CHAPTER 9 — Richard Collins' Final Letter
CHAPTER 9 — Richard Collins' Final Letter
Rain pounded against the broken warehouse windows.
No one spoke.
Mariana stood beneath the flickering emergency lights, Richard Collins' sealed letter trembling slightly in her hands.
Andrew watched her in stunned silence.
His father...
Had written his final message not to his own son...
But to Mariana.
She took a slow breath and unfolded the pages.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Neat.
Careful.
Deliberate.
Mariana,
If you are reading this, then I have already been murdered.
I pray I am wrong.
But if I am right, it means the people I feared have finally acted.
Before you continue reading, understand one thing.
Andrew is guilty of many mistakes.
But he is not guilty of this.
Mariana paused.
Andrew's chest tightened.
He had expected accusations.
Instead...
His father was protecting him.
She continued reading.
My greatest failure as a father was believing I could protect my son forever.
I spoiled him.
I allowed pride to replace character.
I watched him become blind to the people who truly loved him.
Yet I still believe there is good left inside him.
If fate gives him another chance...
I hope he earns it.
Andrew lowered his head.
His eyes filled with tears.
The next paragraph changed everything.
The person behind my death is not acting alone.
They belong to a much larger organization.
They have spent years infiltrating legitimate businesses.
They hide behind investment firms, charities, and family trusts.
They don't steal companies.
They steal generations.
Victor immediately looked at Alejandro.
"This is organized."
Alejandro nodded grimly.
"I was afraid of that."
Mariana continued.
Four years ago, they approached me.
They wanted access to Escalante Global.
Specifically...
They wanted you.
Mariana stopped.
"Their target..."
"...was me?"
Alejandro's face darkened.
"They knew you were my heir."
Richard's letter continued.
They believed that if Andrew married you...
They could eventually gain influence over the Escalante fortune.
What they never expected...
Was that you would hide your identity.
The room fell silent.
Andrew slowly looked at Mariana.
"So..."
"They weren't interested in me."
Victor answered quietly.
"They were interested in marrying into your wife's inheritance."
Andrew felt sick.
Everything he believed about his success...
His marriage...
His company...
Suddenly seemed manipulated.
Mariana turned the page.
The handwriting became shakier.
As though Richard had been writing under immense pressure.
There is a leader.
I never learned the real name.
Everyone calls this person...
The Chairman.
Marcus frowned.
"The Chairman?"
Victor nodded.
"I've heard the codename before."
Everyone looked at him.
Victor's expression became serious.
"It has appeared in several international corruption investigations."
"No one has ever identified them."
Andrew whispered,
"So my father died because he refused to help them?"
Mariana nodded slowly.
"That's what this says."
Then...
Richard's final paragraph.
Mariana...
Never trust appearances.
The enemy sitting across the table is rarely the one giving orders.
I have hidden evidence where only one person would think to look.
Follow the music.
It begins with Beethoven.
Forgive Andrew if he truly changes.
But never stop hunting the truth.
The letter ended with a signature.
Richard Collins
Silence.
No one moved.
Then Marcus suddenly shouted,
"DOWN!"
Without warning—
A rifle shot shattered the warehouse window.
The bullet struck the steel beam exactly where Mariana had been standing a fraction of a second earlier.
Marcus tackled her to the ground.
Glass exploded across the room.
"Sniper!"
Everyone scattered.
Victor pulled Andrew behind a concrete pillar.
More shots rang out.
The sniper wasn't trying to scare them.
The sniper was trying to kill Mariana.
Outside...
One of Escalante's security teams spotted movement on a nearby rooftop.
"There!"
Two guards sprinted across the rain-soaked street.
The mysterious shooter fired one final shot...
Then disappeared into the darkness.
By the time security reached the rooftop...
It was empty.
Only a single shell casing remained.
And a black playing card.
An Ace of Spades.
Marcus picked it up carefully.
"I've seen this before."
Victor looked at him.
"Where?"
Marcus answered quietly.
"Military intelligence."
"A contract assassin."
"He leaves one card after every failed mission."
Back inside the warehouse...
Mariana carefully folded Richard's letter.
Andrew stared at the bullet hole in the wall.
"They were trying to kill you."
Mariana looked at the shattered window.
"No."
"They were trying to silence the letter."
Victor's phone suddenly buzzed.
He answered.
His expression immediately changed.
"What?"
Alejandro stood.
"What happened?"
Victor slowly lowered the phone.
"The forensic team..."
"They restored part of Richard's damaged video."
Mariana looked up.
"And?"
Victor swallowed.
"There is audio."
"What does it say?"
Victor hesitated.
Then repeated the words exactly.
Richard: "Margaret, if you do this, Andrew will lose everything."
Female Voice: "He was never supposed to keep it."
Andrew's heart nearly stopped.
That voice...
He knew it.
He had heard it every day growing up.
His mother's voice.
Before anyone could process the revelation—
Emily's phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Her face turned completely white.
"It's my mother."
Andrew frowned.
"My mother?"
Emily answered on speaker.
Margaret's voice came through, calm... almost gentle.
"Emily."
"Where are you?"
Emily couldn't answer.
Margaret continued.
"I know you're with Mariana."
Everyone froze.
Margaret laughed softly.
"You've always been a curious little girl."
Then her voice became ice cold.
"If you want to see your brother alive tomorrow..."
"Bring Mariana to me."
The call disconnected.
No address.
No explanation.
Just silence.
Andrew slowly turned toward Mariana.
For the first time in his life...
He realized the woman he feared most...
Wasn't Mariana.
May you like
It was the mother who had raised him.
End of Chapter 9
