Todos os capítulos de THE FAKE HEIRESS and Her OBSESSIVE BROTHER: Capítulo 61 - Capítulo 70

The park was quiet at noon.Vivian sat on the same bench where she had first met Clara Bennett, watching the path that curved past the fountain. The morning had been cold and gray, and the sky still carried the weight of rain that had not yet fallen. She kept her hands in her pockets and her eyes on the entrance.She had arrived early because she wanted to see Clara before Clara saw her. Marcus was nearby, waiting in a car at the far end of the street, and he had argued against her coming alone. But she had insisted, because Clara had refused to speak on the phone and Vivian needed answers more than she needed protection. She checked her watch. Five minutes past noon. Then she saw her.---Clara walked slowly along the path, dressed in a plain coat with a scarf wrapped around her neck. She looked older than she had in the park weeks ago, and there was something tired in her face that Vivian had not noticed before.She stopped in front of the bench and looked down at Vivian. "You came.

The police station was quieter than Vivian expected.She had imagined something louder, something more chaotic, with officers rushing through corridors and phones ringing without end. Instead, the room they led her to was small and plain, with a table, two chairs, and a recorder sitting in the center like a patient witness.Marcus waited outside. He had offered to stay with her, but she had told him this was something she needed to do alone. Some stories could only be told once, and she wanted to be the one telling them.A woman entered and introduced herself as Detective Halloran. She was in her forties, with short gray hair and a calm voice, and she did not smile when she sat down across from Vivian. She simply placed a folder on the table, opened it, and pressed the button on the recorder."This is Detective Halloran, badge number four-seven-two. The date is March twelfth. Present is Vivian Carrington, also known as Lily Blackwood." She looked up. "For the record, can you confirm t

The archive changed everything.By the end of the week, David's team had catalogued more than two hundred files, and the shelves that had once been filled were now half empty. Vivian spent every day at the office, reading through boxes that had been sealed for decades, studying photographs of children she would never meet, and memorizing names she refused to forget. She was not searching for evidence anymore. She was searching for a thread that would lead her to her mother.On the eighth day, David called her into his office."We found something you need to see," he said. "Not in the files. In the financial records."Vivian sat down across from him and waited."The accounts connected to the network are more extensive than we realized. Dozens of properties. Holding companies registered in different names. Transfers routed through banks in several countries." He paused. "We've been trying to trace who authorized them.""And?""Every document carries the same signature. Every transaction

The bank records arrived two days later.Okafor called Vivian early in the morning and asked her to come to the office. There was something in the accounts that did not make sense, and she wanted a second set of eyes on it before she brought it to David.Vivian arrived within the hour. Price was already there, and the two investigators had spread a series of statements across the conference table. Each statement was marked with the same account number."These are from one of the holding accounts we identified last week," Okafor said. "It was opened thirty years ago and registered under a company that was dissolved in 2004.""If the company was dissolved, why are there statements from last month?""That's what we're trying to figure out."---Price pointed to the most recent page."The account was dormant for years. No deposits, no withdrawals, nothing. Then six months ago, someone started moving money again. Small transfers at first, then larger ones, and then a series of withdrawals

The town was smaller than Vivian expected. It sat on the western edge of the country, tucked between low hills and a river that ran slow and gray beneath an old stone bridge. There were two streets, a market, a church, and a scattering of houses that had been built decades ago and never touched since. The rain had stopped by the time they arrived, and the sky was pale and quiet. Vivian stood at the edge of the town and looked at the address Clara had given her. Clara had called the night before, after speaking with Elizabeth, and told her that Elizabeth had agreed to the meeting. She had given Vivian the address and told her to come alone, but Vivian had brought Marcus anyway, because she did not trust anything about this situation enough to walk into it by herself. "This is it." Marcus stepped out of the car and stood beside her. "Are you ready?" "No." "Then we can wait." "No." Vivian folded the paper and tucked it into her pocket. "I've waited long enough." --- The house was