Chapter 2: The Secret Beneath the Mansion
Chapter 2: The Secret Beneath the Mansion
Christopher handed Emma to Yvette.
"Take her to the panic room."
"What about you?"
"I'm ending this."
He grabbed the old brass key hidden behind his father's portrait.
The key opened a forgotten elevator concealed inside the library wall.
No one except the former family patriarch had known it existed.
The elevator descended beneath the mansion.
Below...
Christopher discovered a hidden archive.
Hundreds of financial records.
Birth certificates.
Adoption papers.
Photographs.
Then he found a locked steel safe.
Inside lay the original Pierce family will.
Emma's name appeared first.
Christopher's.
Then...
Nothing.
Estelle had inherited absolutely nothing.
Beside the will sat another envelope.
For Christopher—Open only if Estelle betrays the family.
His heartbeat echoed through the silent chamber.
He opened it.
Inside was a USB drive.
When he inserted it into the old computer downstairs...
A video began playing.
His late father appeared on screen.
"If you're watching this... Estelle has finally shown you who she truly is."
Christopher felt the blood drain from his face.
His father continued.
"I discovered she arranged the deaths of three board members to seize control of Pierce Holdings. If Emma is ever found... she will become her next target."
Suddenly...
The elevator alarm blared.
Someone else was coming down.
Christopher reached for the lights.
The elevator doors slowly opened.
Estelle Pierce stepped out.
Holding a pistol.
"I warned your father," she said calmly.
"He should have destroyed that evidence."