CHAPTER 10 — THE FATHER WHO NEVER DIED
The mansion doors exploded inward.
Everyone turned.
Alexander pulled Sofia behind him.
Daniel moved toward the window.
Evelyn stood frozen.
Elena's face had gone completely white.
A man stepped through the smoke-filled entrance.
Older.
Gray-haired.
But unmistakably familiar.
Alexander stared at him.
“No…”
The man removed his coat.
His eyes met Alexander's.
“Hello, son.”
Alexander couldn't move.
His entire childhood came rushing back.
The deep voice.
The cold stare.
The scar along the man's jaw.
His father's face.
The man Alexander had watched being buried twelve years ago.
The man whose death had supposedly changed everything.
“Dad?”
The man smiled.
“You always were slow to understand the truth.”
Sofia clung to Alexander's arm.
“Daddy, who is that?”
Alexander couldn't answer.
Elena stepped forward.
“Marcus.”
The man looked at her.
“You survived.”
“You tried to kill me.”
Marcus smiled.
“I tried to protect what belonged to this family.”
Alexander's expression hardened.
“You were supposed to be dead.”
Marcus shrugged.
“Your mother arranged the funeral.”
Alexander turned toward Evelyn.
“You knew?”
Evelyn didn't speak.
His voice rose.
“You all knew?”
Margaret stepped forward.
“I didn't.”
Marcus laughed.
“Your mother knew everything.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“You disappeared because you wanted control.”
“No.”
Marcus pointed toward Sofia.
“I disappeared because of her.”
Alexander stepped between them.
“You stay away from my daughter.”
Marcus smiled.
“Still calling her your daughter?”
“She is my daughter.”
“Biologically?”
Alexander's eyes narrowed.
“You're the one who falsified the records.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
He looked toward Elena.
“She did.”
Elena's face tightened.
“I was protecting Sofia.”
“From me?”
“From all of you.”
Marcus slowly walked into the ballroom.
“Your grandfather built the empire.”
He pointed toward Evelyn.
“She wanted to control it.”
Then toward Elena.
“She wanted to destroy it.”
Finally, he looked at Alexander.
“And I wanted to preserve it.”
Alexander laughed bitterly.
“You murdered my wife.”
Marcus's expression remained calm.
“No.”
Elena whispered,
“He arranged it.”
Marcus turned toward her.
“I arranged your disappearance.”
“After you tried to kill me.”
“You left me no choice.”
Alexander's voice became deadly.
“What happened that night?”
Marcus looked at him.
“Your mother had discovered the trust.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“I discovered what you were doing.”
Marcus continued.
“She wanted to expose everyone.”
Elena interrupted.
“And you wanted Sofia.”
Marcus nodded.
“Because Sofia is the only legal heir.”
Alexander frowned.
“Not anymore.”
Marcus smiled.
“You still don't understand.”
He pulled a document from inside his coat.
Alexander looked at it.
His father's signature was at the bottom.
“This is the original trust agreement.”
Alexander read it.
His face changed.
The trust didn't belong to Sofia.
It didn't belong to Elena.
It belonged to—
Alexander Voss.
Alexander looked up.
“What is this?”
Marcus smiled.
“Your grandfather created the trust for you.”
Elena shook her head.
“That's the forged version.”
Marcus laughed.
“Is it?”
He pulled out another document.
“This one is notarized.”
Alexander studied it.
Everything appeared legitimate.
His name was listed as the beneficiary.
If true, Sofia had no claim.
Alexander looked at Elena.
“Tell me this isn't real.”
Elena didn't answer.
Marcus stepped closer.
“You were always supposed to inherit everything.”
Alexander stared at the document.
“Then why did you fake your death?”
“To see who would betray you.”
Alexander looked around.
Veronica.
Richard.
Evelyn.
Even his own father.
Every person he had trusted had been hiding something.
Marcus continued.
“Veronica was only a pawn.”
Alexander's eyes hardened.
“She abused Sofia.”
“She was testing her.”
Alexander's expression changed.
“You call that a test?”
Marcus looked at Sofia.
“She survived.”
Alexander stepped forward.
“She's a child.”
“She is the heir.”
“She is my daughter.”
Marcus smiled.
“Exactly.”
Then he revealed the final document.
A DNA report.
Alexander stared.
The result confirmed what Elena had told him.
Alexander Voss — Biological Father.
He looked at Marcus.
“Why show me this?”
Marcus leaned closer.
“Because the trust has one final condition.”
Alexander's voice was quiet.
“What condition?”
Marcus smiled.
“If Sofia becomes the sole beneficiary…”
He paused.
“…the entire Voss fortune transfers to her on her eighteenth birthday.”
Alexander looked at Sofia.
She was only twelve.
Six years.
Marcus continued:
“But if Sofia dies before then…”
His eyes moved toward Alexander.
“…the fortune returns to the Voss family.”
The room went silent.
Alexander finally understood.
Sofia wasn't just being watched.
She was being hunted.
Marcus hadn't come back for the mansion.
He hadn't come back for revenge.
He had come back because Sofia's life was worth billions.
Alexander stepped in front of his daughter.
“You will never touch her.”
Marcus smiled.
“Then you'd better keep her alive.”
Suddenly, sirens screamed outside.
Police vehicles surrounded the estate.
Marcus looked toward the windows.
His smile disappeared.
Alexander's security team had called the authorities.
Marcus turned toward the back door.
Daniel blocked his path.
“Not this time.”
Marcus stared at him.
“You.”
Daniel smiled bitterly.
“You should have finished the job twelve years ago.”
Marcus's face hardened.
“You were supposed to be dead too.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“So was Elena.”
Alexander looked between them.
Two men who had survived the same conspiracy.
Two people who had been declared dead.
And one daughter at the center of it all.
Then police stormed into the mansion.
“Marcus Voss! Put your hands where we can see them!”
Marcus slowly raised his hands.
But before surrendering, he looked directly at Alexander.
“You think this is over?”
Alexander said nothing.
Marcus smiled.
“You haven't found the real account yet.”
Alexander frowned.
“What account?”
Marcus glanced toward Sofia.
“The one your grandfather created under her mother's name.”
Then he was taken away.
Alexander turned toward Elena.
“What account?”
Elena looked terrified.
“I thought it was destroyed.”
“What is it?”
She swallowed.
“The account contains the original inheritance.”
Alexander stared.
“How much?”
Elena whispered:
“Everything your grandfather owned.”
Sofia stood quietly beside them.
And Alexander suddenly realized—
the fortune they had been fighting over wasn't billions.
May you like
It was far more.
It was the entire Voss empire.
