Chapter 1057
“He told me to hold onto this,” Ethan said, his voice raspy and broken. “He said I was only allowed to give it to you when you woke up. Not if. When.”
Skye stared at the box. The polished wood was cold to the touch. It felt like a coffin.
She unlatched the small brass clasp. The lid popped open with a soft click.
Inside, resting on a bed of dark velvet, were three items: a thick cream-colored envelope, a heavy brass key, and a stack of legal documents bound by a leather strap.
Skye reached for the envelope first. Written across the front, in that sharp, erratic handwriting she had seen in her dream, were two words:
To Phoenix.
She slid her finger under the flap and pulled out the single sheet of paper.
Skye,
If you are reading this, it means my heart finally won the argument against my stubbornness, and I am free. Do not mourn me. I have lived in a cage of my own making for too long. The fire at the manor burned it down.
I leave you with a burden, because you are the only one strong enough to carry it.
Skye swallowed hard, her vision blurring. No flowery goodbyes. Just Julian, calculating and pragmatic to the very end.
She set the letter down and picked up the brass key.
“That’s the key to his private vault in Zurich,” Ethan explained, his eyes fixed on the box. “It’s off the books. No one in the family knows it exists except me. And now you.”
Skye placed the key carefully on the bedside table and picked up the legal documents. She flipped open the heavy cover.
It was a deed of transfer.
Her eyes scanned the dense legal jargon, stopping at the bolded figure at the bottom of the page.
15% controlling stake in Vance Group Holdings.
Skye gasped, dropping the papers back into the box as if they had burned her. “Ethan… this is his personal stake in the entire Vance empire. It’s worth billions. I can’t take this. It belongs to you.”
“I have my inheritance,” Ethan said, his jaw tightening with a sudden, fierce resolve. “I am the heir. But Julian knew the board of directors would eat me alive the second he was in the ground. They are old, greedy wolves, Skye.”
Ethan looked up and met her eyes. “He didn’t give you that stock as a gift. He gave it to you as a weapon. He said you were the only one ruthless enough to keep the board in line. He needs you to be my shield.”
Julian had orchestrated his final move from the grave—forcing her to stay in the game, giving her the power to protect his brother.
“That’s not all,” Alistair spoke up from the foot of the bed. He crossed his arms, his expression grim. “Before the raid, Julian sent a broadcast on the dark web. An underworld edict. He put a bounty on his own legacy. Anyone who touches you, Skye, answers to the Vance ghosts. He built a fortress around you with his dying breath.”