Chapter 21 - The Secret Trust of Elena Moretti
The medical wing of New York-Presbyterian was sealed off entirely under federal protection. Three armed marshals guarded the corridor, while two of Jared’s trusted private operatives stood flanking the private suite’s mahogany door.
Inside, Dr. Marcus Lee adjusted his glasses and handed an embossed folder across the glass coffee table to Jared.
"The swab test was expedited at the state genetics lab," Dr. Lee said quietly. "Probability of paternity: 99.98%. She is your biological daughter, Mr. Kensington."
Jared didn't pick up the folder right away. He stared at the bold printed letters on the cover page: KENSINGTON, JARED — MORETTI, FAITH. A man whose word could sway municipal elections and shut down shipping ports across the Eastern Seaboard suddenly looked like he was afraid to breathe.
"She has Elena’s blood type," Jared murmured, his thumb running over the paper. "O-negative."
"And that’s not all," Miles spoke from the corner, holding an encrypted tablet connected to the surrogate court records. His face was gray. "Agent Miller finished unsealing Sebastian’s personal vault in Manhattan. There was an addendum to Elena’s estate filed forty-eight hours before she died nine years ago. A testamentary trust."
Willa, who was carefully bandaging Roman’s stitched shoulder on the rug, looked up sharply. "Sebastian hid Elena's daughter. Why would there be a legal trust in her name?"
"Because Elena wasn't completely blind to what Sebastian was planning," Miles replied grimly. "She knew she wouldn't survive the birth. Before she was locked away in New Jersey, she smuggled out a notarized affidavit. The trust gives Faith complete ownership of the Moretti shipping dynasty—a two-billion-dollar portfolio—the moment she turns eight."
"She turned eight last Tuesday," Willa breathed.
"Exactly," Miles said. "Sebastian kept her alive in that blind academy because he needed her signature to liquidate the offshore holdings. But there's a poison pill clause in the document. If Faith is declared mentally unfit, incompetent, or... deceased... the legal guardianship and every dollar automatically reverts to the surviving trustee."
Jared's head snapped up. "Who is the surviving trustee? Sebastian is stripped of all legal rights."
Miles swallowed hard, his eyes darting toward Willa before locking onto Jared. "The trustee named in Elena’s document isn't a Moretti. It’s an old family attorney from upstate. Marcus Vance."
Willa dropped the roll of gauze. Her face went completely white.
May you like
"Willa?" Jared stood up immediately, sensing the sudden panic radiating from her.
"Marcus Vance isn't just an attorney," Willa whispered, her breath turning shallow. "Marcus Vance is my mother’s older brother. The uncle who disowned my mother when she fled New York... the man who told the entire family she was dead."
