Chapter 10 - THE TRUTH FROM THE PAST
That evening, Adrian’s lawyer called again. He had spoken with contacts within the courts. The situation was worse than we imagined.
“Julian is moving fast,” the lawyer said. “He filed emergency guardianship papers hours ago. Claiming you are unfit. Claiming Adrian is mentally unstable. Claiming the children are in danger.”
“On what evidence?” I demanded.
“Poison in your tea,” the lawyer said grimly. “Julian’s people are twisting it to say you harmed yourself to frame the family. And they are claiming the children’s injuries from the doghouse were exaggerated… or fabricated entirely… to turn Adrian against his own relatives.”
I gripped the edge of the table. “And the video?”
“Clara’s death has cast doubt on everything. Julian’s lawyers are arguing the recording was edited. That it does not prove what Adrian claims. It will take weeks—possibly months—to sort this out in court. By then, Julian could have full legal control.”
Months. We could not hold out for months.
“What about the documents Adrian left?” I asked. “The bank records? The letters?”
“Powerful evidence,” the lawyer said. “But it is still your word against his. And Julian has spent twenty years building influence. We need something stronger. Something undeniable. Something from before Clara… before Vanessa… something that proves Julian’s motive stretches back decades.”
After we hung up, I walked to the locked storage cabinet Adrian had shown me only once. Inside, beneath stacks of legal binders, sat a heavy, leather‑bound journal. Adrian’s grandfather’s private memoir. The one that had been locked away for years.
I pulled it out and carried it to the table.
The first half contained family history. Business dealings. Investments. Then, halfway through, the tone changed. Entries about Julian.
*…Julian grows bitter. Resentful. He believes everything is owed to him simply because he is the elder. He does not understand responsibility. He does not understand honor.*
*…Caught him embezzling funds from the charitable foundation. I warned him once. Gave him a chance to repay it in secret. He swore he would never do so again. But I watched him closely after that.*
And then, the entry dated three months before the will was rewritten:
*…Julian threatened me today. Said if I cut him out, he would take what belongs to him by any means necessary. He spoke of harming my son’s children. Erasing my bloodline until there was no one left but him. I fear what he is capable of. Tonight I am changing the will. If any direct heir is harmed before their majority, Julian inherits nothing. Not a single penny. The entire estate passes to public trust until a lawful heir reaches adulthood. Julian gets nothing. And if it can be proven he caused any harm… he is barred entirely.*
My breath caught.
I read the words again. And then again.
If harm came to any heir… Julian got nothing.
That was the secret. That was why he had Clara frame me. Why he had Adrian arrested. Why he needed the children alive but under his control. If they died… he lost everything. If they were harmed… he lost everything. But if he could claim they were safe and that I was the danger… he could seize control, wait, and then “discover” an accident later when no one was watching.
He had been playing a deadly game of loopholes. Walking the finest possible line between protecting the heirs and destroying everyone who stood between him and them.
I picked up the telephone and called Adrian’s lawyer back immediately.
“You need to read the grandfather’s journal,” I said. “There is a clause. If Julian causes harm to any heir… direct or indirect… he inherits nothing. Not only that—he is barred from ever holding guardianship or power over the estate. If Clara’s actions can be proven to be his actions… Julian loses.”
The lawyer was quiet for a moment.
“That changes everything,” he said slowly. “If we can prove Julian ordered Clara to act… then every move he made after that moment was illegal. Including the guardianship filing. Including the charges against Adrian. He effectively disqualified himself the moment he ordered those children harmed.”
“We need to link him to Clara,” I said. “Beyond doubt.”
“Clara is gone,” the lawyer said. “And Marcus will not speak against him. Julian holds too much power over Marcus’s family.”
I thought about what Clara had said, right before they led her away. Keep your enemies close. That is what your grandfather always said.
She had been quoting him. She had been giving me a clue. Telling me exactly where the proof lay.
May you like
“Clara left proof of her own,” I said. “Hidden somewhere. She knew Julian would betray her. She told Adrian as much. She left something behind. Something that names Julian. Completely. Irrefutably.”
“Then we must find it before Julian does,” the lawyer said. “Because once he realizes we know about the will clause… he will stop playing by the rules. And then there will be nothing holding him back.”
