Chapter 6: The Price of Trust
I didn’t remember walking back into the ballroom.
One moment I was standing behind that wall.
The next, I was beside Maya, trying to process what I had heard.
Everything my family owned.
What documents?
What transfer?
Why would Adrian think he had any control over my future?
My father noticed my expression.
“What happened?””
I looked at Maya first.
She already knew.
“He’s planning something bigger.””
My father’s jaw tightened.
“What did you hear?””
I repeated Adrian’s words.
Every sentence.
Every pause.
Every threat hidden beneath his calm voice.
When I finished, my father closed his eyes.
For the first time that night, he looked afraid.
Not angry.
Afraid.
“Dad?””
He looked at me.
“There’s something I need to tell you.””
I hated those words.
Because every time someone said them, my life changed.
“What?””
He looked around.
Then lowered his voice.
“After your grandfather died, the family trust was changed.””
I frowned.
“I know.””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“You know the public version.””
My stomach tightened.
“What’s the real version?””
My father looked at Maya.
“She should hear this too.””
Maya nodded.
My father continued.
“Your grandfather believed someone in the family would eventually try to use the company for personal gain.””
Corinne looked confused.
“Are you saying Grandpa knew?””
“Yes.””
My father took a breath.
“He added a condition.””
“What condition?””
My father looked directly at me.
“You become the controlling decision-maker only after your marriage.””
The words hit me.
“What?””
My mother stepped closer.
“I thought you knew.””
I turned toward her.
“No.””
Her face changed.
“You never read the updated documents?””
“I thought they were standard inheritance papers.””
My father shook his head.
“That was the point.””
My heart started racing.
Adrian wasn’t after the foundation.
Not only the foundation.
He was after control.
Control that came through my marriage.
Through my signature.
Through my trust.
Maya looked at me.
“That’s why he mentioned the engagement.””
I nodded slowly.
Everything connected.
My family had spent the entire night judging Maya because they thought she didn’t belong.
Meanwhile, someone inside the family was trying to use my future wife as a doorway into everything we owned.
Then Maya said something that made me look at her.
“He knows about the condition.””
My father turned.
“How?””
Maya opened the folder again.
She pulled out another page.
“This was attached to the leaked information from my company.””
I read the document.
It wasn’t a financial report.
It was a copy of my grandfather’s trust agreement.
My blood went cold.
Someone had stolen it.
Someone had copied it.
Someone had been planning this for months.
My father looked toward the ballroom.
“Where is Adrian?””
I looked around.
The corridor was empty.
The chair where he had been sitting was vacant.
My mother noticed too.
“He was just here.””
My father grabbed his phone.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Then my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A message.
One sentence.
*You should have asked Maya why she really came into your family.*
I stared at the screen.
Maya saw my face.
“What is it?””
I didn’t answer.
Because another message appeared.
This time with an attachment.
A photograph.
A photograph of Maya.
Standing outside my family’s office.
Taken three days before I ever introduced her to them.
May you like
And beneath it was a message that made my entire world stop.
*Your fiancée has been hiding the truth about who she was before she met you.*
