Chapter 10 - THE KEY IN THE LOCKET
Rachel had given Ethan the silver locket before her death.
I thought it was sentimental.
I never knew it contained anything.
Through the watch microphone, Ethan cried.
“Dad said not to take it off.”
“Your father is finished,” Vanessa said.
“Give it to me.”
“No.”
A slap cracked through the audio.
Lily gasped.
I gripped the seat until my knuckles ached.
“Drive faster.”
Daniel did.
At Carter Industries, reporters crowded the lobby.
The board vote was already underway on the forty-second floor.
We entered through the underground garage.
Henry’s keycard opened the executive elevator.
Robert called the district attorney again.
“Send the footage to every board member.”
The elevator climbed.
Thirty-eight.
Thirty-nine.
Forty.
Then it stopped.
The doors did not open.
Vanessa’s voice came through the intercom.
“You brought Lily.”
I looked at the camera.
“She’s my daughter.”
“She’s evidence.”
The elevator jerked downward.
Lily screamed.
Daniel forced the emergency panel open.
Robert braced himself against the wall.
The car dropped three floors before the brakes caught.
“Manual override,” Daniel said.
He reached into the panel.
Sparks flashed.
The doors opened six inches between floors.
We climbed into a dark maintenance corridor.
From above came voices.
The board meeting.
Vanessa was speaking.
“Michael Carter is unstable, violent, and unfit to control this company.”
Applause followed.
I climbed the service ladder.
Lily stayed between Daniel and Robert.
At the top, we reached a vent overlooking the boardroom.
Ethan sat beside Vanessa.
His cheek was red.
The locket was open on the table.
Inside was a tiny brass key.
Vanessa inserted it into a black document case.
The lid opened.
And every board member leaned forward.
Inside were stock certificates proving Rachel—not I—had owned the controlling shares.
The shares now belonged to our children.
Vanessa smiled.
May you like
“Once Michael loses custody, I control everything.”
Then Lily pushed open the vent.
