CHAPTER 7 – The Man Derek Feared Most
The room fell into stunned silence.
Richard Carter.
The billionaire founder of Carter International.
The man Derek had repeatedly claimed was too busy to care about his family...
...had been quietly paying the storage fees on Lila's mother's necklace every single month.
Captain Brooks looked at the detective.
"How long?"
The detective checked the report again.
"Almost three years."
Marcus frowned.
"Three years?"
The detective nodded.
"The payments never stopped."
"Every month."
"Always in cash."
Lila stared blankly at the jewelry box in her trembling hands.
"I thought..."
"...I thought it was gone."
Derek suddenly burst into laughter.
It wasn't confident.
It was bitter.
"You all think you're so smart."
Marcus slowly turned toward him.
"What do you mean?"
Derek leaned back in his chair despite the handcuffs.
"You think my father is some innocent old man."
His smile twisted.
"You're wrong."
Lila looked at him.
"What are you talking about?"
"He knew."
Derek answered.
"He knew about everything."
The room froze.
Marcus' eyes narrowed.
"He knew you were abusing my daughter?"
Derek shrugged.
"I never said that."
"Then explain yourself."
Before Derek could answer, Captain Brooks' phone rang.
She stepped aside and listened quietly.
Her expression changed almost immediately.
When she hung up, she looked directly at Marcus.
"Colonel..."
"We have a visitor."
Marcus frowned.
"Who?"
Captain Brooks glanced toward the front window.
"He refused to wait outside."
A black Rolls-Royce Phantom slowly rolled into the driveway.
Behind it...
Three black executive SUVs.
Every officer instinctively looked toward the entrance.
The driver's door opened.
A silver-haired man in an immaculate navy suit stepped out.
Even at seventy-two...
His posture was perfectly straight.
His movements deliberate.
The cane in his right hand wasn't supporting him.
It was simply part of who he was.
Richard Carter.
Founder.
Chairman.
One of the wealthiest businessmen in the country.
And Derek's father.
The mansion became eerily quiet.
Richard entered without speaking.
His sharp blue eyes swept across the room.
The broken front door.
Police officers.
Crime scene technicians.
His handcuffed son.
Then...
His gaze stopped on Lila.
His face changed.
The billionaire who had terrified boardrooms around the world suddenly looked like an old man carrying a burden too heavy to bear.
"Lila..."
His voice was barely audible.
"My God..."
He slowly walked toward her.
Then stopped several feet away.
"I didn't know."
Lila looked at him without expression.
"You didn't?"
He shook his head.
"If I had..."
His voice cracked for the first time.
"...none of this would have happened."
Derek laughed loudly.
"Oh, here we go."
"The perfect father."
Richard didn't even acknowledge him.
His eyes remained fixed on Lila.
"I've called you every birthday."
"You never answered."
Lila looked confused.
"I never received your calls."
Richard closed his eyes.
"I was afraid of that."
Marcus stepped between them.
"Start explaining."
Richard nodded.
"You deserve that."
Captain Brooks gestured toward the dining table.
"No one leaves."
Richard removed a thick leather envelope from inside his jacket.
He placed it on the table.
"I brought these."
Marcus opened it carefully.
Inside were dozens of printed emails.
Phone records.
Delivery confirmations.
Every one addressed to Lila.
Every one marked...
Undeliverable.
Marcus frowned.
"What is this?"
Richard answered quietly.
"Everything I ever tried to send her."
Lila looked stunned.
"You wrote to me?"
"Every month."
Richard whispered.
"After you lost your first baby."
The room fell silent.
Lila slowly shook her head.
"I never got anything."
Richard nodded sadly.
"I know."
He looked toward Derek.
"Because he intercepted all of it."
Marcus' jaw tightened.
Richard continued.
"When you miscarried..."
"I wanted to visit."
"Derek told me you blamed the Carter family."
"He said you never wanted to see me again."
Lila stared at Derek.
"You lied?"
He smirked.
"So what?"
Richard continued speaking.
"Then your mother's necklace disappeared."
"I asked where it went."
"Derek told me you'd sold it."
Lila whispered,
"I would never."
"I know."
Richard answered.
"I found it in a pawn shop by accident."
Marcus frowned.
"You recognized it?"
Richard nodded.
"I bought it for your mother when Marcus proposed to her."
Everyone looked at him.
Marcus blinked.
"What?"
Richard gave him a tired smile.
"You don't remember me."
Marcus searched the older man's face.
Then suddenly...
Recognition struck him.
"The academy..."
Richard nodded.
"Officer Candidate School."
Marcus stared.
"You were my roommate."
Captain Brooks looked between them.
"You two know each other?"
Marcus laughed once in disbelief.
"Thirty-five years ago."
Richard smiled sadly.
"He saved my life."
The room became completely silent.
Lila looked from one man to the other.
"You knew my father?"
Richard nodded.
"Before business."
"Before wealth."
"Before any of this."
Marcus crossed his arms.
"So why didn't you tell her?"
Richard lowered his head.
"Because Derek begged me not to."
"He said Lila wanted nothing to do with the Carter family."
Marcus looked ready to explode.
"You believed him?"
Richard answered honestly.
"I wanted to."
Captain Brooks quietly interrupted.
"Mr. Carter."
"I need to ask you something."
Richard nodded.
"Of course."
"Did you know your son had been stealing from your company?"
Richard's expression hardened instantly.
"Yes."
Everyone stared.
Derek's smile widened.
"I told you."
Marcus stepped forward.
"You knew?"
Richard looked directly at him.
"I discovered it six weeks ago."
Not six years.
Not six months.
"Six weeks."
He reached into another folder.
"I hired private forensic accountants."
"They confirmed over twenty-seven million dollars had disappeared."
Lila gasped.
Marcus remained silent.
Richard slowly turned toward his son.
"I was preparing to remove him as CEO."
Derek's confident smile vanished.
"What?"
Richard nodded.
"The paperwork was scheduled for Monday."
"You were never supposed to know."
Derek stood abruptly.
"You're lying!"
"No."
Richard calmly removed another document.
"This is tomorrow's board agenda."
Captain Brooks examined it.
Her eyes widened.
"The Board of Directors..."
"...already voted."
Richard nodded.
"Unanimously."
Marcus looked at Derek.
"So everything you've done..."
"...was because you thought you were protecting your future."
Richard finished the sentence.
"But he'd already lost it."
For the first time...
Derek looked genuinely afraid.
"No..."
He shook his head repeatedly.
"No."
"My shares..."
"My position..."
"My inheritance..."
Richard interrupted.
"You have none."
Silence.
The billionaire's voice was steady.
"I rewrote my will yesterday."
Derek's breathing became uneven.
"What?"
"You heard me."
Richard reached into his jacket one final time.
This time...
He removed a sealed legal envelope.
"I came here intending to give this to you."
He looked at Lila instead.
"But after everything I've seen..."
He slowly placed the envelope in front of her.
"It belongs to someone else."
Lila frowned.
"What is it?"
Richard looked at Marcus.
Then back at Lila.
"It's the controlling share certificate for Carter International."
The room stopped breathing.
Derek's face turned ghost white.
Richard's next words hit even harder.
"I am removing Derek from my family..."
"...and naming you as my successor."
No one spoke.
No one even moved.
Then Derek suddenly screamed—
"NO!"
And with a burst of desperate strength...
He ripped one hand free from the handcuffs.
His eyes locked onto the envelope.
May you like
Then he lunged straight toward Lila.
End of Chapter 7
