Chapter 18 - The False Victory
Margaret’s arrest dominated every news channel.
Investors celebrated.
Valle International’s stock recovered.
Board members publicly supported Sebastian.
For twenty-four hours, it appeared the nightmare was ending.
Then Nathaniel’s final move surfaced.
A will dated six months earlier named Nathaniel sole inheritor of Sebastian’s controlling shares.
Sebastian stared at his supposed signature.
“I never signed this.”
The witnesses were two Valle executives.
Both claimed they watched him sign.
One was Victor Hale.
The other was the company’s longtime general counsel, Robert Mason.
Mason denied wrongdoing.
He produced video.
The footage clearly showed Sebastian seated at a desk signing documents.
Charlotte watched carefully.
“Play it again.”
Daniel replayed it.
Sebastian signed three pages.
The disputed will was supposedly among them.
Charlotte noticed something.
Her grandfather wore a black watch in the video.
Sebastian looked at his wrist.
He always wore gold.
“When was this recorded?”
The timestamp showed February 14.
Sebastian laughed.
“I was in Paris.”
Flight records confirmed it.
The video was manipulated.
But the forged will created a larger problem.
Nathaniel’s attorneys filed an emergency claim arguing Sebastian was mentally incompetent.
If the court agreed, Sebastian could temporarily lose voting authority.
Nathaniel might regain control before Charlotte’s trust restoration was finalized.
The hearing was scheduled the next morning.
Charlotte sat alone in Evelyn’s former suite that night.
Adrian joined her.
“You don’t have to fight every battle yourself.”
Charlotte looked at him.
“I learned to.”
He nodded sadly.
“That was partly my failure.”
For the first time, Charlotte saw him not as a secret or mystery.
Just a man who had made a terrible choice because he was afraid.
“You could have found me.”
“I know.”
“You should have.”
“I know.”
Silence passed.
Then Charlotte asked, “Why did Mom trust me with the company?”
Adrian smiled faintly.
“Because you hated bullies when you were five.”
Charlotte almost laughed.
He told her Evelyn once watched Charlotte give away every birthday gift because another child at school had none.
“She said power was only safe in the hands of someone willing to lose it.”
Charlotte thought about that.
Then Daniel rushed inside.
He carried the forensic report on Sebastian’s forged video.
The manipulation had been created using internal Valle International servers.
The login credentials belonged to Robert Mason.
The general counsel.
And Mason had just entered the courthouse requesting emergency access to sealed trust documents.
Charlotte stood.
The hearing had not started.
May you like
But Nathaniel’s final attack already had.
---
