Chapter 7
The Sister They Tried to Use Against Me
I called Leah immediately.
She answered on the third ring.
"Hey, sis!"
Her cheerful voice nearly broke me.
"Where are you?"
She laughed.
"At the library."
I closed my eyes.
"Are you alone?"
A pause.
"Nia?"
"Answer me."
"Yes. Why?"
I looked toward Patricia.
She nodded for me to stay calm.
"Leah, I need you to come home."
My sister sounded confused.
"What's wrong?"
I swallowed.
"Something happened with the wedding."
A long silence.
"Are you okay?"
My eyes filled.
"Yes."
"Marcus?"
"He's fine."
Leah lowered her voice.
"Then what happened?"
I took a breath.
"I'll explain when you get here."
She hesitated.
"Okay."
Then she added something that made my stomach drop.
"Nia, can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"Did you know Evelyn offered to pay my tuition?"
I froze.
"What?"
"She called me last week."
My hands began shaking.
"What did she say?"
Leah sounded embarrassed.
"She said she wanted to help with my final year of college."
I looked at Marcus.
His face went pale.
"Did you accept?"
"No."
I nearly cried with relief.
"Why not?"
Leah hesitated.
"Because she wanted me to sign some papers."
My stomach twisted.
"What papers?"
"Something about authorizing changes to the family education fund."
I closed my eyes.
The same fund Richard had tried to control through the forged agreement.
My father's gift to Leah.
The one asset I'd promised to protect no matter what.
"Did you sign anything?"
"No."
I exhaled.
"Thank God."
Leah lowered her voice.
"Nia, you're scaring me."
I wiped my tears.
"I'm sorry."
I took a breath.
"Just come home. Please."
She agreed.
When the call ended, I looked at Marcus.
"Your mother contacted my sister."
He stared at the email.
"I didn't know."
I shook my head.
"Neither did I."
Patricia examined the documents.
Then she looked up.
"We need to preserve this email and contact Detective Grant."
I nodded.
Marcus stood.
"I'll call her."
I looked at him.
For the first time since the bridal suite confrontation, he was taking action without waiting for his parents' approval.
I appreciated it.
But I wasn't ready to forget what had happened.
Leah arrived two hours later.
The moment she stepped inside, she knew something was wrong.
My wedding gown was hanging in the hallway closet.
My engagement ring was gone.
And Patricia sat at the kitchen table with legal documents spread before her.
Leah dropped her backpack.
"Nia?"
I walked toward her.
Then hugged her so tightly she laughed nervously.
"What's going on?"
I started crying.
She stopped laughing.
"Nia?"
I held her face.
"You're safe."
Her expression changed.
"What happened?"
We sat together.
I explained everything.
The forged prenuptial agreement.
Richard's false loan.
The documents from Dad's warehouse.
The recording.
The threat against our father.
And the attempt to gain control of her education fund.
Leah listened silently.
Then she began shaking.
"Evelyn tried to make me sign away my college money?"
I nodded.
Tears filled her eyes.
"But she told me she loved me."
My heart broke.
"I know."
Leah covered her face.
"She said we were going to be family."
I embraced her.
"We are family."
My voice strengthened.
"You and me."
She began crying.
"And Dad would be so proud of you."
I looked at her.
She wiped her face.
"You didn't let them take what he left us."
I shook my head.
"Not yet."
She looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
I took her hand.
"We still have to protect it."
That afternoon, Detective Grant arrived.
She took Leah's statement.
Then showed us a photograph of a woman.
"Do you recognize her?"
Leah leaned forward.
Her face changed.
"Yes."
My stomach tightened.
"Who is she?"
Leah swallowed.
"She came to my campus."
I stared.
"What?"
"She said she was an educational consultant."
Grant nodded.
"Her name is Monica Price."
I felt cold.
"Who does she work for?"
Grant looked at Marcus.
Then answered.
"Richard Williams."
My heart pounded.
Leah began crying.
"She asked questions about my finances."
I grabbed her hand.
"What questions?"
"Whether I controlled any company shares. Whether I had access to Dad's accounts."
I felt sick.
Grant wrote everything down.
Then she looked at me.
"Nia, we believe Richard was trying to identify every possible route to the Bennett assets."
I nodded.
"That makes sense."
She continued.
"We've also discovered something significant about your father's death."
My breath caught.
"What?"
Grant hesitated.
"His medical records contain inconsistencies."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"What kind?"
"The original report lists a cardiac event, but certain laboratory records were never included in the final file."
I stared at her.
"Why?"
"We're investigating."
Patricia leaned forward.
"Could that indicate tampering?"
Grant nodded cautiously.
"Possibly."
I looked down.
My father had died suddenly.
He was healthy.
Active.
Still working long days.
We had accepted the doctor's explanation because grief left us too exhausted to question it.
Now everything felt uncertain.
Grant continued.
"We're reviewing the hospital records with independent specialists."
I swallowed.
"How long?"
"We're moving as quickly as we can."
Then her phone rang.
She stepped outside.
When she returned, her expression had changed.
"We found Monica Price."
My heart pounded.
"Where?"
"At Richard's corporate office."
I stood.
"And?"
Grant looked at me.
"She's cooperating."
I felt hope rising.
"What did she say?"
Grant took a breath.
"She claims Richard ordered her to obtain Leah's signature because the family trust documents couldn't be altered without it."
I stared at Leah.
My little sister.
The girl I'd protected since we were children.
She had unknowingly stood between Richard and millions of dollars.
Then Grant added something worse.
"Monica also claims Richard instructed her to prepare a false guardianship petition."
I felt sick.
"A what?"
"Documents suggesting Leah couldn't manage her finances independently."
Leah began sobbing.
I held her.
Richard had planned to take control of my sister's inheritance by making her appear incapable of handling it herself.
The thought made me furious.
I looked at Detective Grant.
"Please tell me you can stop him."
She nodded.
"We've already moved to preserve the relevant records."
I swallowed.
"And Richard?"
Her expression hardened.
"We're preparing warrants."
For the first time, I felt a real chance of justice.
But when Grant left, my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
One message.
YOU CAN PROTECT YOUR SISTER OR YOUR COMPANY.
NOT BOTH.
I stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
YOUR FATHER MADE THE WRONG CHOICE.
My blood turned cold.
May you like
Because whoever sent those messages wasn't finished.
And this time, I wasn't going to let them frighten us into silence.
