CHAPTER 6: The Brother Who Stole Everything
CHAPTER 6: The Brother Who Stole Everything
Edward Collins arrived at Vance International Headquarters just before sunset.
He looked like a man who hadn't slept in days.
His gray suit was wrinkled.
His hands shook as he carried two heavy banker boxes.
Secretary Park escorted him into Rachel's private conference room.
Nathan was already there.
He stood the moment Collins entered.
"Edward?"
"I haven't seen you since..."
"Since your wedding," Collins answered quietly.
Nathan smiled sadly.
"My parents said you retired."
Collins lowered his eyes.
"They lied."
Rachel noticed the silence that followed.
"Please."
"Sit."
Collins placed both boxes on the conference table.
"They contain twenty-three years of records."
"Financial statements."
"Private correspondence."
"Trust agreements."
"Handwritten notes."
"And things I should have reported long ago."
Nathan frowned.
"I don't understand."
Collins looked directly at him.
"You always believed Trevor built Montgomery Construction into a success."
Nathan nodded slowly.
"Didn't he?"
Collins took out a faded ledger.
"No."
He slid it across the table.
"Your grandfather left equal ownership of the company to both grandsons."
Nathan blinked.
"What?"
Rachel leaned forward.
"The documents are authentic?"
Collins nodded.
"I drafted them myself."
Nathan flipped through the pages.
His own name appeared beside Trevor's.
Fifty percent.
Equal ownership.
Equal voting rights.
His hands began trembling.
"I...never signed anything."
"You didn't have to," Collins replied.
"The trust protected your shares until your thirtieth birthday."
Nathan looked up.
"I'm thirty-four."
Collins nodded.
"Exactly."
Rachel understood before Nathan did.
"Someone transferred the shares."
Collins closed his eyes.
"Yes."
Nathan whispered,
"Who?"
Collins answered with visible shame.
"Your father."
The room fell silent.
"He forged authorization papers."
"He declared you financially irresponsible."
"He convinced the trustees you wished to surrender your ownership."
Nathan's chair scraped backward.
"No..."
"I would never..."
"I know."
Collins opened another file.
"The signatures were forged."
"I discovered it years later."
"Why didn't you report it?" Rachel asked.
Collins looked utterly defeated.
"Because Harold threatened my family."
"He knew my wife was dying."
"He promised her medical insurance would disappear."
Nathan slowly sat back down.
Everything he believed about his family began collapsing.
The years of being called unsuccessful.
The constant comparisons.
Trevor's sudden wealth.
His own financial struggles.
None of it had happened by chance.
It had been engineered.
Rachel reached across the table and took Nathan's hand.
"You were never the failure they claimed."
Collins continued.
"It gets worse."
He removed one final folder.
Across the front were three words written in Harold's handwriting.
Project Exit.
Nathan frowned.
"What is that?"
Collins swallowed.
"It was the family's plan..."
"...to force you out permanently."
Rachel opened the folder.
Inside were emails.
Meeting notes.
Private memoranda.
One sentence immediately caught her eye.
"If Nathan marries beneath his class, we can justify removing him from succession completely."
Another note read:
"A modest woman without influence will isolate him from serious business opportunities."
Rachel looked up slowly.
"So they encouraged him to marry someone they believed was powerless."
Collins nodded.
"Yes."
"They thought you'd keep Nathan dependent."
Nathan laughed bitterly.
"They hated Rachel from the beginning..."
"...because they thought she was ordinary."
Rachel closed the folder.
"They made one critical mistake."
Nathan looked at her.
"They underestimated you?"
Rachel shook her head.
"No."
"They underestimated love."
The room became quiet.
Secretary Park entered once more.
"Chairman."
"We've completed our review of Montgomery Construction."
Rachel looked up.
"And?"
Park placed a report on the table.
"The forged transfer documents create significant legal exposure."
Nathan frowned.
"What happens now?"
Rachel slowly closed the report.
Then looked directly at her husband.
"That depends."
Nathan waited.
Rachel's voice was calm.
"Do you want revenge?"
Nathan thought for a long moment.
Finally, he answered.
"No."
"I want the truth."
Rachel smiled.
"Good."
"Because the truth..."
She glanced at the evidence boxes stacked across the conference table.
"...is about to cost the Montgomery family everything they ever stole."
Outside, snow began falling again.
Inside, Secretary Park's phone buzzed with an urgent alert.
He read the message once.
Then a second time.
His expression changed.
"Chairman..."
Rachel looked up.
"What now?"
Park took a slow breath.
"The police have just issued search warrants..."
"...for Harold Montgomery's office and the Montgomery family estate."
The room fell silent.
Because everyone understood the same thing.
May you like
The scandal was no longer a family matter.
It had become a criminal investigation.
