Chapter 7 - The Son Walter Feared
Charles aimed the pistol at Lucas.
Walter tried to stand.
“Put it down.”
Charles laughed.
“You’re still giving orders? Look at you.”
Nora shifted subtly toward a shelf of gardening tools.
Charles noticed.
“Don’t.”
He ordered them to place the metal box on the floor.
Lucas obeyed but kept his body between Charles and Walter.
“You locked my mother away.”
“Emily was unstable.”
“You told everyone she was dead.”
“She threatened the family.”
Walter’s voice broke.
“She threatened your control.”
For the first time, Charles’s expression changed.
The hatred in his eyes was old and personal.
Walter had spent decades believing his son was protecting the family business. In reality, Charles had forged documents, stolen from the trust, and built a private network of shell companies.
Rachel had become his most effective partner.
“She was supposed to marry you, make you sign the waiver, and disappear,” Charles told Lucas. “But you kept asking questions.”
“I never signed a waiver.”
Charles smiled.
“You signed dozens of papers after your wedding. You thought they were mortgage documents.”
Lucas remembered Rachel placing colored tabs beside each signature line.
His shame turned into cold focus.
She had used his trust to steal his inheritance before he knew it existed.
Charles stepped closer.
“Give me the DNA report.”
Lucas tossed a folded sheet onto the wet floor.
Charles bent to retrieve it.
Nora threw a clay pot at his hand.
The gun fired.
Glass exploded above them.
Lucas tackled Charles into a workbench.
The pistol slid beneath a table.
Walter grabbed it first.
His hands shook, but his aim held.
“On your knees, Charles.”
Charles stared at his father.
“You won’t shoot your only son.”
Walter’s eyes filled with grief.
“My only son died the night he imprisoned his sister.”
Police sirens sounded beyond the gate.
For one hopeful second, Lucas thought help had arrived.
Then Nora looked through the glass.
The vehicles had no police markings.
Rachel stepped out of the first car wearing a white resort coat.
May you like
Beside her stood Adrian.
👉 Rachel had returned to the mansion herself, confident that no one inside would live long enough to expose her.
