CHAPTER 6 — LAUREN'S DEBT
The key turned once.
Then stopped.
James stood between me and the steel door, his body completely still.
The hidden speaker went silent.
For several seconds, the only sound was my breathing.
Then—
CLICK.
The lock released.
The door opened three inches.
James moved first.
He pushed it open with his shoulder.
The staircase beyond was empty.
No footsteps.
No shadow.
Nobody.
He stepped through.
I followed.
At the top of the stairs, the hallway was dark.
My father was still asleep—or pretending to be.
James checked the entire floor before looking at me.
“Whoever did that wanted us to know they could lock us in.”
I looked back at the hidden room.
“And unlock it.”
“Exactly.”
We returned to the office.
Lauren was standing there.
She looked terrified.
“You heard it?”
“Yes.”
She looked at the staircase.
“Then we're out of time.”
James stared at her.
“You knew about the room?”
“No.”
“Then what do you know?”
Lauren's hands were shaking.
She reached into her coat.
Pulled out another envelope.
“I found this three weeks ago.”
I stared at her.
“Three weeks?”
She nodded.
“I didn't understand what it meant.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was scared.”
“You hit Emma.”
Lauren's face crumpled.
“I know.”
“You scared her.”
“I know.”
“You made everyone think you were just cruel.”
“I needed them to believe that.”
James stepped closer.
“Why?”
Lauren looked at me.
“Because someone was following me.”
Silence.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Then how do you know?”
She pulled out her phone.
There were dozens of messages.
Unknown numbers.
Different numbers.
Same message.
RETURN THE LEDGER.
Another.
STOP DIGGING.
Another.
WE KNOW ABOUT THE BABY.
And the last one:
NEXT TIME, IT WON'T BE A TAP.
I felt sick.
James took the phone.
“When did you get the first one?”
“Three weeks ago.”
“Why did they threaten you?”
“Because I stole something.”
“What?”
Lauren looked toward my father.
“His records.”
My father appeared in the doorway.
Everyone froze.
“You stole from me?”
Lauren nodded.
“I had to.”
He looked furious.
“You had no idea what you were touching.”
“I knew enough.”
“Enough to put your sister's child in danger?”
Lauren's eyes filled with tears.
“I didn't know Emma was involved.”
My father looked away.
“You should have.”
James stepped between them.
“Enough.”
He held out his hand.
“Give me everything.”
Lauren hesitated.
Then handed him the envelope.
Inside was a bank statement.
James looked at it.
His expression changed.
“What is this?”
Lauren whispered:
“My debt.”
I looked over his shoulder.
The account balance was staggering.
$487,000.
“Why do you owe almost half a million dollars?”
Lauren looked at me.
“Because Victor Hale paid it.”
My stomach dropped.
“He paid your debt?”
She nodded.
“Two years ago.”
“Why?”
“Because I was desperate.”
James studied her.
“And what did he want in return?”
Lauren closed her eyes.
“Information.”
“What information?”
“Anything about Dad.”
My father went pale.
“Lauren.”
“I told him what I knew.”
“How much?”
“Not much.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That Dad kept old family records.”
She swallowed.
“That he never destroyed anything.”
My father stared at her.
“What else?”
“That Rebecca had a daughter.”
Silence.
I felt my heart pounding.
Lauren continued.
“I didn't know the daughter was you.”
James's eyes narrowed.
“When did you find out?”
“Three weeks ago.”
“From whom?”
“Victor.”
I stared at her.
“Then why did you come to Christmas?”
She looked at Emma's photograph.
“Because Victor told me Emma's birth had activated something.”
James's expression hardened.
“What?”
“The trust.”
My father whispered:
“Oh God.”
Lauren looked at him.
“He told me if I could get the ledger, he would erase my debt.”
“And you agreed.”
“Yes.”
“But you didn't give it to him.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Lauren looked at me.
“Because I opened it.”
She began crying.
“And I saw your name.”
I couldn't speak.
“You weren't supposed to be in it,” she whispered.
“Why?”
“Because the beneficiary was supposed to be someone named Emily Vale.”
The room went silent.
My name.
The name from the hospital.
The name I had never known.
Emily Vale.
I felt dizzy.
Lauren continued.
“Victor told me Emily Vale died in the fire.”
James looked sharply at her.
“But she didn't.”
Lauren shook her head.
“No.”
She looked at me.
“She became you.”
My father sat down.
I stared at him.
“Then Victor knows who I am.”
“Yes.”
“And he knew before Emma was born.”
“Yes.”
“And he paid Lauren to find the ledger.”
“Yes.”
James asked:
“Why does he need the ledger if he already knows?”
Lauren answered.
“Because the ledger contains the final transfer instructions.”
James froze.
“Transfer of what?”
“The forty-one percent.”
My father nodded slowly.
“Control of Walker Consolidated.”
James looked at me.
“When does it transfer?”
Lauren whispered:
“On Emma's first Christmas.”
I felt the room disappear.
“Tonight?”
Lauren nodded.
“Tonight.”
James turned toward the clock.
4:52 a.m.
Christmas morning.
I looked upstairs.
Emma was asleep.
She had no idea that somewhere in a hidden room beneath her grandparents' house, billions of dollars were waiting for her name to become legally active.
James looked at my father.
“What happens at midnight?”
My father answered:
“The shares transfer automatically.”
“To Emma?”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“To you.”
I stared.
“Why me?”
“Because you're the surviving descendant.”
“And Emma?”
“She becomes the protected successor.”
James slowly understood.
“So Victor doesn't need Emma.”
My father shook his head.
“He needs you.”
Lauren whispered:
“And that's why they were watching the house.”
A phone rang.
Everyone froze.
It was my mother's phone.
The phone she had left behind.
James answered.
A text appeared.
YOU HAVE SIX HOURS.
Then another.
COME TO THE OLD RAILWAY STATION.
Then:
COME ALONE.
James's face became cold.
“Absolutely not.”
A final message arrived.
OR YOUR MOTHER DIES.
I looked at James.
“He has Mom.”
“Yes.”
“And he wants me.”
“Yes.”
“I have to go.”
“No.”
“James—”
“No.”
His voice was firm.
“You're not walking into a trap.”
“But she's my mother.”
“And you're my wife.”
He looked at Emma's room.
“I'm not losing either of you.”
Then he turned to Lauren.
“You said Victor paid your debt.”
“Yes.”
“Can he cancel it?”
Lauren nodded.
“He promised.”
“Then we're going to make him think he won.”
May you like
James picked up the black ledger.
“And we're going to find out who is really behind him.”
