Chapter 10 - The ClauseThe trust document was thirty-seven pages long.
Thea hated every one.
She sat in Astrid’s private study the following afternoon while three attorneys explained what Lachlan’s father had created eight years earlier.
The structure was complicated.
The result was not.
If Lachlan died while legally married and without children, temporary voting control of his shares transferred to his spouse for eighteen months before conversion into a charitable trust.
Eighteen months.
Long enough to appoint directors.
Remove executives.
Approve mergers.
Transfer assets.
Destroy evidence.
Thea looked at Lachlan.
“You didn’t know?”
“No.”
“How can you not know what happens to your own company if you die?”
“My father changed the trust shortly before his death. Astrid managed estate administration.”
Everyone looked at Astrid.
She sat near the fireplace.
“Yes.”
Thea folded her arms.
“You knew.”
“I knew the clause existed.”
“And you still arranged the marriage.”
“I had forgotten the operational consequences.”
One attorney looked uncomfortable.
Thea stared.
“You forgot?”
Astrid met her gaze.
“My son was dying when he signed it. I was thinking about him, not hypothetical corporate warfare eight years later.”
Lachlan stood by the window.
“Why did Father add the spouse clause?”
Astrid’s voice softened.
“Because he didn’t trust the board.”
“That much was intelligent.”
“He believed if you married, it would be someone you trusted more than directors.”
Lachlan laughed without humor.
“He overestimated my romantic optimism.”
Thea looked at the document.
Gideon’s plan became clear.
Place a vulnerable woman in Astrid’s path.
Manipulate circumstances until she accepted marriage.
Kill Lachlan.
Then pressure the widow into voting as directed.
A nineteen-year-old with a sick mother and no corporate experience would be ideal.
Except Gideon had made one error.
He assumed Thea would remain controllable.
She looked at Astrid.
“When did Gideon learn about the trust?”
“We don’t know.”
“I do.”
Lachlan turned.
Everyone looked at Thea.
She remembered the archives.
Old foundation files.
Legal transfer boxes.
A notation on one of Mrs. Briggs’s inventory lists.
Estate documents temporarily stored during headquarters renovation.
“Three years ago, the executive legal archive was moved to the old building.”
Lachlan’s eyes sharpened.
“Where you work.”
“Yes.”
“If Gideon had access…”
“He could have found the amendment.”
One attorney began taking notes.
Thea continued.
“Then he started watching potential candidates. The first photo of me was two years ago.”
Astrid went pale.
“He planned this for years.”
“Yes,” Lachlan said.
The room fell silent.
After the attorneys left, Thea remained.
Astrid approached.
“I owe you more than an apology.”
“You don’t owe me money.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
Astrid’s mouth tightened.
“I owe you the truth.”
Thea looked at her.
“When I offered the arrangement, I believed I was helping both of you.”
“You were also controlling both of us.”
“Yes.”
The admission surprised her.
Astrid continued.
“I watched Lachlan disappear after the accident. Not physically. He worked. He attended meetings. He ran the company. But he stopped living anywhere people could reach him.”
Lachlan looked annoyed.
“Astrid.”
“No. You lied to me for nearly two years. I have earned one speech.”
Thea almost smiled.
Astrid faced her.
“I thought marriage might force him to belong to the world again.”
“So you selected someone desperate.”
“I selected someone I thought would not be impressed by him.”
“That part worked.”
Lachlan sighed.
Astrid ignored him.
“I did not know your desperation had been engineered.”
Thea looked down.
“I believe you.”
Astrid’s eyes softened.
“Thank you.”
Later, Thea and Lachlan returned to Voss House.
For most of the drive, neither spoke.
At the gates, Lachlan said, “The marriage can be annulled.”
Thea turned.
“What?”
“Fraud regarding my blindness. Undue influence related to your mother’s treatment. Multiple legal grounds.”
“You researched it.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Last night.”
“Of course.”
He looked out the window.
“You should be free of this before Gideon’s attorneys use you.”
Thea felt sudden anger.
“You keep deciding what I should do.”
“This time I’m giving you a choice.”
“No. You’re giving me the choice you prefer.”
His gaze returned.
“I prefer?”
“You want me to leave.”
“That is not what I said.”
“It’s what you’re arranging.”
“Thea.”
“You changed the medical agreement. You researched annulment. You’ve probably already prepared papers.”
Silence.
She laughed.
“You did.”
“They exist.”
“You are unbelievable.”
“I’m trying to undo the circumstances that trapped you.”
“By deciding the solution without me.”
The car stopped beneath the portico.
Thea opened the door before security reached it.
She walked inside.
Lachlan followed.
“Thea.”
She entered the library.
He closed the door behind them.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Ask.”
His frustration showed.
“I am asking now.”
“Too late.”
“Then tell me.”
Thea turned.
“I want one day where you don’t solve my life before I enter the room.”
His expression softened.
“You think that’s what I’m doing?”
“Yes.”
“I’m trying to make sure you don’t stay because of obligation.”
“And what if I’m staying because I want to?”
Silence.
The words escaped too quickly.
Thea’s pulse jumped.
Lachlan did not move.
“Do you?”
The room became very quiet.
Thea looked away.
“I don’t know.”
He waited.
“I’m nineteen,” she continued. “Three months ago I was worried about anatomy exams and whether my car would survive another winter. Now I have security guards and trust documents and a husband people keep trying to kill.”
“That is a persuasive argument against staying.”
“Stop.”
He closed his mouth.
Thea stepped closer.
“You make me furious.”
“I know.”
“You lie.”
“I did.”
“You control everything.”
“I try.”
“You’re emotionally impossible.”
“That assessment seems fair.”
“And when I was waiting for my mother’s surgery, you stayed.”
His expression changed.
“When I found that photograph, you believed me immediately.”
He remained silent.
“When the truck came at us, the first thing you did was check me.”
“Thea—”
“And you gave me a way out before you knew whether I would take it.”
She stopped in front of him.
“I don’t know what this is.”
Neither did he, apparently.
For once, Lachlan Voss had no immediate answer.
Good.
Thea continued.
“But I want the chance to find out without lawyers deciding it first.”
His breathing changed.
She noticed.
He noticed her noticing.
“What are you asking?” he said.
“For time.”
“You have it.”
“No contract terms. No performance inside this house. No assumptions.”
“All right.”
“And…”
She hesitated.
His eyes stayed on hers.
“And if you want something from me, you ask.”
Something shifted in his face.
“What if I want to kiss you?”
Thea’s heart stopped.
She had not expected him to use the rule immediately.
“That was fast.”
“You asked for honesty.”
“I regret it already.”
A faint smile.
But he did not move closer.
He waited.
That mattered.
Thea looked at him.
At the man she had married because she believed there was no other way.
At the man who had watched her walk down the cathedral aisle while pretending darkness.
At the man who lied easily and apologized badly and stayed in hospital waiting rooms.
“Ask properly,” she whispered.
His expression changed completely.
“Thea.”
Her heartbeat became painful.
“May I kiss you?”
She could have said no.
There was no medical bill attached to the answer.
No contract clause.
No dying mother.
No Astrid waiting on a terrace.
Only choice.
“Yes.”
Lachlan touched her face slowly.
So slowly she could stop him.
She did not.
His thumb rested near her jaw.
Then he kissed her.
Nothing about it was hurried.
That surprised her.
Lachlan lived like a man trying to outrun disasters.
But the kiss was patient.
Careful.
Almost uncertain.
Thea placed one hand against his chest.
His heart was beating faster than she expected.
That pleased her.
When they separated, neither spoke for several seconds.
Then Thea said, “You’re less arrogant when you’re nervous.”
“I’m not nervous.”
“You are.”
“I can hear your heart from here.”
“Deflection.”
His forehead touched hers briefly.
It was more intimate than the kiss.
A knock interrupted them.
Thea stepped back.
Lachlan looked murderous.
Emil entered.
Then immediately looked at the floor.
“Sir.”
“What?”
Thea bit back a laugh.
Emil’s expression remained heroic.
“Federal agents have arrested Mr. Gideon Voss.”
The room changed.
Lachlan’s face became serious.
“Charges?”
“Attempted murder, conspiracy, fraud, unlawful access to protected medical information, bribery. Additional counts pending.”
Thea released a breath.
“It’s over.”
Emil hesitated.
Lachlan saw it.
“What?”
“There is another matter.”
“Of course there is.”
“Mr. Marcus Vale has made a statement.”
Lachlan’s eyes narrowed.
“And?”
“He claims Gideon did not order yesterday’s truck attack.”
Thea’s stomach tightened.
“Who did?”
Emil looked at her.
“According to Vale, someone inside the family trust structure authorized the payment.”
Lachlan became very still.
“Name.”
“Vale refuses until his immunity agreement is signed.”
Thea looked at Lachlan.
Gideon had been arrested.
But apparently Gideon was not the final piece.
Lachlan’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
Silence.
Then a voice Thea could not hear.
Lachlan’s face drained of color.
“Where?”
A pause.
“What do you want?”
Another pause.
Thea stepped closer.
Lachlan’s hand tightened around the phone.
Then the call ended.
“What happened?”
He looked at her.
May you like
For the first time since she had known him, Lachlan Voss looked helpless.
“They took Astrid.”
