Chapter 5 - THE HIDDEN WILL
The silver sedan slipped through the historic district, finally veering down a narrow, cobblestone alleyway blanketed by the heavy morning fog. It stopped behind a crumbling, vine-covered brick facade—the private archives of Mr. Abernathy, a man who had served as Arthur Harper’s personal estate attorney for over three decades.
The air inside the basement archive vault was thick with the scent of old parchment, leather, and dust. Mr. Abernathy, an elderly man with thin white hair and spectacles resting low on his nose, stood before a heavy, rusted iron safe embedded directly into the brick foundation of the wall. His hands shook as he spun the mechanical dial.
"Arthur told me that if you ever came here with Matthew, Emily, I was to open this immediately," the old lawyer said, his voice a frail whisper against the low hum of the building's ventilation.
With a heavy, metallic clunk, the thick iron door swung open. Inside lay a single, velvet-lined mahogany box. Matthew lifted it out carefully, placing it on the large wooden reading table before Emily.
With a trembling hand, Emily opened the lid. Resting inside was a thick, leather-bound journal bearing her father's distinctive, elegant script, a heavy steel USB drive, and a pristine, legally stamped document.
Emily picked up the document, her eyes scanning the legal text. Tears instantly blurred her vision as she reached the core clauses.
"He... he never left the company to Vanessa," Emily whispered, a sob breaking from her throat. "This says seventy percent of all voting shares and absolute corporate control are transferred directly to me upon my twenty-fifth birthday, or immediately in the event of his untimely demise."
"The di chúc—the will Vanessa produced at the funeral—was a masterful forgery," Matthew explained softly, standing over her shoulder. "She replaced it within hours of the crash to seize the Harper Corporation. But that’s not the most dangerous thing in this box. Open the journal, Emily."
Emily turned the fragile pages of her father's diary, stopping at an entry dated just three days before his death.
“Vanessa has discovered the discrepancies in the chemical logistics accounts. She has been coordinating with Richard Bennett to route funds to an offshore entity I do not recognize. I fear my time is short. If something happens to me, it was not an accident. Matthew knows what to do. Emily, my sweet girl, I am so sorry I couldn't protect you from the storm that is coming.”
"He knew," Emily wept, clutching the journal to her chest. "He knew she was going to kill him."
"Look at the last page," Mr. Abernathy added quietly, pointing a wrinkled finger.
Emily flipped to the final leaf of the journal. Attached to the back cover was a digital printout of a corporate wire transfer, but the name of the recipient wasn't Vanessa or Richard Bennett. It was a encrypted account holder code that linked directly to the shadow board Matthew had warned her about.
Before Emily could even ask a question, a sharp, muffled thud echoed from the upper floor of the archive building, followed by the terrifyingly distinct sound of rapid footsteps descending the concrete stairs.
Matthew's security instinct kicked in instantly. He grabbed the USB drive and the documents, shoving them into his jacket, and pulled Emily behind the shadow of a massive steel filing rack.
May you like
A second later, the vault door was kicked open with brutal force. The man in the gray coat stepped into the room, his silenced weapon already raised. Without a single word, he pulled the trigger twice.
The muffled cracks of the firearm cut through the quiet room, and the rounds struck Mr. Abernathy directly in the chest. The old man collapsed over the mahogany table, his glasses sliding across the wood as his blood pooled onto the floor. Emily clamped her hand over her mouth, pinning herself against the wall to stifle a scream of pure horror.
