Chapter 6 - THE TRUSTEE
Nathan dragged Grace behind the kitchen island.
Victoria dropped to the floor beside them.
Another bullet struck the wall.
“Stay down!”
Nathan shouted.
Grace’s hands shook.
“Who is shooting?”
Victoria whispered, “He knows.”
“Who?”
“The Trustee.”
Sirens sounded in the distance.
The shooter disappeared before police arrived.
No shell casings.
No fingerprints.
Nothing.
Nathan stared through the broken window.
This was bigger than an inheritance fight.
Someone wanted them scared.
Or silent.
The next morning, Richard called.
“I found the voting trust.”
Nathan drove to his office.
Grace went with him.
Richard spread dozens of pages across the conference table.
Charles Cole had created a hidden amendment eleven months before his death.
Nathan’s first biological child would inherit a controlling interest in Cole Industries.
Until that child turned twenty-five, the shares would be administered by an independent trustee.
Nathan pointed to the signature line.
“Who is the trustee?”
Richard hesitated.
“Marcus Vale.”
Nathan froze.
Grace noticed.
“You know him?”
Nathan nodded.
Marcus Vale had been Charles Cole’s closest adviser for almost thirty years.
He had taught Nathan how to negotiate.
How to read balance sheets.
How to fire executives without showing emotion.
After Charles died, Marcus became chairman of the Cole Foundation.
“He’s basically family.”
Richard’s face was grim.
“That may be the problem.”
Nathan looked down at the documents.
Marcus controlled Lily’s shares until adulthood.
If Lily vanished or was declared legally unrelated to Nathan, control returned to the board.
And Marcus controlled the board.
Grace whispered, “So he benefits if Lily disappears.”
“Yes.”
Nathan’s phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
Lily.
She was sitting inside a county foster home.
Nathan’s blood went cold.
Another message followed.
Walk away from the DNA test.
Grace covered her mouth.
Nathan called the number.
Disconnected.
Richard stood.
“We need federal authorities.”
Nathan shook his head.
“We don’t know who is compromised.”
Grace looked at him.
“So what do we do?”
Nathan stared at Lily’s picture.
“We get my daughter back.”
That afternoon, Nathan requested emergency visitation.
The court denied it.
Grace requested access.
Denied.
Richard filed for DNA testing.
The judge delayed it seventy-two hours.
Nathan finally understood.
The delays were not random.
Someone was buying time.
That evening, Grace received a call.
She answered.
No one spoke.
Then Lily’s voice came through.
“Mommy?”
Grace nearly dropped the phone.
“Lily!”
“Mommy, a man came.”
Nathan grabbed another phone and began recording.
“What man, sweetheart?”
Lily whispered.
“He said Daddy doesn’t want me.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
Grace fought back tears.
“That’s not true.”
“I know.”
“How?”
Lily’s voice became tiny.
“Because Daddy looked scared when they took me.”
Nathan’s throat tightened.
Then an adult voice appeared in the background.
“Time’s up.”
Grace shouted, “Wait!”
Lily suddenly yelled one last sentence.
“Mommy, he has Grandpa’s ring!”
The call ended.
Nathan stared at Grace.
Charles Cole had worn one ring every day of his adult life.
A black onyx signet ring.
After his funeral, it disappeared.
May you like
Nathan knew only one person who had claimed Charles gave it to him before he died.
Marcus Vale.
