Chapter 7 - THE BODY IN THE TRUNK
General Cross’s remains were wrapped in an old military tarp.
The uniform beneath it still carried his name.
His identity would require DNA confirmation.
But Vance knew the watch on his wrist.
He had given it to Alexander before their final mission.
Vaughn had carried the body for twenty-four years.
Or someone had recently moved it.
Agent Brooks ordered every Sterling and Vaughn property searched.
The merger documents were seized.
Guests were released one at a time after questioning.
By midnight, only Maya, Ethan, Victoria, Vance, and the federal team remained.
Rose slept against Maya’s chest again.
The child had cried herself into exhaustion.
Ethan stood several feet away.
He had not asked to hold her again.
Maya appreciated that he had finally understood one boundary.
Vance brought Maya a coat.
“You should leave the baby with someone you trust and come with me.”
“Where?”
“To the military archive.”
“Why?”
“Your medal may have a twin record.”
Maya looked at Victoria.
“What happens to her?”
Agent Brooks answered.
“She is being detained as a material witness.”
Victoria’s face tightened.
“I cooperated.”
“You also concealed a kidnapping for twenty-four years.”
Ethan moved toward his mother.
She looked relieved until he stopped beyond her reach.
“Did Dad know?”
Victoria closed her eyes.
“Some of it.”
“How much?”
“He helped hide the payments.”
Ethan looked sick.
The Sterling fortune had been built partly through Vaughn contracts.
His father had known those contracts came from stolen Cross technology.
Ethan had spent years praising the family legacy.
Now the legacy had become evidence.
Maya handed Rose to a trusted hotel nurse provided by investigators.
Then she followed Vance into the rain.
At the military archive, they entered a secure room beneath an old federal building.
Vance opened a steel cabinet.
Inside was a photograph of General Cross, Evelyn, and a baby wrapped in a red blanket.
Maya touched the glass.
The baby wore the silver medal.
Her mother had Maya’s eyes.
Her grandfather had her mouth.
For the first time in her life, she saw where her face came from.
Vance opened a sealed envelope.
“Alexander left instructions in case he disappeared.”
Maya read the first page.
If Amelia survives, she becomes sole beneficiary of the Cross Legacy Trust.
The listed assets included Cross Aeronautics.
Several patents.
Property in three states.
And forty-one percent of Vaughn Strategic Industries.
Maya looked at Vance.
“Forty-one percent?”
“Vaughn built his company using your family’s stolen assets.”
Maya continued reading.
A handwritten line appeared at the bottom.
May you like
The betrayal came from inside the Sterling family.
Maya slowly turned toward Ethan.
