Page 57 of Maddening Fixation

“If I’m right about what your grandmother wrote,” he said quietly, “then the will requires you to marry the first granddaughter of the Sokolov family before you can inherit what she left you.”

His voice remained steady, but I caught the faint tremor beneath it.

For a moment, I wondered how he could possibly know the contents of a will that had been sealed away for ten years.

Then I remembered.

He had been my grandmother’s husband.

Perhaps, in the early years of their marriage—when love still outweighed suspicion, and trust had yet to give way to bitterness—she had confided in him.

Perhaps she had shared enough of her plans for him to piece together the rest on his own.

My grandfather drew a slow breath before continuing.

“I suspected this was her intention all along.”

His gaze never left mine.

“She intended to leave everything to you.”

“The estates. The businesses. And the diamond mine. Everything your grandmother and I spent a lifetime building... she intended to place in your hands.”

He paused.

“But I made certain that none of it could pass into your hands without my signature.”

“Even if you fulfill every condition in that will—even if you marry the first daughter of the Sokolov family and remain married to her for two years—you still won’t be able to claim your inheritance.”

“So, if you kill me tonight... or if you carry out the massacre your eyes have been promising since you walked through those doors...”

He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.

“Then you’ll never have my signature. And without it, everything your grandmother left you will remain forever beyond your reach.”

My jaw tightened.

So that was it.

This was why he had insisted the will be brought.

Not out of remorse.

Not because he wanted me to know my grandmother’s final wishes.

He had found his bargaining chip.

The old man knew death had come for him.

And he was clinging to the only leverage he had left.

A cold fury settled over me.

Did he truly believe he had earned the right to bargain?

These people had taken everything from me.

My mother. Sarah. Ten years of my life.