Chapter 10 — The Night Walter Confessed
Chapter 10 — The Night Walter Confessed
The message remained on Margot's screen long after everyone else had left the room.
THE REAL BETRAYAL BEGINS.
She read it again.
Then again.
Daniel stood beside the window.
“Who sent it?”
“I don't know.”
Vance took the phone from her and examined the number.
“Encrypted.”
“Can you trace it?”
“Not yet.”
Charles looked toward the dark hallway.
“Don't waste your time.”
Margot turned.
“What do you mean?”
Charles's expression was grim.
“The person who sent it wanted you to know they could reach you.”
“So they can reach me again.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Charles didn't answer.
Evelyn did.
“Your grandmother.”
Margot stared at her.
“She died.”
“No.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“We thought she died.”
Margot's blood ran cold.
“Where is she?”
Evelyn looked toward the window.
“That's what Walter knows.”
Walter Landry was taken to a private interrogation room shortly after midnight.
He had requested one thing.
To speak to Margot.
Vance refused.
Then Walter asked for Daniel.
That request was also refused.
Finally, Walter made one offer.
“I'll confess.”
Vance stopped.
“To what?”
“Everything.”
“Why?”
Walter smiled.
“Because you still think the worst thing I've done is steal an inheritance.”
Vance stared at him.
“What is worse?”
Walter leaned back.
“You'll find out.”
Margot stood outside the interrogation room.
She shouldn't have been there.
Vance had told her not to come.
But she came anyway.
She wanted answers.
She needed them.
The door opened.
Walter looked at her.
For once, there was no arrogance in his face.
Only exhaustion.
“Sit down.”
Margot remained standing.
“You killed my father.”
“Yes.”
“You stole his identity.”
“Yes.”
“You manipulated Daniel.”
“Yes.”
“You tried to take my daughter.”
“Yes.”
“You destroyed my family.”
Walter looked at her.
“No.”
Margot frowned.
“I destroyed the family long before you were born.”
She sat.
“Then tell me.”
Walter nodded.
“You deserve the truth.”
He began with Adrian.
Adrian Wren had been the eldest son.
The legitimate heir.
The intelligent one.
The one their father trusted.
Walter had always hated him.
Not because Adrian was cruel.
Because he was loved.
Their father had planned to leave the Wren empire to Adrian.
Walter would receive a smaller inheritance.
He couldn't accept it.
So he began taking pieces.
First money.
Then contracts.
Then clients.
Then companies.
Adrian discovered the theft.
He confronted Walter.
Walter killed him.
Margot's hands trembled.
“You murdered him.”
“Yes.”
“And then you took his name.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't anyone stop you?”
“Because I made sure they couldn't.”
Walter explained the next part.
He forged documents.
Paid officials.
Bought witnesses.
He convinced everyone that Adrian had fled the country.
Then he created the Landry identity.
But one person knew.
Evelyn.
Margot's mother.
“She discovered everything,” Walter said.
“She found Adrian's original records.”
“She knew I was responsible.”
Margot stared.
“Then why didn't she expose you?”
“Because I had you.”
Margot's stomach tightened.
“You threatened me.”
“Yes.”
“You were willing to kill a child.”
Walter's expression didn't change.
“I was willing to do anything.”
Margot looked away.
“What happened to Clara?”
Walter was silent.
“Answer me.”
“Clara was part of the plan.”
“What plan?”
“The plan to control you.”
Margot's face hardened.
“You separated us.”
“Yes.”
“You made her believe I was dead.”
“Yes.”
“You made me believe she was dead.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because mothers are dangerous when they know where their children are.”
Margot stared at him.
“That is the most disgusting thing I've ever heard.”
Walter nodded.
“Perhaps.”
The door opened.
Daniel entered.
Vance followed.
Walter looked at his son.
“You shouldn't be here.”
Daniel pulled out a chair.
“I want to hear it.”
Walter studied him.
“You already know most of it.”
“No.”
Daniel sat.
“I know what you told me.”
He looked at his father.
“Tonight I want what actually happened.”
Walter smiled.
“You think you're ready?”
Daniel nodded.
“No.”
He looked at Margot.
“But I'm done being afraid.”
Walter stared at them both.
Then he began again.
“When Daniel was born, I realized something.”
“What?”
“That he could become useful.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
Walter continued.
“I raised him to obey.”
“You trained me.”
“Yes.”
“You taught me to lie.”
“Yes.”
“You taught me to manipulate.”
“Yes.”
“You taught me to hate the Wrens.”
Walter smiled.
“You didn't hate them.”
Daniel stared.
“You were afraid of them.”
Daniel looked down.
Walter was right.
He had spent his life believing the Wren family was dangerous.
But he had never asked why.
His father had given him the answer before he was old enough to question it.
“Then Margot appeared.”
Walter looked at her.
“I knew immediately.”
“What?”
“That she was Adrian's daughter.”
Margot stared.
“You knew?”
“The moment I saw you.”
“How?”
“Your eyes.”
Margot said nothing.
Walter continued.
“You had Adrian's eyes.”
“And you still let me marry Daniel.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed access to the Wren bloodline.”
Daniel looked at him.
“You used me.”
“Yes.”
“You used my marriage.”
“Yes.”
“You used my wife.”
“Yes.”
Daniel's voice cracked.
“You never loved me.”
Walter looked at him.
“I don't know what love is.”
The answer was so simple that it hurt more than an excuse.
Margot looked at Walter.
“Then why my daughter?”
Walter's face changed.
“Because she is different.”
“Different how?”
“She isn't simply a Wren.”
Margot frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Walter leaned forward.
“Your grandmother changed the inheritance.”
“I know.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“You don't know what she changed.”
Margot waited.
“She made your daughter's blood the final key.”
“To what?”
Walter smiled.
“The original Wren fortune.”
Margot stared.
“What original fortune?”
“Your grandfather didn't lose everything.”
“He hid it.”
“Where?”
Walter looked at her.
“Europe.”
Daniel frowned.
“Which country?”
“Switzerland.”
Margot's eyes widened.
“How much?”
Walter laughed softly.
“Enough to make your current inheritance look insignificant.”
Vance stepped closer.
“How much?”
Walter answered:
“Forty-seven billion.”
Silence.
Margot stared at him.
“Forty-seven billion dollars?”
Walter nodded.
“Hidden for thirty years.”
“Why?”
“Because Adrian knew I would come for it.”
Charles suddenly entered.
“That's not the whole truth.”
Walter looked at him.
“Still alive?”
Charles smiled.
“Disappointed?”
Walter ignored him.
Charles turned toward Margot.
“Your father didn't hide forty-seven billion.”
Margot frowned.
“Then what?”
Charles looked at Walter.
“He hid something far more valuable.”
Walter's expression hardened.
Charles continued.
“The money is only the bait.”
Margot's heart sank.
“Then what's the real prize?”
Charles answered:
“Ownership.”
Walter laughed.
“Exactly.”
Margot looked between them.
“Ownership of what?”
“The original Wren patents.”
Vance frowned.
“What patents?”
Charles explained.
Decades earlier, Adrian had acquired rights to a technology that could transform energy storage.
At the time, it had been considered too experimental.
Adrian believed it would become priceless.
He was right.
The technology eventually became the foundation for several modern industries.
But the patents were never publicly transferred.
They remained inside a private Wren trust.
Walter had spent decades trying to obtain them.
He couldn't.
Because the trust required a biological descendant of Adrian.
Margot.
And eventually—
her daughter.
“So that's why.”
Margot's voice was barely audible.
“That's why you needed my daughter.”
Walter nodded.
“She is the final authorized heir.”
“And the forty-seven billion?”
“Locked behind the same trust.”
Margot stared.
“All this death…”
“All this betrayal…”
“For patents?”
Walter's expression became cold.
“For control.”
Daniel stood.
“I don't want any of it.”
Walter looked at him.
“You don't have a choice.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I finally understand.”
He looked at Margot.
“The inheritance isn't the prize.”
Margot watched him.
“What is?”
“Choice.”
Daniel turned toward his father.
“You spent your entire life believing ownership meant control.”
Walter smiled.
“And doesn't it?”
“No.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“It means responsibility.”
Walter laughed.
“You sound like your grandfather.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“Good.”
Then Walter leaned toward Margot.
“There is something you don't know.”
Margot didn't respond.
“Your grandmother wasn't trying to protect you.”
Margot frowned.
“She was preparing you.”
“For what?”
“To destroy me.”
Margot's heart stopped.
Walter continued.
“She knew I would eventually find you.”
“So she created the inheritance as a weapon.”
“Yes.”
“She wanted me to expose you.”
“Yes.”
Margot stared.
“And my daughter?”
Walter smiled.
“She is the final witness.”
Suddenly, the lights went out.
Vance drew his weapon.
Emergency lights activated.
Walter laughed.
“She's here.”
Margot froze.
“Who?”
Walter looked toward the door.
“Your grandmother.”
A security alarm sounded.
Officers rushed into the hallway.
Then came a voice over the building's intercom.
An elderly woman's voice.
Calm.
Clear.
Unmistakable.
“Walter.”
Walter's smile disappeared.
The voice continued.
“You lied to my granddaughter.”
Walter stood.
“Eleanor.”
Margot's heart stopped.
Eleanor.
Her grandmother.
The woman everyone believed had died thirty years ago.
Her voice came through the speakers again.
“You were never the heir.”
Walter stared at the ceiling.
“You're dead.”
A soft laugh echoed through the building.
“Not yet.”
The interrogation room door suddenly opened.
An elderly woman walked in.
Silver hair.
Dark coat.
A cane in one hand.
Her posture was straight.
Her eyes were sharp.
Margot couldn't breathe.
The woman looked directly at her.
“My darling.”
Margot stared.
“Grandmother?”
Eleanor smiled.
“Yes.”
Margot stood.
“You're alive.”
“I am.”
“Why did everyone say you were dead?”
“Because I needed Walter to believe it.”
Walter's face became furious.
“You betrayed me.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“No.”
“I deceived you.”
“There is a difference.”
Margot stepped toward her.
“Why?”
Eleanor touched her cheek.
“Because I knew you would eventually have to fight.”
“I didn't want this.”
“I know.”
“I didn't ask for any of it.”
“I know.”
“Then why me?”
Eleanor's eyes softened.
“Because you were the only one they couldn't buy.”
Margot began to cry.
“I thought you abandoned me.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“Never.”
“You let me grow up without knowing you.”
“To keep you alive.”
Margot laughed bitterly.
“Everyone says that.”
Eleanor looked at Walter.
“Because sometimes it is true.”
Walter suddenly moved.
He grabbed the chair and hurled it toward Eleanor.
Vance stepped between them.
Walter lunged for the door.
Daniel stopped him.
They struggled.
Walter struck his son.
Daniel fell.
Margot screamed.
Walter reached for the hallway.
Then Eleanor spoke.
“Walter.”
He stopped.
“Do you know why I came back tonight?”
Walter slowly turned.
Eleanor raised a small envelope.
“Because this is the final document.”
Walter's face changed.
“What document?”
“The one that proves Adrian was murdered.”
Walter stared.
“You destroyed it.”
“No.”
Eleanor smiled.
“I hid it.”
She looked at Margot.
“And now I give it to you.”
Margot took the envelope.
Inside was a handwritten confession.
Adrian's.
Dated three days before his death.
It named Walter.
Named the stolen companies.
Named the accounts.
Named the people involved.
And at the bottom—
one sentence:
If I die, my daughter must inherit everything.
Margot's eyes filled with tears.
She looked at Walter.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You knew he named me.”
“Yes.”
“You killed him anyway.”
Walter's voice became quiet.
“Yes.”
Margot folded the confession.
“Then it's over.”
Walter smiled.
“No.”
She frowned.
He looked toward Eleanor.
“You still haven't told her the final truth.”
Eleanor's face changed.
Margot looked at her grandmother.
“What truth?”
Walter laughed.
“The inheritance wasn't created for Margot.”
He looked at her stomach.
“It wasn't even created for the baby.”
Margot's heart began pounding.
“Then who?”
Walter whispered:
“For the child that comes after her.”
Everyone froze.
Daniel stared.
“What?”
Walter smiled.
“The Wren bloodline doesn't end with one heir.”
He looked at Margot.
“It begins again.”
Then the lights went out a second time.
A scream came from the corridor.
And when the emergency lights returned—
Eleanor was gone.
The envelope was gone.
And on the interrogation room table lay a single note.
Margot picked it up.
Her hands trembled.
ONE MORE SECRET.
ONE MORE HEIR.
ONE MORE BETRAYAL.
At the bottom was a final sentence:
Find the child before Walter does.
Margot looked at Daniel.
Daniel looked at Vance.
And Walter—
May you like
for the first time all night—
was smiling.
