Chapter 3 - The Paper Trail
By noon, the Harmon mansion was on high alert. Ethan had placed a temporary ban on Natalie entering the property, assigning two private security guards to stand at the iron gates.
In the study, Ethan had brought out a heavy leather-bound box from his safe. Inside were Julian’s personal effects—the items returned to Ethan by the NYPD after the investigation went cold.
“The police told me Julian’s watch, wallet, and phone were missing from the scene,” Ethan explained, spreading out old police reports on the desk. “They assumed it was a mugging gone wrong after the car hit him. But the jacket he wore—a bespoke Savile Row suit I bought him for his birthday—was missing its top gold button.”
Rosa stood by the desk, holding a cup of tea Ethan’s chef had prepared for her. She was still trying to process the fact that her daughter was the sole heir to a billionaire’s brother.
“Why would Natalie have that button?” Rosa asked.
“Natalie’s family company, Voss Enterprises, was going bankrupt four years ago,” Ethan said, his fingers flying across his laptop keyboard, pulling up financial records. “They needed a massive influx of cash. Julian had a private trust fund worth fifty million dollars that our parents left him. If he died without a wife or children, that money was supposed to go back into the Harmon estate—which I control.”
Ethan stopped typing. His eyes narrowed at the screen.
“But look at this. A month before Julian died, he changed his will. He left everything to a private entity called 'The R.M. Trust.' The police could never track down who 'R.M.' was because the paperwork was incomplete. The lawyer handling it was killed in a mysterious house fire a week after Julian’s death.”
Rosa’s heart skipped a beat. “R.M... Rosa Morales.”
“Exactly,” Ethan said, looking up at her. “Julian was planning to marry you. He was setting up a life for you. Natalie must have found out. She knew that if Julian married a diner waitress, she would lose any chance of getting her hands on the Harmon fortune.”
“So she killed him?” Rosa’s voice was a horrified whisper.
“Or she helped cover it up,” Ethan corrected. “Natalie didn’t approach me until a year ago. She targeted me. She spent months engineering a 'chance meeting' at that gala. She wanted to become the mistress of the Harmon empire because her family’s company is bleeding money again.”
Suddenly, Ethan’s desk phone buzzed. It was Marcus, his head of security.
“Sir, we have a problem,” Marcus said over the speaker. “Miss Voss is at the front gate. She’s not alone. She brought a team of lawyers and a police officer. She’s claiming you are holding her personal property hostage, and she’s demanding entry.”
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Ethan looked at the gold button on the table. Then he looked at Rosa and Lily.
“Let them in,” Ethan ordered calmly. “Bring them directly to the main foyer. It’s time to finish this.”
