him.
Then another.
She suddenly understood what marrying him would mean.
May you like
If he could betray his own children...
No one was safe.
