Chapter 18 - The Name Hidden In The Records
Sofia ordered a complete audit.
Not just of the recent transfer.
Of the entire trust.
The review took two weeks.
Then the auditors found a pattern.
Three years before Sofia had ever entered the Volkov estate, someone had requested copies of restricted trust documents.
The requests had been approved by an old legal adviser named Adrian Cross.
Damian recognized the name.
“He worked for my grandfather.”
Elena nodded.
“He was one of the few people my father trusted.”
Sofia studied the records.
“Where is he now?”
“Retired.”
“Where?”
“Connecticut.”
Sofia looked at Damian.
“We need to speak with him.”
Damian nodded.
They drove there the following morning.
Adrian was an elderly man with silver hair and a cane.
When he saw Elena, his expression softened.
“I thought I'd never see you again.”
Elena smiled.
“You're still stubborn.”
“So are you.”
Sofia watched them.
There was no fear between them.
Only history.
Adrian invited them inside.
Sofia placed the fraudulent document on his table.
His face changed.
“I wondered when this would happen.”
Damian leaned forward.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“Why didn't you tell us?”
Adrian looked at Sofia.
“Because I wasn't sure you were ready.”
Sofia's voice hardened.
“Ready for what?”
Adrian opened a locked drawer.
Inside was an old ledger.
He placed it on the table.
“Your grandfather never intended the Volkov trust to belong to one person.”
Sofia stared at him.
“Then who does it belong to?”
Adrian looked directly into her eyes.
“The family.”
He paused.
May you like
“And that distinction may determine whether you keep it.”
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