CHAPTER 11 — THE ACCOUNT THAT NEVER EXISTED
By sunrise, the old Voss estate was surrounded by police.
Marcus was gone.
Richard was in custody.
Veronica had disappeared.
And Alexander had barely slept.
He stood alone in the library, staring at the documents Marcus had left behind.
One sentence kept haunting him.
The original inheritance.
An account under Elena's name.
An account that supposedly contained everything his grandfather owned.
Alexander heard footsteps.
Elena entered quietly.
She looked exhausted.
“Where is Sofia?”
“With Margaret.”
Elena nodded.
Alexander turned toward her.
“You said you thought the account was destroyed.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Because your father told me it was.”
Alexander's expression hardened.
“You believed him?”
“I had no choice.”
“You had twelve years.”
Elena flinched.
“I know.”
“You could have come back.”
“I couldn't.”
“You could have called.”
“They were monitoring every call.”
“You could have sent me a letter.”
“I did.”
Alexander stopped.
“What?”
“I sent you seventeen.”
His face changed.
“Seventeen?”
“None reached you.”
“Who intercepted them?”
Elena looked toward the window.
“Veronica.”
Alexander closed his eyes.
All those years.
All those missed messages.
All those unanswered questions.
He had believed Elena was gone.
She had believed he had chosen to move on.
A lie built by people who benefited from keeping them apart.
Alexander opened his eyes.
“Tell me about the account.”
Elena walked toward the desk.
“Your grandfather created it thirty years ago.”
“For whom?”
“At first, himself.”
“And later?”
“For the person who could legally prove the Voss bloodline had been preserved.”
Alexander frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Elena opened an old file.
Inside was a family tree.
At the bottom was Sofia's name.
“She isn't just the heir because of you.”
Alexander studied the document.
“She is the last uncontested descendant.”
“Exactly.”
Elena pointed to another name.
Evelyn Voss.
“Your grandmother transferred her rights years ago.”
“To whom?”
Elena looked at him.
“To me.”
Alexander's eyes widened.
“Then why does Sofia inherit it?”
“Because I transferred my rights to her.”
Alexander stared.
“When?”
“The night she was born.”
He looked at the family tree again.
“So the fortune belongs to Sofia.”
“Yes.”
“But Marcus said the trust belongs to me.”
“Marcus lied.”
Alexander exhaled slowly.
“Then why did he have a legitimate-looking document?”
“Because your grandfather created two trusts.”
Alexander frowned.
“Two?”
“One was a decoy.”
“And the real one?”
Elena whispered,
“Hidden.”
A sound came from the doorway.
Margaret entered.
“The real trust isn't hidden.”
Alexander turned.
“What?”
Margaret held up an old brass key.
“It was moved.”
“Where?”
She looked at Elena.
Elena nodded.
Margaret said:
“Your grandfather's bank.”
Alexander frowned.
“That bank closed twenty years ago.”
“No.”
Margaret shook her head.
“It was never closed.”
Alexander stared at her.
“Then why does everyone think it was?”
“Because Evelyn made sure nobody could find it.”
Daniel suddenly entered the room.
“I found the location.”
Alexander turned.
“Where?”
Daniel placed a map on the table.
A red circle marked a small town in Vermont.
Alexander frowned.
“That isn't a bank.”
“It used to be.”
“What is it now?”
Daniel answered:
“A private museum.”
Alexander looked at Elena.
She nodded.
“The Voss family museum.”
Alexander picked up the map.
“When do we leave?”
“Not yet.”
Elena stopped him.
“There is a problem.”
“What?”
“The museum isn't open to the public.”
Alexander frowned.
“Then we'll get a court order.”
“You don't understand.”
Elena's voice became quiet.
“It's protected by a private security company.”
“Whose?”
She looked at him.
“Veronica's.”
Alexander's jaw tightened.
“She's still controlling it?”
“From wherever she's hiding.”
Daniel added,
“She knew the location before we did.”
Alexander immediately reached for his phone.
“I'll call the FBI.”
Daniel stopped him.
“Too late.”
Alexander looked up.
“What?”
Daniel pointed toward the window.
A black SUV was parked across the street.
Another appeared behind it.
Then another.
Security vehicles.
Alexander's face hardened.
“They followed us.”
Margaret closed the curtains.
Elena grabbed Sofia's emergency bag.
“We need to move.”
Alexander looked toward the hallway.
“Sofia.”
He rushed upstairs.
Her bedroom was empty.
His heart stopped.
“Sofia?”
No answer.
He ran into the room.
The window was open.
The curtains moved in the wind.
On the bed was a small piece of paper.
Alexander picked it up.
Three words were written on it.
WE HAVE HER.
His blood ran cold.
“No.”
Elena rushed behind him.
“What happened?”
Alexander handed her the note.
Her face collapsed.
“No…”
Margaret immediately called security.
No answer.
Daniel looked through the window.
“There.”
A black SUV was speeding away from the estate.
Alexander ran outside.
The security team tried to stop him.
“Sir, wait!”
“Move!”
He jumped into his car.
Daniel followed.
Elena climbed into the passenger seat.
Alexander slammed the accelerator.
The SUV disappeared around the corner.
His phone suddenly rang.
Unknown number.
Alexander answered.
A distorted voice spoke.
“You want your daughter?”
Alexander gripped the steering wheel.
“Yes.”
“Then bring the original trust.”
“I don't have it.”
“You will.”
“Who are you?”
A pause.
Then the voice said:
“Someone your family forgot.”
Alexander's blood ran cold.
“Where is Sofia?”
“You'll see her when you arrive.”
“Where?”
The caller gave him an address.
Alexander entered it into the navigation.
Then the voice added:
“And Alexander…”
“Yes?”
“Don't bring the police.”
The call ended.
Elena stared at him.
“What address?”
Alexander told her.
Her face went completely white.
“What?”
She whispered:
“That's impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because that address…”
She looked at him.
“…is the house where I was held for twelve years.”
Alexander's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
They weren't driving toward the missing trust.
They weren't driving toward Veronica.
They were driving directly into the place where Elena's nightmare had begun.
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And somewhere inside that house—
Sofia was waiting.
