Chapter 185
Alex’s POV
Alex’s Office – The next day of Jonathan’s announcement
I sat alone in my office the next day after the emergency meeting.
The River crest laid before me.
The fake River crest.
From morning the office phone was off the hook as every jewelry house was calling to withdraw their support.
Jonathan’s appearance as the surviving River member changed everything overnight.
I picked the crest and studied it.
Apart from the river flowing symbol, there was no particular mark.
My initial plan was to force Veronica to hand over the Blue Heart as I thought it belonged to Harmon Designs.
I exhaled as now all I did was expose myself.
I placed the crest back.
“So, you’re the River heir p>
I took a pen and paper, and began talking to myself.
“My belief, Veronica had the blue heart p>
“I thought she was the key to get it p>
“I thought she controlled it p>
“And it was a historical Harmon Designs property p>
“It would be easy to get it from her p>
“But with Jonathan, the scenario has changed p>
“He has the Blue Heart as his mother gave it to him p>
“He is the surviving River family member p>
“He is the one father never found p>
My gaze fell on a notebook I kept to write important notes.
As I opened it, my gaze fell on Veronica’s name circled in red.
“She was never the one I required p>
I called my legal team’s head.
“Stop concentrating on Harmon Designs p>
“It’s a waste of time p>
“Our new target is Jonathan Rollings new identity as the River heir p>
“If we can prove his ability is not adequate, we can open a debate on who should take over the treaty p>
“That can be my entry p>
“Investigate everything about him p>
“His childhood records, school records, family records, old photographs p>
“Everything that has Jonathan Rollings written on it p>
I began studying everything my legal team managed to gather about him.
“So, it’s clear he never used the River name, and from birth was a Rollings,” I said as I studied the information.
“From school to college, he was a Rollings p>
I smiled faintly.
“This means he never knew he had River family blood in him p>
“All these years, he never claimed the River family identity p>
“He was raised a Rollings p>
“He studied as a Rollings p>
“He made his career as a Rollings p>
“He named his business Rollings p>
I smiled as now I had a point to grab.
I could argue, he never used the name and now that it can benefit him, he wants to claim it.
I called my legal team again.
“Make the international council believe he abandoned the River family name and found out long before I claimed for the treaty p>
I knew the evidence I had was not enough.
I still needed someone or something stronger to challenge his history.
I needed someone who knew his mother.
Someone connected to the River family.
I needed to know how he survived.
My legal team began to search the old records.
Former employees,
Neighbors, and people who knew the River family.
Most of the leads didn’t produce anything valuable.
Most of the ones connected to the River family were either dead or out of reach.
Some didn’t want to talk as it made them recall the valuables in the vault.
Others almost knew nothing.
I was becoming frustrated by all this.
I needed something against Jonathan if I was to survive this battle against Jonathan.
Someone who could tell he didn’t have any connection to the River family.
Finally, my lawyer sent me a message:
We found someone.
But what he found, flattened my last hope.
The person knew one maid managed to save the River family’s only daughter who just had her baby son.
Her husband was killed in the massacre.
He also said the son was given the heirloom.
For the first time, I realized why my father always urged me to find the baby.
Then my legal team sent me a file.
It contained photographs.
One photo was of a woman at her wedding with her husband.
The other was of the same couple, probably after their marriage,
She was clearly expectant.
Another photo was of the same woman with a young boy.
Another photo was of the young boy with the name Jonathan Rollings written below.
My eyes opened wide as I realized the woman with Jonathan is the woman in the River family group photo.
Jonathan’s mother was the legal River family’s only daughter.
That made Jonathan the only surviving River family member.
My expression changed.
I called my legal team again.
“Where did you get these photos p>
“These are copies from the archives p>
“We couldn’t get the original as they asked for Jonathan’s approval p>
“We still managed to get copies p>
I recalled my father would often tell me the River family possessed enormous wealth, not counting the vault valuables.
He never knew how the baby survived, but he knew the baby was out there.
He always told as long as that baby is alive,
We can’t grab the wealth.
Until now.
Now I knew how that baby, or Jonathan survived.
And,
He didn’t only survive, but built a billionaire jewelry business as well.
Enough to prove he has the blood of the River family in his genes.
My gaze fell on the woman’s photo.
“So, you were the one who escaped with your son p>
“You not only survived yourself p>
“You saved your baby as well p>
“And he is today Jonathan Rollings p>
“If I could figure out how she managed p>
“Maybe I can figure out where the River inheritance is p>
“She must have left some clue for her son p>
I immediately dialed my investigator’s number.
“Find out everything after the River family was attacked within minutes p>
I paced the office waiting, until my investigator arrived.
He placed an old folder before me.
I realized the folder belonged to my father.
It contained notes relating to the River robbery,
The Blue Heart was mentioned in many places as a valuable item.
It was clear, father never found it.
After the massacre, he spent years having his men look for it.
All failed.
Some even died in encounters with the police.
“I always thought it was my father’s bad luck, he never found it p>
“Now I understood p>
“The Blue Heart was stolen by one of father’s gang members who betrayed him p>
“And sold it in the black market p>
“The rest…it made its way back to Jonathan p>
“If he hadn’t betrayed my father, he would have had it p>
“If that man is alive p>
I clenched my fists.
“I swear I’ll find that betrayer p>
I knew the crest had failed.
The treaty may have been stalled for a while.
But now I have a new fact.
Till now, Jonathan never knew about the River family.
Now I will use this against him claiming how he can be loyal to a family he never knew existed.