Victor did not move.
For several seconds, neither did I.
The name beneath the encrypted message remained on the screen, bright against the dark background.
Arthur Sterling.
My oldest brother.
The man who had taught me how to ride a bicycle in the long driveway of our childhood home. The man who had sat outside my bedroom when I cried after our father died. The man who had promised me, years ago, that no matter what happened, I would never have to face the world alone.
I looked at Victor.
“You said that was impossible.”
“It is.”
“Then why is Arthur's authorization code on that account?”
Victor took the drive from Marcus and examined the screen himself.
“Because someone copied it.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No. The encryption doesn't work that way.”
Victor looked up.
“Explain.”
“The old trust uses a layered authorization system. A password isn't enough. Whoever opened the account needed the code, a biometric signature, and a secondary family key.”
My mouth went dry.
“Arthur has all three.”
Victor's eyes remained on Marcus.
“Who else?”
“Your father originally set up the system for the three Sterling children. Arthur, Edward, and Victor.”
I looked at Victor.
“And me?”
Marcus hesitated.
“You were added later.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Victor's jaw tightened.
I could see the calculation behind his eyes.
He had always been the brother who acted first and asked questions afterward. But this time he was standing still because every direction led back into our family.
Sophia tugged at my sleeve.
“Mommy, can we go home now?”
I looked down.
“Yes.”
Victor crouched beside her.
“We're going home.”
She looked at him.
“Is Uncle Arthur in trouble?”
Victor glanced at me.
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Sophia nodded, apparently satisfied.
I wasn't.
We left the ballroom through a private corridor. The rain had stopped, but the windows were still streaked with water. The city below looked distant and unreal.
In the elevator, Victor said nothing.
Neither did I.
When the doors opened in the underground garage, two black vehicles were waiting.
Victor opened the rear door of the first one.
“Get in.”
I placed Sophia inside.
Then I turned to him.
“I want the truth before we reach home.”
Victor looked at me.
“So do I.”
We drove through Manhattan without speaking.
Halfway home, Victor's phone rang.
He answered.
“Edward?”
A pause.
“What did you find?”
I watched his face.
His expression slowly hardened.
“Say that again.”
Another pause.
“Don't touch anything.”
He ended the call.
“What happened?”
Victor looked at me through the rearview mirror.
“Edward found a second set of transactions.”
“Arthur's?”
“No.”
He hesitated.
“Yours.”
I stared at him.
“My accounts?”
“Accounts opened in your name.”
“I never opened them.”
“I know.”
“Then who did?”
Victor didn't answer.
The vehicle turned toward the Sterling estate.
My hands had become cold.
When we arrived, the house was lit from every window. Security guards stood along the driveway.
Arthur's car was already there.
I stepped out.
Victor caught my arm.
“Don't go in alone.”
I looked at him.
“It's my brother.”
“Exactly.”
We entered together.
Arthur was standing in the library.
He had removed his jacket and loosened his tie. A glass of untouched whiskey sat beside him.
He looked exhausted.
Then he saw me.
“Viv.”
I stopped in the doorway.
“Did you access the Northbridge Trust?”
His eyes closed.
That was enough.
Victor stepped forward.
“You knew.”
Arthur opened his eyes.
“I knew about the trust.”
“Did you use it?”
“Yes.”
I felt something inside me drop.
“For what?”
Arthur looked at me.
“To protect you.”
I laughed once.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Arthur's face tightened.
“Because it's true.”
“Then tell me what you protected me from.”
He didn't answer.
Victor slammed his hand against the desk.
“Arthur.”
Our brother looked at him.
“Father left instructions.”
“What instructions?”
Arthur reached into a drawer and removed a sealed envelope.
The paper was yellowed.
My father's handwriting was on the front.
Vivienne.
My heart stopped.
Arthur held it out.
“He told me to give you this only if your marriage became unsafe.”
I stared at the envelope.
“When did he write it?”
“Eight years ago.”
The same year I married Dominic.
I took it.
My fingers trembled as I opened it.
Inside was a single letter.
My father's handwriting was unmistakable.
He wrote that Dominic had approached our family long before I ever met him.
Not romantically.
Financially.
He had asked for an introduction to Sterling Capital.
My father had refused.
Then Dominic had met me.
The room blurred.
I read the next line twice.
My father believed Dominic had learned about my identity before our first date.
I looked at Arthur.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“You let me marry him?”
Arthur's eyes filled.
“Father told me not to interfere unless you were in danger.”
I looked at Victor.
“And you?”
“I didn't know the whole story.”
I looked back at the letter.
There was one final paragraph.
My father had written that the Northbridge Trust existed for one reason: to protect his children from anyone who might attempt to exploit the Sterling family through them.
The trust was never supposed to be accessible to spouses.
Never.
I folded the letter.
“Then how did Dominic get access?”
Arthur looked toward the doorway.
“Because someone inside the family helped him.”
The house fell silent.
A security officer entered.
“Mr. Sterling.”
Victor turned.
“What?”
“We found a vehicle leaving the property twenty minutes ago.”
“Whose?”
The officer hesitated.
“Chloe's.”
Arthur looked at me.
I looked at Victor.
“She came here?”
“No,” the officer said. “But she had something from this house.”
“What?”
He placed a small black case on the table.
“Your father's old biometric key.”
I stared at it.
My father had kept that key locked inside his study.
After his death, Arthur had been responsible for his personal effects.
I turned toward Arthur.
“Where did she get it?”
Arthur didn't answer.
Victor looked at him.
“Arthur.”
Our brother stared at the case.
Then he whispered, “I gave it to her.”
I stepped backward.
“Why?”
Arthur looked at me.
“Because she told me Dominic was going to kill you.”
Everything stopped.
I couldn't breathe.
Victor moved toward him.
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
“And you never told us?”
“She said Dominic had people watching Vivienne.”
Victor's expression became murderous.
“What did you do?”
“I gave Chloe the key so she could access the trust and move money somewhere Dominic couldn't reach.”
I stared at him.
“So the transfers weren't Dominic's?”
“Some were.”
Arthur looked at me.
“But the largest transfers were mine.”
The room spun.
“Why?”
“To build an escape fund.”
“For me?”
“For you and Sophia.”
Victor looked at the transaction records.
“Then why hide it?”
Arthur lowered his head.
“Because Dominic had already discovered the trust.”
A chill moved through me.
“He knew.”
“Yes.”
“And he was using Chloe.”
“Yes.”
Arthur looked at me.
“But there was one thing neither of them knew.”
“What?”
He swallowed.
“The trust wasn't the real target.”
Victor turned toward him.
“Then what was?”
Arthur looked directly at me.
“You.”
Click Here to continue read next: PART6: Arthur Revealed Why He Had Secretly Moved the Family’s Money, and the Real Target Was Far Closer Than Dominic
The Woman at the Door Told Me My Marriage Was a Lie, While My Daughter Held a Gift for Her Father
Part 5 of 8
