Chapter 10 - THE FIRST TRUE STATEMENT
Elena was taken to the hospital.
Jackson was taken to jail.
Genesis remained in the mansion with police officers interviewing her relatives one by one.
At the emergency room, doctors cleaned Elena’s wound and placed seven stitches above her ear.
A nurse helped wash dried gravy from her hair.
Elena stared at herself in the bathroom mirror.
Her dress was ruined.
Her face was swollen.
But what hurt most was remembering the silence before Marlene stood up.
Twelve people had watched Jackson raise the plate.
Only one had warned him to stop.
Nora arrived shortly after midnight.
She took photographs of Elena’s injuries and sat beside her while a detective recorded her statement.
Elena described the forged deed.
The false loan application.
Jackson grabbing her wrist.
Genesis ordering her to sign.
The dinner.
The plate.
She did not exaggerate.
She did not need to.
Meanwhile, Marlene gave police a detailed statement.
She repeated Genesis’s exact words.
Make her understand.
Caleb admitted Jackson had told him before dinner that Elena would “finally learn her place.”
Another relative confessed Genesis had instructed everyone to support her version of Victor’s promise.
Police found a prepared witness statement inside the leather folder.
It said Elena had voluntarily agreed to surrender the apartment and money.
There were blank signature lines for three relatives.
Genesis claimed it was only a draft.
The detective did not believe her.
At 3:00 a.m., Jackson was charged with assault.
A temporary protective order prohibited him from contacting Elena or entering their home.
Genesis called Nora six times.
Nora did not answer.
The next morning, a lawyer representing Jackson arrived at the hospital.
He offered Elena a deal.
Jackson would attend counseling.
The family would pay her medical bills.
She could keep the apartment.
In exchange, she would describe the incident as an accident and sign a release concerning Reed Urban Development.
Elena almost laughed.
They were offering to let her keep property that already belonged to her.
Nora studied the proposed agreement.
Then she pointed to one paragraph.
The wording had been copied almost exactly from Victor’s sealed business instructions.
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Only someone with access to his confidential files could have written it.
👉 Jackson’s settlement offer proved that someone inside Victor’s estate had been feeding Genesis information—and Elena needed to find out who.
