Chapter 15 - The Snake in the GardenThe cozy atmosphere of the penthouse shattered into ice.
Elena slowly lifted her head from the tablet, her eyes fixing onto Thomas with a quiet, terrifying intensity.
"Thomas," Elena whispered softly. "What is Wright Legal Management?"
Thomas didn't flinch. The warm, devoted smile he had worn for thirty years slowly faded from his face, replaced by a cold, calculated stillness that sent a chill down Elena's spine.
"I was hoping you wouldn't read the sub-clauses, Elena," Thomas said calmly, reaching into his suit jacket and pulling out a pair of thin leather gloves. "You always were too smart for your own good—just like your grandfather."
Elena felt her heart hammer against her ribs, but she kept her hands steady on her wheelchair armrests. "You set Richard up."
"Richard was an arrogant fool," Thomas said smoothly, stepping closer to her chair. "He thought he was a mastermind, but he was just my battering ram. I let him discover those offshore accounts. I encouraged him to hire Victoria. I knew their greed would eventually force them to commit a crime so public, so absurd, that you would be forced to come out of hiding and strip them of power."
Elena realized the horror of the full picture in an instant.
"You used Richard to flush me out," Elena gasped, her voice barely a whisper. "You knew if I came back, I would consolidate all the global assets into one master account—an account you just set yourself up to control."
"Precisely," Thomas said softly, standing directly over her wheelchair, his eyes gleaming with decades of quiet resentment. "Your grandfather built an empire, Elena, but I maintained it. I handled the lawsuits, the bribes, the cleanups. Why should a quiet woman in a wheelchair who spends her days handing out bandages to beggars inherit a trillion-dollar legacy?"
Thomas extended his hand, pointing firmly at the digital tablet in her lap.
"Now, press your thumb on the scanner, Elena. Or we can make your death look like a tragic accident—just like the one that took your parents five years ago."
May you like
Elena’s eyes widened in absolute horror. "My parents... it was you?"
Thomas didn't answer. He simply smiled a dark, poisonous smile and took one step closer.
Related Stories
