Chapter 8 - Chloe Chose the Wrong Side
Chloe was arrested for obstruction.
Victoria collapsed when she heard.
“Not my daughter.”
I almost laughed at the irony.
For years, I had apparently not counted.
Now blood mattered again.
Chloe insisted she didn't know Marcus killed Caroline.
She claimed Victoria told her he was being falsely accused.
That might have been true initially.
Then text messages appeared.
Marcus:
They'll blame me for Caroline.
Chloe:
Mom says you didn't mean to kill her.
That destroyed ignorance.
She knew.
And still helped him hide.
Why?
Money.
Marcus promised Chloe access to accounts hidden overseas.
Accounts containing millions stolen from Blackthorn companies.
My cousin had gambled that Marcus would escape and reward her.
Again, small motives.
Designer clothes.
Security.
Status.
People destroyed entire families for things they would eventually call insufficient.
Chloe's attorneys sought a deal.
Prosecutors demanded cooperation.
She gave them passwords.
Those passwords unlocked more than hidden money.
They unlocked videos.
Marcus had recorded Victoria secretly for years.
Insurance.
One video showed them arguing after my mother's death.
Victoria:
You said you'd scare her.
Marcus:
She's dead either way.
Victoria:
You killed my sister!
Marcus:
And you're going to help me clean it up.
Victoria started sobbing.
Marcus continued.
Because if I fall, Grant learns what he is, David learns what you are, and Henry learns what we stole.
There it was.
Victoria had not ordered Caroline's death.
But she became an accomplice afterward.
She helped conceal financial evidence.
Lied to investigators.
Destroyed documents.
Protected Marcus.
That legal distinction mattered.
Emotionally?
I didn't know.
She hadn't killed my mother.
She had merely decided truth was more dangerous than murder.
Marcus went to trial first.
The evidence was overwhelming.
Automotive payments.
Letters.
Recorded threats.
Victoria's testimony.
Chloe's evidence.
He was convicted of murder and multiple financial crimes.
At sentencing, I gave no long speech.
I said one thing.
“My mother was thirty-nine. You stole every year after that.”
Then I sat.
Marcus never looked at me again.
Victoria accepted a plea agreement on obstruction, fraud-related offenses, and evidence destruction.
Chloe pleaded guilty to obstruction.
Grant attended neither sentencing.
I understood.
Sometimes walking away is the only boundary that survives.
Then Arthur called me to his office.
“There is one final estate instruction.”
I stared.
“Please tell me Grandpa is actually done.”
Arthur smiled.
“This one isn't hostile.”
“That's refreshing.”
He handed me a sealed letter marked:
AFTER THE HOUSE IS SAFE.
I opened it.
Bella,
If Blackthorn Hall is truly yours by the time you read this, decide whether you actually want it.
I frowned.
Grandpa continued.
Do not keep a house because I loved it.
Do not sell a house because Victoria wanted it.
Do not turn your future into a reaction to either of us.
Choose.
I read that word twice.
Choose.
The entire fight had been about ownership.
But Grandpa understood something deeper.
Winning the right to keep the mansion didn't mean keeping it was right.
May you like
For the first time, Blackthorn Hall felt less like inheritance and more like a question.
What did I actually want?
