Chapter 10 — The Pact Between Two Families
Chapter 10 — The Pact Between Two Families
Nathan had always believed his engagement to Victoria was his choice.
That belief lasted until 6:17 that morning.
At exactly 6:17, Robert placed a document on Nathan's desk and said:
“Your marriage was negotiated before you met her.”
Nathan stared at him.
“What?”
Robert didn't sit.
He remained standing beside the desk, holding a folder so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.
“I found the original agreement.”
Nathan opened it.
The first page carried two family names.
COLE FAMILY
HAYES FAMILY
Below them was a date.
Eight years before Nathan proposed to Victoria.
Nathan's eyes narrowed.
“I was twenty-two.”
“Yes.”
“I didn't even know Victoria.”
“I know.”
Nathan turned the page.
There were signatures.
His father's.
Victoria's father's.
Gregory Voss's.
And another signature that made Nathan stop.
Eleanor Cole.
His supposedly dead mother.
Nathan's heart began pounding.
“What is this?”
Robert finally sat down.
“A corporate succession agreement.”
Nathan read the first paragraph.
The two families had agreed to merge several private holdings after the death or incapacitation of Robert Cole.
Nathan's father.
The final beneficiary would be—
Nathan Cole.
But there was a condition.
Nathan would marry Victoria Hayes.
Nathan slowly lowered the document.
“No.”
Robert said nothing.
“No.”
He pushed the folder away.
“I chose Victoria.”
“You chose to believe you chose Victoria.”
Nathan stood.
“That's not the same thing.”
“No.”
Robert's voice was quiet.
“It isn't.”
Nathan walked toward the window.
For years, Victoria had been the perfect woman in his mind.
Beautiful.
Elegant.
Ambitious.
She understood the pressure of his family.
She understood business.
She understood his father's expectations.
She never complained about his schedule.
Never questioned his wealth.
Never asked too many questions about Lily.
At the time, he had thought that was compatibility.
Now he wondered if it had been training.
Robert opened another document.
“This was the first proposal.”
Nathan turned.
“Proposal?”
“The merger.”
Robert pointed to a section.
“The Cole family would retain seventy percent of the combined company.”
“And the Hayes family?”
“Thirty.”
Nathan nodded.
“So why the marriage?”
“Because the ownership arrangement changed.”
Robert handed him another page.
Nathan read it.
His face hardened.
“If Nathan Cole marries Victoria Hayes, the Hayes family receives voting rights equal to the Cole family.”
“Yes.”
“And if Nathan dies without a child?”
“The voting rights become permanent.”
Nathan stared.
“That means…”
“The Hayes family could eventually control the company.”
Nathan's voice dropped.
“Unless I had an heir.”
Robert looked at him.
“Exactly.”
Nathan immediately thought of Lily.
His daughter.
The child Victoria had tried to erase.
The child who threatened everything.
Suddenly Victoria's hatred made sense.
Grace entered the room.
“What happened?”
Nathan looked at her.
“My marriage was part of a business deal.”
Grace stared.
“To Victoria?”
“Yes.”
“Before you even met her?”
Nathan nodded.
Grace slowly sat down.
“Then she knew.”
“She knew everything.”
Nathan opened the folder.
“She knew about the company.”
“She knew about the succession.”
“She knew about Lily.”
Grace's face changed.
“Wait.”
Nathan looked up.
Grace whispered:
“That means Victoria didn't discover Lily recently.”
“No.”
“She knew before she ever met you.”
Nathan nodded.
“She was chosen.”
They continued reading.
The agreement contained a second section.
One that Nathan had never seen.
It described a confidential family objective.
Preservation of the Cole-Hayes corporate structure.
Then another phrase:
No undisclosed biological heir shall interfere with succession.
Nathan stared at the words.
“Undisclosed biological heir.”
Robert nodded.
“Lily.”
Grace's hands began shaking.
“They wrote that before Lily was born.”
“Yes.”
Nathan looked at the date.
Eight years ago.
Before he had even met Victoria.
Before Grace disappeared.
Before Lily was born.
Someone had anticipated the possibility of another heir.
Or—
someone had known Lily would exist.
Nathan looked at Robert.
“How?”
Robert didn't answer.
Nathan's voice hardened.
“How did they know?”
Robert finally spoke.
“Your father knew about Grace.”
Grace froze.
“He knew?”
Robert nodded.
“He knew about your relationship.”
Nathan looked at Grace.
“Before you disappeared?”
“Yes.”
“Did he ever confront you?”
Grace shook her head.
“No.”
Robert continued.
“He didn't need to.”
Nathan stared.
“Because he already had a plan.”
Nathan remembered.
Five years earlier.
Grace had disappeared without explanation.
Nathan had searched for her.
Called her.
Visited her apartment.
Nothing.
His father had told him:
“She left because she wasn't serious about you.”
Nathan had believed him.
His father had told him:
“She didn't want your life.”
Nathan had believed that too.
Then Victoria appeared.
Perfect timing.
Perfect manners.
Perfect family.
Perfect business connection.
Nathan had thought his life was finally returning to normal.
It hadn't.
It had been redirected.
Robert placed another document on the table.
“This one was signed six months after Grace disappeared.”
Nathan read it.
His father's signature.
Victoria's father's signature.
Gregory Voss.
And Victoria.
Nathan stared.
“Victoria signed this?”
“Yes.”
“She was twenty-four.”
“Yes.”
“What did she agree to?”
Robert pointed to the final clause.
Nathan read it slowly.
In the event of an undisclosed heir becoming known, all parties shall cooperate to preserve the intended succession structure.
Nathan's blood ran cold.
“Cooperate.”
Robert nodded.
“That's what it says.”
Nathan looked at Grace.
“They planned this.”
Grace whispered:
“They planned Lily.”
“No.”
Nathan's expression hardened.
“They planned what they would do if Lily ever appeared.”
Nathan's phone rang.
Victoria.
He stared at the screen.
Grace looked at him.
“Are you going to answer?”
Nathan did.
“Victoria.”
Her voice was soft.
“Where are you?”
“Why?”
“I've been trying to reach you.”
“You're worried?”
“Yes.”
Nathan laughed bitterly.
“About me?”
“Of course.”
“What about Lily?”
Silence.
Nathan's eyes narrowed.
“You knew.”
“What?”
“You knew about her before we met.”
Victoria didn't answer.
“Victoria.”
Finally she whispered:
“Yes.”
Grace closed her eyes.
Nathan's voice became cold.
“How long?”
“Since before our engagement.”
“Who told you?”
“My father.”
“Who else?”
“Your father.”
Nathan froze.
“Did my mother know?”
Another silence.
“Yes.”
Nathan's hand tightened around the phone.
“Did you know the marriage was part of a corporate agreement?”
Victoria began crying.
“Yes.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“Did you love me?”
She didn't answer.
That silence hurt more than anything.
Nathan whispered:
“Did you ever love me?”
Victoria finally spoke.
“I did.”
“Then why?”
“Because I thought I could change the arrangement.”
Nathan stared at the floor.
“You couldn't.”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“My father threatened me.”
“With what?”
“He said if I refused, he'd destroy my family.”
Nathan's expression hardened.
“And Lily?”
Victoria's breathing became shaky.
“He said she couldn't be allowed to exist.”
Grace covered her mouth.
Nathan went silent.
Victoria whispered:
“I didn't understand what that meant at first.”
“And later?”
“I did.”
Nathan's voice became cold.
“And you still stayed.”
Victoria cried.
“I was afraid.”
“You were afraid.”
“Yes.”
“Grace was afraid too.”
Silence.
“Lily was a child.”
“I know.”
“And you still helped them.”
Victoria whispered:
“I did.”
Nathan ended the call.
Grace looked at him.
“She admitted it.”
“Yes.”
“What will you do?”
Nathan looked at the documents.
“Destroy the agreement.”
Robert shook his head.
“You can't.”
“Why?”
“Because it's already been used to structure the company.”
“How?”
Robert opened another file.
The merger had already occurred.
The Cole and Hayes assets were intertwined.
Voting rights had shifted.
Trusts had been created.
Board seats had changed.
And Nathan had unknowingly become the central shareholder.
But there was another problem.
The agreement had a succession clause.
If Nathan's marriage to Victoria ended before the merger was fully completed—
the Hayes family could claim damages.
Nathan stared.
“How much?”
Robert said:
“Almost two billion dollars.”
Grace looked shocked.
“They're holding the company hostage.”
“Yes.”
Nathan nodded slowly.
“Then we'll let them.”
Robert frowned.
“What?”
Nathan smiled.
“Let them think they won.”
That afternoon, Nathan met Victoria's father.
Richard Hayes.
The man had spent decades building one of the largest private investment firms in the country.
He sat across from Nathan in a private club.
Calm.
Confident.
Untouchable.
“You look tired,” Richard said.
Nathan smiled.
“I'm beginning to understand why.”
Richard poured himself a drink.
“You've had a difficult few days.”
“You knew about Grace.”
Richard didn't deny it.
“Yes.”
“You knew about Lily.”
“Yes.”
“You knew my mother was alive.”
Richard's expression changed slightly.
“Yes.”
Nathan leaned forward.
“And you still expected me to marry Victoria.”
Richard looked at him.
“Your marriage would have stabilized the company.”
“Stabilized?”
“Protected thousands of employees.”
“You mean protected your voting rights.”
Richard smiled.
“Business is not personal.”
Nathan shook his head.
“You made my family into a contract.”
Richard took a sip.
“Your family did that long before I did.”
Nathan stared.
“My father signed.”
“Your father negotiated.”
“My mother designed it.”
Richard nodded.
“She did.”
“And Victoria?”
“Agreed.”
Nathan looked at him.
“She was terrified.”
Richard's expression remained cold.
“Fear is often a useful motivator.”
Nathan stood.
“You'll regret saying that.”
Richard laughed.
“You think you can destroy me?”
“No.”
Nathan leaned closer.
“I think you already destroyed yourself.”
Nathan left the club.
His phone immediately vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
YOU HAVE ONLY SEEN HALF THE AGREEMENT.
Nathan stopped walking.
Another message.
THE OTHER HALF IS ABOUT LILY.
Then a photograph.
An old document.
The header:
PROJECT LILITH
Nathan's blood ran cold.
He opened it.
The document described a private genetic research program.
Participants included:
Eleanor Cole.
Robert Cole.
Gregory Voss.
Richard Hayes.
And—
Grace Bennett.
Nathan stared.
Grace had never told him.
He immediately called her.
“Grace.”
“What happened?”
“Did you sign a medical consent form five years ago?”
Silence.
“Nathan…”
“Did you?”
Grace began crying.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I was told it was routine.”
“What did they test?”
“I don't know.”
Nathan looked at the document.
“Lily wasn't just a child to them.”
“What are you saying?”
Nathan swallowed.
“They were studying her.”
Grace's voice broke.
“No.”
“They had her blood.”
“I didn't know.”
“They had her medical records.”
“I didn't know.”
“They created an account in her name before she was born.”
Grace went silent.
Nathan looked at the Project Lilith document.
“And your pregnancy was part of it.”
“No.”
Grace's breathing became rapid.
“I won't believe that.”
Nathan softened.
“Neither will I.”
He stared at the final page.
There was one sentence.
Subject L-04 demonstrates genetic compatibility with both Cole and Hayes hereditary lines.
Nathan froze.
“Hayes.”
He whispered it.
Then he understood.
Lily wasn't merely Nathan's heir.
She was the biological connection between the Cole and Hayes families.
The child could unite both bloodlines.
Which meant whoever controlled Lily—
controlled the future of both empires.
That night, Nathan sat beside Lily's bed.
She was sleeping.
He watched her tiny chest rise and fall.
The entire family had treated her like a problem.
A liability.
A threat.
But she was just a little girl.
His daughter.
He gently brushed her hair away from her face.
“I won't let them use you.”
Lily stirred.
“Daddy?”
“I'm here.”
“Are you sad?”
Nathan smiled.
“A little.”
“Why?”
“Because grown-ups made some very bad choices.”
Lily thought for a moment.
“Are you going to leave?”
Nathan's heart broke.
“No.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
She reached for his hand.
Nathan held it.
Then she whispered:
“Grandpa said you would come.”
Nathan froze.
“What?”
Lily opened her eyes.
“Grandpa said Daddy would come save me.”
Nathan couldn't breathe.
“Which Grandpa?”
She smiled sleepily.
“Your real Grandpa.”
Then she closed her eyes again.
Nathan stared into the darkness.
His father's warning echoed in his mind.
The man you buried was not your father.
The pact between the two families had been built around a child they believed they could control.
But they had made one mistake.
They had underestimated the child.
And they had underestimated the father.
Nathan stood.
He looked at the documents.
The merger.
The trust.
The secret account.
Project Lilith.
The fabricated police records.
Everything was connected.
And now he knew exactly where to strike.
Not at Victoria.
Not at Richard.
Not even at Gregory Voss.
He would attack the agreement itself.
Because if he could prove that the merger had been built on fraud, coercion, forged evidence, and the suppression of a biological heir—
the entire empire could collapse.
And when it did, every person who had signed the pact would have to choose.
Money.
Or the truth.
Nathan picked up the original agreement.
He folded it carefully.
Then whispered:
“They wanted a family merger.”
May you like
He looked toward Lily's room.
“They're going to get a family reckoning.”
