Chapter 5 - The Silver Porsche
The silence that followed Sophia’s accusation was suffocating.
Emma stood up slowly, stepping between Ethan and Sophia, her stance defensive. “Ethan... you told me you flew back from Chicago on Monday morning. But the Bellevue estate manager said your car entered the gates on Saturday night.”
Ethan’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle twitched near his temple. “Because I lent the Porsche to Julian, Emma! He asked to borrow it on Friday before I boarded my flight!”
“Julian?” Emma echoed, her eyes widening. “Our cousin Julian? He’s been in London for six months!”
“He came back secretly,” Ethan insisted, taking out his phone and tapping the screen frantically. “He called me three days ago, begging to use the car to handle a private matter. He said he didn't want the rest of the family to know he was back in the states!”
Ethan held up his phone, showing a call log with an unlisted international number.
Emma looked from the phone screen back to Ethan’s face. “Why would Julian want to poison Sophia? He doesn't even have a seat on the estate trustee board!”
“He doesn't,” Sophia interjected quietly from the bench, her voice trembling. “But his mother does.”
Ethan froze. “Aunt Clara?”
Sophia nodded weakly. “Two days before I collapsed... I found a second will in Father’s safe at the Bellevue house. A will written a week before he died last year. He didn't leave the majority shares of Sterling Logistics to Ethan or me.”
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Emma leaned in close. “Who did he leave them to?”
Sophia looked directly into Emma’s eyes, her gaze solemn and frightening. “He left them to a child. A child Father had twenty-six years ago... a child he gave away at birth to protect them from Aunt Clara.”
