Chapter 6 — The Landry Inheritance
Chapter 6 — The Landry Inheritance
The blood on the silver pendant wasn't Charles Wren's.
Margot realized it before anyone else did.
She stood in the corridor, staring at the tiny red stain beneath the emergency lights.
Vance approached carefully.
“Don't touch it again.”
Margot looked up.
“You said it was blood.”
“It is.”
“Whose?”
“We're testing it.”
Evelyn came out of the interrogation room.
The moment she saw the pendant, she stopped.
Her face became completely white.
“No.”
Margot turned.
“Mom?”
Evelyn stared at the pendant.
“He still has it.”
“Who?”
Evelyn didn't answer.
Vance looked at her.
“Mrs. Wren, you need to tell us what's happening.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
“That pendant belonged to my mother.”
Margot looked down.
“The one you gave me?”
“Yes.”
“Why did Charles have it?”
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
“Because I gave it to him the night I thought he died.”
Margot frowned.
“You said you killed him.”
“I believed I did.”
“You believed?”
Evelyn swallowed.
“I shot him.”
Silence filled the corridor.
Margot stared at her mother.
“You shot your own father?”
“To save you.”
“Did he die?”
“I never found his body.”
Vance immediately looked at the officers.
“Seal the property.”
Then he turned toward Evelyn.
“Where did this happen?”
Evelyn whispered:
“Under the Landry estate.”
The mansion suddenly felt different.
It wasn't merely a house anymore.
It was a map.
Every hallway hid a passage.
Every room concealed a secret.
Every member of the family seemed to have lived two lives.
Margot walked beside her mother toward the old chapel.
Daniel followed several steps behind.
He hadn't spoken since the revelation about Walter.
Neither had Margot forgiven him.
She wasn't sure she ever would.
At the chapel, Evelyn stopped before the altar.
She touched the stone base.
Then pressed her palm against a small indentation.
The altar moved.
A staircase appeared.
Vance stared.
“How many hidden rooms does this family have?”
Evelyn answered:
“More than anyone should.”
Margot looked down.
“Where does this one go?”
Evelyn looked at her.
“To the inheritance.”
They descended.
The staircase seemed endless.
At the bottom was a vault.
Unlike the other rooms, this one was reinforced with steel.
There was no electronic lock.
Only a brass plate.
Three names were engraved upon it.
EDWARD WREN
EVELYN WREN
MARGOT WREN
Margot stared.
“Why is my name here?”
Evelyn touched the plate.
“Because this vault was created for you.”
Vance looked at her.
“When?”
“Before Margot was born.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“And the Landrys?”
Evelyn's expression hardened.
“They were never supposed to know it existed.”
Margot looked at the vault.
“But they did.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Your father.”
Margot closed her eyes.
“Walter.”
Evelyn nodded.
“He spent years trying to find the key.”
“Did he succeed?”
“No.”
“Then why were they trying to kill me?”
Evelyn looked toward Margot's stomach.
“Because the inheritance doesn't belong to you anymore.”
Margot's hand instinctively moved over her belly.
“It belongs to my daughter.”
Vance examined the vault.
“What exactly is inside?”
Evelyn hesitated.
“Proof.”
“Of what?”
“The Landry family's entire fortune.”
Vance's expression changed.
“Financial records?”
“Everything.”
Evelyn stepped closer.
“Every account.”
“Every company.”
“Every illegal transfer.”
“Every person they bribed.”
“Every politician they paid.”
“Every company they destroyed.”
Margot stared.
“How much?”
Evelyn whispered:
“Enough to bring down three generations.”
The vault opened with a heavy mechanical sound.
Inside were shelves filled with black boxes.
Each box carried a year.
And finally—
2026.
Margot walked toward the newest box.
Her name was written across it.
She reached for it.
Evelyn stopped her.
“Don't.”
“Why?”
“Because once you open that box, there is no going back.”
Margot looked at her.
“Mom, I already fell down a staircase tonight.”
She pulled the box closer.
“I think we've passed the point of going back.”
Inside was a single envelope.
And a small black key.
Margot picked up the envelope.
There was no name.
Only one sentence:
THE LANDRY INHERITANCE
She opened it.
A legal document lay inside.
Vance leaned over her shoulder.
Margot read the first paragraph.
Then stopped.
“What's wrong?”
She looked at Evelyn.
“This says the Landry fortune belongs to the Wren family.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Your grandmother.”
Margot read further.
Her eyes widened.
“Evelyn, this isn't an inheritance.”
“No.”
“It's a reversion clause.”
Evelyn nodded.
“If the Landry family is proven to have acquired its assets through fraud, every disputed asset automatically transfers to the Wren Trust.”
Vance understood.
“And Margot controls the trust.”
“Not anymore,” Evelyn said.
Margot looked up.
“Who does?”
Evelyn looked at her stomach.
“Your daughter.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“That's why Walter wanted the baby.”
Margot turned toward him.
“Yes.”
“He doesn't want to kill the child.”
“No.”
“He wants custody.”
Evelyn nodded.
“If he controls the child, he controls the trust.”
Margot's face hardened.
“Not if I refuse.”
Vance shook his head.
“It's not that simple.”
“Why?”
“Because the trust has a guardian clause.”
Margot frowned.
“What guardian?”
Vance pointed to the document.
“The child's father.”
Silence.
Margot slowly turned toward Daniel.
Daniel's face went pale.
“No.”
Margot's voice was barely audible.
“You.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I didn't know.”
“You are the legal guardian.”
“I didn't know.”
“You didn't know your own rights?”
“No.”
Vance looked at the document.
“There's a condition.”
“What?”
“The guardian loses control if he is found to have knowingly participated in an attempt to harm the mother or child.”
Margot looked at Daniel.
His face had gone completely still.
He understood.
His first betrayal might now cost him everything.
Suddenly, the vault alarm sounded.
Red lights flashed.
Vance immediately moved toward the entrance.
“Everybody back.”
The steel door began closing.
Evelyn grabbed Margot.
“Run!”
They moved.
But Daniel didn't.
He stood near the door.
“Daniel!”
Margot shouted.
He looked at her.
Then at the closing door.
Someone was on the other side.
A shadow appeared.
Daniel's face changed.
“Dad.”
Walter stepped into view.
He wasn't alone.
Two armed men stood behind him.
Vance raised his weapon.
“Drop your weapons!”
Walter smiled.
“You still think this is a police matter.”
Vance shouted:
“Drop them!”
Walter ignored him.
He looked at Margot.
Then at Evelyn.
“You finally opened the vault.”
Evelyn stepped forward.
“You won't get it.”
Walter smiled.
“I don't need the vault.”
He pointed toward Margot.
“I only need the heir.”
Daniel stepped between Walter and Margot.
“No.”
Walter stared at him.
“Move.”
“No.”
“You've disappointed me tonight.”
Daniel's voice was shaking.
“I don't care anymore.”
Walter smiled.
“You will.”
He raised his hand.
One of the men behind him lifted a gun.
Margot gasped.
Daniel moved.
The gun fired.
Daniel fell.
“Daniel!”
Margot screamed.
He hit the stone floor.
Blood spread across his shirt.
Walter watched without emotion.
Evelyn pulled Margot backward.
Vance returned fire.
The gunman dropped behind the doorway.
Chaos erupted.
Margot crouched beside Daniel.
“Stay with me.”
Daniel struggled to breathe.
“I'm sorry.”
“Don't talk.”
“I need to tell you…”
“No.”
“Margot…”
His eyes filled with tears.
“I never meant to hurt you.”
She pressed her hand against his wound.
“Stay alive first.”
Daniel looked at her.
“That's the first thing you've said to me tonight that sounds like you still care.”
Margot's eyes filled with tears.
“Don't make me regret it.”
Walter disappeared.
By the time Vance reached the corridor, he was gone.
Only one thing remained.
A black envelope.
Margot picked it up.
Inside was a copy of the trust agreement.
But someone had added a handwritten clause.
If the child's father is removed as guardian, control passes to the nearest surviving Landry blood relative.
Margot stared.
“Who is the nearest surviving Landry?”
Evelyn's expression changed.
“Priscilla.”
Priscilla was still alive.
And suddenly her importance became terrifying.
If Daniel lost guardianship, Priscilla could claim control of the unborn child's trust.
Margot understood.
The attack wasn't just about revenge.
Walter had deliberately shot Daniel.
If Daniel died—
Priscilla became guardian.
If Priscilla became guardian—
the Landrys controlled the inheritance.
And if the inheritance returned to the Landrys—
everything they had stolen would remain theirs.
Margot looked at Vance.
“We need to find her.”
Vance nodded.
“We will.”
“No.”
Margot stood.
“I know where she is.”
Twenty minutes later, officers found Priscilla in an abandoned chapel outside the estate.
She was sitting alone.
Calm.
Waiting.
When Margot entered, Priscilla smiled.
“You finally understand.”
Margot stopped.
“Understand what?”
“That this was never about you.”
Margot stared.
Priscilla stood.
“It was about the child.”
“You tried to kill me.”
“No.”
“You pushed me.”
“I pushed you because I needed everyone to believe you were unstable.”
Margot's face hardened.
“You planned it.”
“Yes.”
“And Daniel?”
“Daniel was collateral.”
“You don't care about your son?”
Priscilla laughed softly.
“Daniel stopped being useful the moment he chose you.”
Margot looked at her.
“You wanted him dead.”
“I wanted him obedient.”
“You shot him.”
“No.”
Priscilla smiled.
“Walter did.”
Margot froze.
“Why?”
“Because Walter knows what you don't.”
“What?”
Priscilla stepped closer.
“The trust has another clause.”
Margot's eyes narrowed.
“What clause?”
Priscilla leaned toward her.
“The heir doesn't have to be born.”
Margot's blood ran cold.
“What?”
Priscilla smiled.
“If the mother dies before delivery, the unborn child is considered legally represented by the guardian.”
Margot understood.
Her death would make everything easier.
Daniel's death would make everything perfect.
And Priscilla—
would inherit control.
Margot stared at her.
“You planned my death.”
Priscilla's smile disappeared.
“I planned your disappearance.”
“There's a difference?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“If you died, the police would investigate.”
Margot stepped closer.
“But if I disappeared…”
“The family would mourn.”
“The child would be born under Landry control.”
“And nobody would know.”
Margot's voice became cold.
“You're sick.”
Priscilla laughed.
“No, Margot.”
She looked toward the officers.
“I'm practical.”
Then Evelyn entered.
Priscilla's face changed.
“You.”
Evelyn stood behind Margot.
“Yes.”
Priscilla stepped backward.
“I thought you were dead.”
“I wanted you to think so.”
“You ruined everything.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.”
She looked at Margot.
“You did.”
Priscilla stared.
“What?”
Evelyn smiled faintly.
“My daughter finally knows the truth.”
Vance placed handcuffs on Priscilla.
She didn't resist.
Instead, she looked at Margot.
“You think this is over?”
Margot said nothing.
Priscilla leaned closer.
“You still don't know who your child's father really is.”
Margot froze.
Daniel was her husband.
Walter was her biological father.
But the baby's father—
was Daniel.
Unless Priscilla knew something else.
“What are you talking about?”
Priscilla smiled.
“You should ask your mother.”
Margot turned toward Evelyn.
Her mother looked terrified.
“Mom?”
Evelyn didn't answer.
Priscilla laughed.
“That child isn't Daniel Landry's.”
The room went silent.
Margot's heart stopped.
Vance looked at Evelyn.
Evelyn closed her eyes.
And Margot realized there was one final secret hidden inside the inheritance.
A secret that could change who had legal claim to her unborn daughter.
A secret her mother had carried for thirty years.
May you like
And now—
Priscilla had finally said it aloud.
