Chapter 5 - Unraveling the Web
"It gets worse," Adam confessed, his voice shaking with righteous fury. He scrolled further down Vanessa's secret text history. "She’s been siphoning money from you, Mara."
I stared at him blankly. "What do you mean? I don't have any money. When our grandfather passed away two years ago, Mom said he left everything to Vanessa because I was deemed legally unfit after my car crash."
"That was a lie," Adam said, turning the phone so I could read a chain of messages between Vanessa and a shady financial manager named Tyler. "Grandfather left the entire commercial real estate portfolio—valued at over four million dollars—in an irrevocable trust solely in your name. But there was a clause: if you were physically or mentally incapacitated, Evelyn would act as the sole trustee until your recovery, with Vanessa as the secondary beneficiary."
The puzzle pieces fell into place with devastating clarity.
Eight months ago, when I was struck by a hit-and-run driver in a quiet suburban crosswalk, I had assumed it was simply horrific bad luck. The driver had never been caught. The injuries shattered my femur, crushed my knee, and left me dependent on my family for basic survival.
Every time I made progress in physical therapy, my mother had switched my doctors, claiming they were "incompetent." She had kept me doped on heavy sedatives, isolated in the attic bedroom, away from old friends.
"My car accident..." I whispered, the horror constricting my throat until I could barely draw breath. "Adam, who hit me?"
Adam looked down, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the hospital bed rail. "I don't know yet. But Vanessa sent a message to Tyler three days after your accident. She wrote: *'The problem is contained. The cripple won't be claiming her trust anytime soon.'*"
May you like
A knock on the door broke the heavy silence. A nurse entered to prep me for the emergency reconstructive surgery. As she rolled my gurney into the corridor, Adam squeezed my hand.
"Survive this surgery, Mara," he whispered fiercely into my ear. "I'm going to tear their entire world down."
