Chapter 22 - The Billionaire’s Ghost|
The silence in the living room was so thick it felt like it could suffocate them. Natalie stared at the black envelope in her trembling hands, then slowly raised her eyes to Ethan. The man she loved, the man who had held her as she cried over her past traumas, was completely rigid, refusing to meet her gaze.
“Tell me he’s lying, Ethan,” Natalie whispered, her voice cracking. “Tell me this man is insane.”
Ethan swallowed hard, running a hand through his hair. “Natalie, I can explain. It’s not what it sounds like. I was hired to monitor you, yes, but that was years ago. I fell in love with you. I stepped away from the syndicate to protect you.”
“The syndicate?” Natalie repeated, the words feeling foreign and bitter on her tongue.
Silas chuckled softly from the doorway. “Your father, Arthur Vance, was not a humble accountant, my dear. He was the invisible ledger for a ten-billion-dollar shadow empire. He controlled the finances for politicians, cartels, and corporations. When he realized his partners were planning to eliminate him, he hid his master key. And he left it to the one person they would never suspect—Dependable Natalie.”
Natalie ripped the wax seal off the envelope. Inside was a heavy titanium key, carved with intricate biometric grooves, and a single sheet of paper with a GPS coordinate.
“Your father's partners are hunting for that key,” Silas continued smoothly. “They thought your mother had it. Why do you think she became so paranoid and abusive? She was terrified. But now, they know the truth. They know you have it.”
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“I don't want it,” Natalie threw the key onto the coffee table. “Take it. Leave us alone.”
“It doesn't work that way,” Silas said, his eyes darkening. “The key only opens to your bloodline. If you refuse to take your rightful place, they won't just kill you. They will kill Chloe, too.”
