Chapter 15 - THE MAN WHO FELL
The bullet struck Benjamin in the shoulder.
He collapsed beside the desk.
Noah tackled Catherine before she could fire again.
The gun slid across the floor.
Elena kicked it out of reach.
Detective Mason and his officers entered seconds later.
Catherine stopped fighting.
She stared at Benjamin’s blood spreading across the rug.
“You should have let him die.”
Paramedics carried Benjamin away.
Catherine was arrested under the name Catherine Reed.
Her fingerprints revealed another identity.
Her real name was Evelyn Shaw.
Linda Shaw, Margaret’s missing nurse, had been a false identity created years earlier.
DNA testing confirmed that Catherine and Elena shared the same mother.
The news spread quickly.
Reporters gathered outside the estate gates.
The lost Hartley daughter became a national scandal.
Catherine admitted altering Margaret’s medication.
She denied intending to kill her.
She also admitted helping Victoria access the vault.
Victoria had promised to recognize Catherine’s claim to half the estate.
However, Catherine insisted the necklace scheme had not been part of their agreement.
“Victoria wanted Elena arrested.”
“I wanted the ledger.”
Mason asked who forged Elena’s signatures.
Catherine gave him one name.
Benjamin Cross.
From his hospital bed, Benjamin denied everything.
Then investigators searched his office.
They found signature samples, copied passwords, and records of transfers from Elena’s accounts.
They also found photographs of her taken over more than a decade.
Some showed Elena leaving restaurants.
Others showed her sleeping beside Adrian.
Elena felt violated.
Benjamin had not merely represented her.
He had monitored her.
Mason discovered that Benjamin had arranged Elena’s first meeting with Adrian.
Their supposedly accidental introduction at a charity auction had been planned.
Elena confronted Adrian through the glass wall of the detention center.
“Did Benjamin pay you to marry me?”
Adrian looked broken.
“No.”
“Did he introduce us?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He said you needed someone trustworthy.”
Elena laughed bitterly.
“And he chose you?”
“I loved you.”
“You stole from me.”
“I borrowed money to save the company.”
“You disabled cameras for Victoria.”
“I was trying to find evidence before she did.”
“You lied about everything.”
Adrian placed his hand against the glass.
“I did not lie about loving you.”
Elena did not touch the glass.
“Benjamin arranged our marriage.”
“He forged my signature.”
“He watched me for years.”
“Tell me why.”
Adrian lowered his eyes.
“Because the amendment requires the heir to be married before she can control the full estate.”
Elena’s stomach tightened.
“And if the marriage ends?”
May you like
Adrian looked at her.
“The husband receives temporary control.”
