PART 2 — THE FIVE BROTHERS
The first SUV stopped directly in front of the marble staircase.
The engine kept running.
No one in the hall dared to speak.
Adrian was still holding his glass, but his fingers were trembling.
Eleanor Blackwood looked toward the windows.
“Who are these people?”
No one answered.
Then the car door opened.
A tall man in a dark suit stepped out.
Ethan Sterling.
My oldest brother.
He calmly buttoned his jacket and looked over the estate as if he had just bought it.
Behind him, Ryan, Nathan, Oliver, and Damian stepped out.
Five brothers.
Five men Adrian had mocked for years.
Five men he was facing for the first time tonight.
Ethan walked toward the entrance.
Blackwood’s security guards came outside.
“You can’t just—”
Ethan looked at them.
The security guard fell silent in the middle of his sentence.
“Call Adrian.”
“He’s inside.”
“I know.”
Ethan continued walking.
No one stopped him.
The doors opened.
My five brothers entered the hall.
Ethan looked at me first.
His expression changed immediately.
“Amelia.”
I nodded.
“I’m fine.”
He looked at the red marks around my wrists.
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
But somehow, that made it even more threatening.
Ryan stepped beside him.
“Who did this?”
I looked at Adrian.
No one needed to say anything.
Adrian put down his glass.
“This is a private family matter.”
Nathan gave a short laugh.
“Not anymore.”
Eleanor stepped forward.
“You have no business being here.”
Nathan pulled a folder from his bag.
“That’s what you thought.”
He placed a document on the table.
“From this moment on, I represent Mrs. Amelia Sterling.”
Adrian frowned.
“She’s my wife.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
Nathan looked him directly in the eyes.
“You abused her.”
The hall became completely silent.
Victoria stepped forward.
“He didn’t abuse anyone.”
Damian looked at her.
“Would you like to say that again?”
Victoria fell silent.
Damian pulled out his phone.
“Because we have the surveillance footage.”
Adrian froze.
“What cameras?”
Oliver answered:
“All of them.”
He turned the screen toward Adrian.
Everything was visible in the footage.
The first strike.
The second.
The third.
Thirty.
Every single blow.
Every laugh.
Everyone who had done nothing.
Eleanor went pale.
“That’s impossible.”
Oliver smiled.
“Your security system was running through a private server.”
He tapped the screen.
“And that server is now under my control.”
Adrian walked toward him.
“Give me the phone.”
Ryan stepped between them.
“Don’t.”
Adrian stared at him.
“Who do you think you are?”
Ryan calmly replied:
“The man you should have stayed out of the way of.”
I saw Victoria glance toward the exit.
Damian noticed it too.
“You don’t have to leave.”
Victoria looked at him.
“I was just…”
“You’re staying.”
She swallowed.
Ethan walked over to Adrian.
He stopped directly in front of him.
“My sister trusted you.”
Adrian looked at him.
“That concerns only her and me.”
Ethan shook his head.
“Not anymore, after you tied her up.”
Adrian tried to remain confident.
“She brought this on herself.”
My brother stared at him for several seconds.
Then he smiled.
“That’s interesting.”
“What?”
“Because you still don’t know what my sister planned to do tonight.”
Adrian frowned.
I looked at Ethan.
“Is it time?”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
I took my phone from my pocket.
Adrian looked at me suspiciously.
“What are you planning?”
I walked toward the large screen behind the bar.
I connected my phone to it.
The screen went black.
Then a document appeared.
BLACKWOOD HOLDINGS — OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE.
Adrian froze.
Eleanor looked at her son.
“What is that?”
I looked at her.
“The reason all of you are here tonight.”
I clicked.
A list of shares appeared.
Adrian looked as though he had seen a ghost.
“That’s impossible.”
Oliver said:
“Not impossible.”
He looked at me.
“Just hidden.”
I turned toward Adrian.
“Three months ago, I bought shares in Blackwood Holdings.”
He laughed nervously.
“A few shares?”
I shook my head.
“Forty-six percent.”
Whispers erupted throughout the hall.
Eleanor turned deathly pale.
“Who helped you?”
I looked at my brothers.
“My family.”
Adrian stared at me.
“Why?”
I answered:
“Because I already knew what you were planning.”
His expression changed.
“What do you mean?”
I looked at Victoria.
“The question isn’t why I bought the shares.”
I paused.
“The question is why Victoria bought shares in a competing company exactly three weeks ago.”
Victoria froze.
Adrian looked at her.
“What?”
Victoria began to tremble.
I smiled.
“Welcome to the second part of your birthday, Adrian.”
* * *
PART 3 — THE WOMAN HE DIDN’T KNOW
Adrian slowly turned toward Victoria.
“What is she talking about?”
Victoria shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Oliver walked toward the screen.
“Don’t lie.”
He clicked.
A bank transaction appeared.
Victoria Hayes.
Amount: eight million dollars.
Recipient: Hayes Strategic Partners.
Beneath it was a date.
Three weeks ago.
Adrian stared at her.
“What is this?”
Victoria began to cry.
“I can explain.”
“When did you receive eight million dollars?”
“Adrian…”
“When?”
She lowered her eyes.
Eleanor stepped forward.
“This is ridiculous.”
Oliver looked at her.
“Mrs. Blackwood, you should sit down.”
“I will not…”
“Sit down.”
His voice was cold.
Eleanor sat.
Adrian looked at Victoria again.
“Did you betray me?”
Victoria looked at him.
“Not the way you think.”
I felt nothing.
No jealousy.
No sadness.
Only calm.
Because I already knew the answer.
Victoria walked toward me.
“Amelia…”
I looked at her.
“Don’t.”
“You don’t understand.”
“That’s true.”
I pointed toward the screen.
“Then explain it.”
Victoria took a deep breath.
“I was paid to do it.”
Adrian froze.
“By whom?”
Victoria looked at Eleanor.
The entire hall fell silent.
Eleanor abruptly jumped to her feet.
“How dare you?”
Victoria began to cry.
“Your son wasn’t supposed to remain married to Amelia.”
Adrian looked at his mother.
“Mother?”
Eleanor said nothing.
“You hired her?”
“That’s irrelevant.”
“You had Victoria spy on my wife?”
Eleanor looked at him.
“She was never good enough for you.”
Adrian shook his head.
“So you brought Victoria into my life?”
“Yes.”
A collective gasp swept through the hall.
I looked at Eleanor.
“Why?”
“You didn’t belong with us.”
I smiled bitterly.
“That’s exactly the problem.”
Eleanor didn’t understand what I meant.
Nathan placed a second document on the table.
“Your son isn’t the only one with a secret.”
Adrian looked at him.
“What now?”
Nathan slid the document toward him.
“Your mother tried to have your marriage contract declared invalid.”
Adrian read the document.
His face went white.
“Why?”
Nathan looked at me.
“Because under the original agreement, Mrs. Sterling is entitled to fifty percent of certain Blackwood assets once the abuse is proven.”
Adrian looked at me.
“You knew about this?”
“I knew enough.”
“So all of this was planned?”
I shook my head.
“My birthday was planned.”
I looked at my wrists.
“What you did wasn’t.”
Ethan stepped beside me.
“And that’s why everything changes now.”
Adrian looked at him.
“What do you want?”
Ethan answered:
“Everything you took from my sister.”
Adrian laughed.
“You can’t just destroy my family.”
Damian looked at him.
“We don’t have to.”
He tapped his phone.
“You did that yourself.”
Messages appeared on the screen.
BLACKWOOD HOLDINGS UNDER INVESTIGATION.
POSSIBLE FRAUD IN INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS.
ANONYMOUS DOSSIER REVEALS FINANCIAL IRREGULARITIES.
Adrian stared at the screen.
“When…”
Oliver said:
“This morning.”
Adrian looked at me.
“You.”
I said nothing.
He walked toward me.
“You prepared all of this.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
I looked directly into his eyes.
“Because I wanted to know who you really were.”
He fell silent.
I turned around.
“I only wanted one thing from you.”
“What?”
“A reason to stay.”
He looked at the floor.
“And now?”
“Now I have a reason to leave.”
I walked toward the exit.
But before I reached the door, Victoria called out:
“Amelia!”
I stopped.
She came toward me.
“There’s something else.”
I turned around.
“What?”
Victoria looked at Adrian.
“The affair was never the real plan.”
My heart began beating faster.
“What do you mean?”
Victoria whispered:
“Your husband didn’t just want to divorce you.”
“Then what did he want?”
She looked directly into my eyes.
“He wanted you dead.”
The hall fell silent.
Adrian froze.
I felt an icy chill run through my body.
“Why?”
Victoria looked at Eleanor.
“Because of your inheritance.”
* * *
PART 4 — THE STERLING INHERITANCE
The words hung between us.
“My inheritance?”
Victoria nodded.
“Your father left something for you.”
I looked at Ethan.
He looked back at me.
But he said nothing.
That was strange.
“Ethan?”
He sighed.
“I wanted to tell you myself.”
“Tell me what?”
“After your thirty-fifth birthday.”
I laughed in disbelief.
“So everyone knew except me?”
Ryan stepped closer.
“Not everyone.”
“But you knew.”
Ethan nodded.
“Yes.”
Adrian listened carefully.
I saw his expression change.
For the first time, he understood why my brothers had come.
Not just because of the abuse.
But because of something much bigger.
“What did my father leave me?”
Ethan pulled a small metal key from his pocket.
“A trust.”
“How large?”
He looked at me.
“Your father owned stakes in four international funds.”
Oliver added:
“The total value is approximately 420 million dollars.”
Adrian went pale.
Victoria looked at him.
“That’s why.”
I looked at Adrian.
“You knew about it.”
He didn’t answer.
“When?”
Eleanor looked at her son.
“Adrian…”
“When did you find out?”
He sighed.
“One month after our wedding.”
My heart hurt.
Not because I loved him.
But because I finally understood how cold his decisions had been.
“So you married me because of my money?”
“Not only because of that.”
“Then what else?”
“Because of the Sterling influence.”
I laughed quietly.
“You never knew me.”
He looked at me.
“I tried…”
“You tried to own me.”
He fell silent.
Nathan stepped forward.
“And that ends now.”
Adrian looked at him.
“What happens to Blackwood Holdings?”
Nathan answered:
“That depends on what the board decides tomorrow.”
Adrian laughed.
“My family controls the board.”
Oliver looked up.
“Not anymore.”
He held up a document.
“Because of the shares Amelia owns, she is entitled to a seat on the board.”
Adrian shook his head.
“That can’t be.”
“Yes, it can.”
I looked at the screen.
A new message appeared.
EXTRAORDINARY BOARD MEETING — TOMORROW, 8:00 A.M.
Adrian stared at it.
“You prepared everything.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
I looked at my brothers.
“They helped me.”
Ethan said:
“But you made the decision.”
At that moment, Adrian’s phone began vibrating.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“Who is it?”
He answered.
“Hello?”
No one could hear the voice on the other end.
But we could see Adrian growing paler and paler.
“That’s impossible.”
He walked into a corner.
“You shouldn’t exist anymore.”
A long silence.
Then he said:
“What do you want?”
He hung up.
I walked toward him.
“Who was that?”
“No one.”
Damian looked at him.
“You’re lying.”
Adrian looked at me.
“You need to leave now.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“Because you don’t understand what you’ve triggered.”
Ethan stepped beside me.
“Explain.”
Adrian looked at him.
“This isn’t about money anymore.”
“Then what is it about?”
Adrian whispered:
“My father.”
Eleanor froze.
“Don’t say his name.”
I looked at her.
“Why?”
She didn’t answer.
Adrian said:
“My father isn’t dead.”
The room fell completely silent.
I looked at Eleanor.
She closed her eyes.
“He disappeared twelve years ago,” Adrian said.
“Why?”
“Because he stole something.”
“What?”
Adrian looked at me.
“A list.”
“What list?”
“The names of everyone who ever worked for the Sterling family.”
My stomach tightened.
“That sounds absurd.”
“It isn’t.”
He looked at Ethan.
“Your brother Damian knows about it.”
Everyone’s eyes turned toward Damian.
Damian said nothing.
I looked at him.
“Is that true?”
He answered:
“Partly.”
Adrian smiled bitterly.
“And now they know you’re the heir.”
“Who?”
Adrian whispered:
“The people who made my father disappear.”
At that moment, all the lights outside went out.
A gunshot rang out.
BANG!
The windows shook.
The guests began screaming.
Ethan pulled me behind him.
Damian grabbed his phone.
Ryan ran toward the security room.
Then a single sentence appeared on the large screen:
AMELIA STERLING — YOU CHOSE THE WRONG WAR.
* * *
PART 5 — THE MAN BEHIND THE SHADOW
The lights came back on.
But no one moved.
Ethan looked at Damian.
“Where did the shot come from?”
“Outside.”
Ryan returned.
“No injuries.”
“The shooter?”
“Gone.”
Adrian was still standing in front of the screen.
For the first time, he looked genuinely afraid.
I walked toward him.
“Who sent that?”
He shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
“You do know.”
“I swear.”
Damian studied the screen.
“That message didn’t come from Blackwood.”
“How do you know?”
“The encryption.”
He looked at me.
“It came from an old network.”
“What network?”
Damian remained silent.
Ethan answered:
“The network Dad always warned us about.”
I looked at my brothers.
“My father?”
Ethan nodded.
“He knew these people existed.”
“Why did he never tell me?”
“Because he wanted to protect you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“That worked well.”
Ethan looked at my wrists.
“I know.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“I can help.”
Everyone looked at him.
Ethan laughed.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Why should we trust you?”
Adrian looked at me.
“Because they want me too.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“Because I have something.”
“What?”
He pulled a small memory card from his pocket.
“This.”
Damian took it.
“Where did you get it?”
“From my father.”
Silence immediately filled the room.
“When?”
“A year ago.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“You hid this for an entire year?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Adrian looked at me.
“Because I thought I could use it to become rich.”
I shook my head.
“What’s on it?”
Damian inserted the card into his laptop.
The screen filled with files.
Names.
Companies.
Bank accounts.
Photographs.
And finally, a video.
An old man appeared on the screen.
Adrian whispered:
“My father.”
The man looked directly into the camera.
“If you’re seeing this, I’m probably dead.”
Adrian swallowed.
“But if you opened this file, it means someone from the Sterling family is involved.”
My heart skipped a beat.
The man continued:
“Not as a victim.”
“But as an owner.”
Ethan looked at me.
The video continued.
“The Sterling family has managed a secret fund for years.”
“A fund that officially does not exist.”
“This fund owns shares in hundreds of companies.”
“And one person ultimately has the right to take control of everything.”
The man looked into the camera.
“Amelia Sterling.”
I could barely breathe.
“Why me?”
Adrian’s father answered as if he could hear me.
“Because your father knew the family would one day be attacked.”
He held up a document.
“That is why he didn’t give his fortune to your brothers.”
“He gave it to you.”
I looked at Ethan.
He nodded.
The video went dark.
But before it ended, the man said:
“If Amelia is ever attacked, the Sterling family must not strike back.”
He paused.
“She must activate her full power.”
The screen went black.
Damian looked at us.
“He did it.”
“What?”
“The attack.”
“Who?”
Damian looked at Adrian.
“His father.”
Adrian went pale.
“But he’s dead.”
Damian shook his head.
“We don’t know that.”
At that moment, Eleanor’s phone began ringing.
She looked at the number.
She immediately went pale.
“Who’s calling?”
She didn’t answer.
I took the phone.
“Who is it?”
Eleanor whispered:
“My husband.”
I looked at Adrian.
“Your father?”
She nodded.
I answered.
A man’s voice came through.
“Amelia.”
I said nothing.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment.”
“Who are you?”
He laughed quietly.
“You destroyed my son.”
“He destroyed himself.”
“Perhaps.”
A brief silence.
“But you still don’t understand why I wanted to meet you.”
“Where?”
“Come alone.”
Ethan immediately shook his head.
“Don’t.”
The voice continued:
“If you don’t come…”
There was a click.
Then a recording began playing.
My mother’s voice.
She was crying.
I froze.
“Where is my mother?”
The man answered:
“That depends on you.”
“What do you want?”
“The Sterling inheritance.”
I looked at my brothers.
Then I said:
“Where?”
“The old Blackwood factory.”
“When?”
“In one hour.”
The call ended.
Ethan grabbed my arm.
“You’re not going.”
I looked at him.
“He has Mom.”
Damian said:
“This could be a trap.”
“I know.”
“Then why…”
I looked at him.
“Because tonight I was humiliated once already.”
I put on my jacket.
“The second time, I won’t let him put me on my knees.”
Adrian looked at me.
“I’m coming with you.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re the reason this war began.”
He looked at me.
I walked toward the door.
“And now I want to see whether you can finally stand on my side.”
* * *
PART 6 — THE QUEEN OF BLACKWOOD
The old Blackwood factory stood on the outskirts of the city.
Abandoned.
Dark.
But not empty.
I stepped out of the car.
Ethan, Ryan, Nathan, Oliver, and Damian stayed behind.
I had promised to go inside alone.
But I knew my brothers would never truly be far away.
Adrian stood beside me.
“You said I couldn’t come.”
“I changed my mind.”
“Why?”
“Because I want you to see what you threw away.”
He looked at me.
“Amelia…”
“Not now.”
We walked inside.
The huge factory floor was almost completely dark.
Then the lights came on one by one.
In the center stood a chair.
My mother was sitting on it.
Her hands were tied.
“Mom!”
I wanted to run to her.
Adrian held me back.
“Wait.”
A man appeared behind her.
Gray hair.
Dark suit.
A face Adrian immediately recognized.
“Dad.”
The man smiled.
“My son.”
Adrian stared at him.
“You’re dead.”
“That’s what you hoped.”
He looked at me.
“Amelia Sterling.”
I stopped.
“Let my mother go.”
“I can.”
He smiled.
“As soon as you transfer the inheritance.”
“You mean the 420 million?”
“No.”
He laughed.
“That’s only what’s visible.”
My heart began beating faster.
“What do you mean?”
“Your father left you much more.”
He walked toward a table.
A black file lay there.
“The Sterling Trust.”
He tapped it.
“Companies. Banks. Real estate. Patents. International funds.”
He looked at me.
“But above all…”
He smiled.
“Influence.”
Adrian looked at his father.
“Why did you use us?”
His father turned around.
“Because you were weak.”
Adrian froze.
“You had a job.”
“What job?”
“Marry Amelia.”
The words cut through the room.
Adrian looked at me.
“I didn’t know.”
“But you did it.”
His father continued:
“You were supposed to gain her trust.”
“And then?”
“Secure the inheritance.”
I looked at him.
“And Victoria?”
“A distraction.”
“The abuse?”
“A mistake.”
Adrian stared at him in shock.
“A mistake?”
“You went too far.”
My anger rose.
“So my pain was part of a plan?”
“Yes.”
I looked at my mother.
She was crying.
“But you misunderstood one thing.”
He frowned.
“What?”
I smiled.
“I was never alone.”
At that moment, every door in the factory opened.
The lights came on.
Ethan stood above us on the metal walkway.
Ryan stood beside him.
Nathan, Oliver, and Damian spread out across the factory floor.
The man looked upward.
“How…”
Ethan smiled.
“You really thought we would let her come alone?”
Damian walked toward a control console.
“The factory is under our control.”
Oliver held up a file.
“And your entire financial network is about to be exposed.”
The man looked at me.
“You betrayed me.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
I walked toward my mother.
“You overestimated yourself.”
Adrian freed her.
His father looked at him.
“You’re choosing her?”
Adrian looked at me.
“Yes.”
His father laughed.
“For one woman?”
Adrian answered:
“For my wife.”
I looked at him.
For the first time, I felt nothing of the old love.
But perhaps…
there was something else.
Respect.
The man was arrested before he could escape.
But when Damian opened the black file, his smile disappeared.
“Amelia…”
I looked at him.
“What?”
He turned the document toward me.
At the top were the words:
STERLING SUCCESSION — FINAL BENEFICIARY.
My name was written beneath it.
But below my name was another line.
IN THE EVENT OF AMELIA’S DEATH, ALL ASSETS SHALL BE TRANSFERRED TO:
I read the name.
My heart stopped.
ADRIAN BLACKWOOD.
I slowly looked at my husband.
Adrian went pale.
“I knew nothing about this.”
Ethan took the document.
“That’s impossible.”
Oliver looked at the date.
“This document was changed yesterday.”
An icy silence spread through the room.
Yesterday.
Not years ago.
Not during our marriage.
Yesterday.
Someone had changed my will yesterday.
And only someone with access to my family could have done it.
I looked at my five brothers.
My mother.
Adrian.
Then I noticed something on the final document.
A signature.
My signature.
But I had never signed it.
I whispered:
“Someone is inside our family.”
Damian stared at the document.
“And that person wanted Adrian to get everything.”
I looked into the dark factory.
The war with the Blackwoods was over.
But a much more dangerous war was about to begin.
Because now I knew one thing for certain.
The enemy was no longer outside the family.
He was standing right in the middle of us.
