Chapter 4: The Threat That No One Saw Coming
Lila’s charity, the Clara Hale Foundation, launched six months later, raising more than $2 million in its first year to fund scholarships and mentorship programs for foster kids across Oregon. She started volunteering at the local foster care agency, spending every Saturday afternoon playing with the kids who were waiting to be adopted, telling them stories about her mom and her grandpa. She’d never felt happier, like she was finally living the life she was meant to live.
But Ethan Hale hadn’t given up. He’d been fighting Arthur Hale in court for months, trying to claim that Lila wasn’t a real Hale, that the diary was a fake, that the legal papers Arthur had found were forged. Lila had tried to ignore him, to focus on her charity and her schoolwork, but he kept showing up at her school, at her apartment, even at the foster care agency where she volunteered.
One afternoon, Lila was walking home from school when a black SUV pulled up next to her, its windows tinted dark. She started to run, but two large men jumped out of the car and grabbed her, dragging her into the backseat. She screamed, but one of the men covered her mouth with a cloth, and she felt a sharp pain in her arm, like a needle. She tried to fight back, but her body felt weak, and she closed her eyes, passing out.
When she woke up, she was lying on a couch in a dark, empty room, her hands tied to the armrests. Ethan Hale was sitting across from her, a smirk on his face, holding a glass of whiskey. “You think you’re so smart, don’t you?” he said, taking a sip of his drink. “You think you can come in here and take everything that’s mine. Well, you’re wrong. Grandpa’s empire is mine, and I’m not going to let a foster kid ruin it.”
Lila’s heart was pounding in her chest. She’d been scared of Ethan before, but now she was terrified. She tried to call out for help, but her throat was dry, and she couldn’t make a sound. “I know you have the diary,” Ethan said, leaning forward in his chair. “Give it to me, and I’ll let you go. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you never see your grandpa again.”
Lila shook her head, and Ethan stood up, walking over to her. He pulled the diary out of his pocket, the same tattered leather-bound book she’d carried with her for 10 years, and he tossed it onto the floor. “This is a fake,” he said, kicking the diary across the room. “Your mom forged all of this, just to get money from Grandpa. You’re nothing but a liar, just like her.”
Lila stared at the diary, her eyes filling with tears. She’d thought that the diary would keep her mom’s memory alive, that it would prove that she was telling the truth, but now Ethan had destroyed it. She wanted to pick it up, to fix it, but her hands were tied, and she couldn’t move. Just then, she heard the sound of a door opening, and she looked up, her heart skipping a beat.
Standing in the doorway was Arthur Hale, his face red with anger, two bodyguards standing behind him. “Ethan,” he said, his voice sharp and cold. “Let her go.”
Ethan turned around, a smirk on his face. “Grandpa, you’re too late,” he said. “I have her, and I’m not going to let you take her away from me. You’re going to sign over the empire to me, or I’ll kill her.”
Arthur Hale didn’t say anything. He just nodded, and one of his bodyguards pulled out a gun, pointing it at Ethan. Ethan’s face went pale, and he dropped the cloth he was holding over Lila’s mouth. “You can’t do this,” he said, his voice shaking. “I’m your grandson.”
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“You’re not my grandson,” Arthur Hale said, his voice cold and hard. “You’re nothing but a spoiled brat who spent his whole life wasting my money. I’ve known for months that you were planning to kidnap Lila, that you were trying to steal the empire from her. I called the police as soon as I found out you were gone.”
Just then, the sound of sirens filled the air, and a group of police officers ran into the room, arresting Ethan. Lila watched as they led him out of the room, his face covered in handcuffs, and she leaned against Arthur Hale, crying. She’d never felt so scared in her life, but now she was safe, and she knew that Ethan would never hurt her again.
