The Account Opened in His Name
Chapter 02 - The Account Opened in His Name
Security sealed the estate while Adrian’s attorney, Thomas Reed, examined the records on Mara’s tablet. The missing trust had contained more than money. Julian had placed thirty percent of Vale Coastal Resorts into a protected account for his unborn child. If Noah’s identity was confirmed, he would become the company’s second-largest shareholder.
Celeste claimed the vanished engagement ring had slipped off near the jet, but a guard found it inside Adrian’s study beside an open safe. The emergency banking token stored there was missing.
Adrian demanded the truth.
Celeste reminded him that she had rebuilt his public image, negotiated his largest deals, and stood beside him when the world considered him reckless. She insisted she had entered the study only to retrieve wedding documents.
Mara placed another file on the table. It showed that two years earlier, a woman using Celeste’s former legal name had applied to become Noah’s temporary guardian. The application was denied because she could not prove any relationship to the child.
Noah listened from the doorway. “She came to my school,” he whispered. “She said Uncle Adrian didn’t want me.”
Celeste’s composure cracked. She accused Mara of coaching him.
Then the villa’s financial director called. The stolen token had been used to authorize a transfer from Julian’s trust into an offshore company. The approval carried Adrian’s digital signature.
“I never signed it,” Adrian said.
Thomas explained that the transfer would become permanent at sunset unless they submitted Noah’s verified biometric record and Julian’s original trust key. The biometric record could be taken immediately, but the physical key had vanished after Julian’s funeral.
Mara knew where Julian had hidden it.
Years earlier, he had shown her a brass compass mounted inside the old lighthouse at the edge of the property. He once joked that if the family ever lost its direction, the compass would lead them home.
Adrian, Mara, and two security officers headed toward the lighthouse. Celeste remained at the villa under guard.
Halfway there, the estate lost power.
The security radios went silent. A black SUV burst from the service road and stopped beside Noah. A masked driver pulled him inside before Mara could reach him.
Adrian’s phone rang.
May you like
Celeste’s voice came through the speaker.
“Bring me the compass,” she said, “or your brother’s son disappears for good.”
