Chapter 18: The Enemy Inside the Family

By noon, the Lombardi family was in chaos.

The news about the forged documents had not reached the public yet, but inside the family, everyone knew something was wrong.

Several accounts had been frozen.

Two senior executives had disappeared from their offices.

And Matteo had called an emergency meeting of every voting member of the Lombardi council.

I wasn't supposed to be there.

But Adrian called me just before the meeting began.

"Willa, you need to come."

"Why?"

"Because the trust documents contain your name."

I went still.

"My name?"

"Yes. And there's something else. You were listed as a potential successor if Hollis became unable to serve."

I stared at the phone.

For years, I had believed I was merely the woman Hollis was supposed to marry.

Apparently, the Lombardi family had considered me something far more important.

When I entered the Lombardi estate, every conversation stopped.

The same people who had once ignored me were now watching me carefully.

I walked into the council room without saying a word.

Hollis was standing beside Matteo.

Our eyes met.

Neither of us smiled.

Matteo gestured toward an empty chair.

"Sit, Willa."

I sat.

A lawyer placed several documents on the table.

"Miss Cross, your name appears in the original succession trust established fifteen years ago."

"Why?"

"Because your father was once one of the Lombardi family's most trusted financial advisers."

I frowned.

"My father?"

"Before you were born, he helped restructure several of the family's international holdings. He was later pushed out after refusing to participate in an illegal transfer of assets."

I stared at the documents.

No one had ever told me this.

The lawyer continued.

"The trust contains a safeguard. If the heir becomes compromised through fraud, coercion, or illegal financial activity, voting control can temporarily transfer to the person named as the independent successor."

Hollis looked at me.

"That person is you."

A murmur swept through the room.

I remained silent.

Suddenly, everything made sense.

Someone wasn't simply trying to ruin Hollis.

They wanted him removed so control could eventually fall to me—or, more precisely, to whoever could manipulate me.

I looked at Matteo.

"Who knew about this clause?"

His expression became grim.

"Very few people."

"Who?"

He named four people.

Hollis.

Matteo.

The family attorney.

And one other person.

I felt a chill.

"Who?"

Matteo looked toward the far end of the table.

An older man slowly stood.

Victor Lombardi.

Hollis's uncle.

The man who had always smiled whenever I was humiliated.

The man who had repeatedly told Hollis that marrying an outsider would weaken the family.

Victor calmly adjusted his cufflinks.

"This is ridiculous."

Hollis stepped forward.

"Then why did your private account receive twelve million dollars from a Rossi-controlled company?"

Victor's face changed.

The lawyer placed another document on the table.

"We traced the payment this morning."

Victor looked around the room.

"That proves nothing."

"It proves enough to start an investigation," Matteo said.

Victor laughed.

"You think this family survives because of paperwork?"

His gaze shifted toward me.

"It survives because people know their place."

I met his eyes.

"And what place do you think is mine?"

He smiled coldly.

"Exactly where you were before Hollis brought you into this family."

Hollis's expression hardened.

"Careful."

Victor ignored him.

"You were never one of us, Willa. You were useful because the trust required an outsider. That's all."

I stood.

"Then you should have read the trust more carefully."

The room went silent.

I picked up the document and held it toward him.

"Because according to this clause, the independent successor doesn't have to protect the Lombardi family."

Victor's smile disappeared.

"She can dissolve the controlling trust entirely."

Hollis looked at me sharply.

"Willa..."

I lowered the document.

"If I believe the family is corrupt beyond repair, I can dismantle the structure that protects it."

Victor's face turned white.

For the first time, he looked afraid.

The meeting ended with Victor placed under investigation.

But before I could leave, Hollis followed me into the corridor.

"You knew about the clause?"

"No."

"Are you going to use it?"

I looked at him.

"Only if I have to."

He nodded.

"That's fair."

I started walking away.

Then he spoke again.

"Willa."

I stopped.

"Thank you for helping my family."

I didn't turn around.

"I'm not helping you, Hollis."

I looked back over my shoulder.

"I'm protecting what shouldn't have been yours to destroy in the first place."

His expression fell.

I walked away.

For the first time, I wasn't walking away from Hollis because I was hurt.

I was walking away because I had finally learned my worth.

But that night, as I returned home, Adrian called again.

"Willa, there's one more problem."

"What now?"

His voice dropped.

"Victor wasn't the person who ordered the forged documents."

I stopped walking.

"Then who was?"

Adrian hesitated.

"We traced the original instruction."

"It came from someone using an account registered in your name."