Chapter 7 - The Eight-Million-Dollar Secret
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Silence rested between us for several moments, punctuated only by the rhythmic beep of the heart monitor.
“Samuel,” I said, looking at him intently. “When Grant pushed me... right before he did it, he mentioned something strange.”
Samuel raised an eyebrow. “What did he say?”
“He said I was nobody. He said I grew up being passed around until a retired judge decided to play hero. But then he mentioned family documents... he asked me two weeks ago to sign insurance papers for the baby, but the legal language looked complicated.”
Samuel’s hand tightened around mine slightly.
“What kind of papers, Natalie?”
“I don't know,” I admitted, feeling a sudden wave of foolishness. “He told me it was a standard update for our health and life coverage. But when I tried to read the second page, he snatched the clipboard back and told me I was being overly paranoid.”
Samuel leaned back in his chair, his jaw setting into a hard, rigid line that I recognized from newspaper photographs of his famous trials.
“Natalie,” Samuel said quietly. “There is something about your parents’ estate that I have kept from you.”
I frowned, confused.
“My parents didn’t have an estate, Uncle Samuel. They died in debt after the car accident. You told me the medical bills wiped out everything they owned.”
“That was true at the time of their deaths,” Samuel replied slowly. “However, six months before your father passed away, he acquired a minority equity stake—roughly twelve percent—in a small maritime tracking firm called Northstar Navigation Systems.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Northstar? The defense contractor?”
“Yes,” Samuel nodded. “When your parents died, those shares were virtually worthless. But three years ago, Northstar secured a major patent for autonomous deep-sea tracking algorithms. Their valuation exploded.”
I stared at him, my mouth slightly open.
“How much are those shares worth now?” I asked in a whisper.
May you like
Samuel looked directly into my eyes.
“As of last week’s market closing, your trust is valued at approximately eight point nine million dollars.”
