I Have Five Kick-Ass Brothers – Episode 33
Raina examined the forged resignation without touching it. The signature resembled hers closely enough to mislead a hurried observer, but the words surrendered powers she had never accepted. Carlisle intended to make her the author of her own disappearance from Lincoln Group.
Company counsel froze all transfers and notified regulators. Because the trust had not been authenticated, Carlisle could not legally exercise the voting rights. His plan depended on speed, confusion, and a board frightened enough to obey before courts intervened.
Noah secured the headquarters while Luke traced Carlisle’s movements. A private elevator had carried him to the underground garage, where he changed vehicles. Traffic cameras lost him near the financial district.
Coco sat under guard in the hotel lobby, bruised and furious. She offered to describe every meeting with Carlisle if prosecutors amended her agreement. Raina told her to cooperate because it was right, not because truth should be sold again.
The rebuke struck harder than anger. Coco gave investigators the passwords without negotiating further. Her messages showed Carlisle had known about Walter’s case before the factory fire and had used the scandal to gather leverage over both families.
One message mentioned a private auction that evening. Carlisle planned to sell the genuine trust page and supporting records to whichever rival bidder offered the most. Destroying the page would leave the altered version as the only surviving original.
The auction was scheduled in a members-only hotel ballroom. Theo could enter through Jones Group, but Raina refused to remain outside while men bid on her family history. Noah agreed to attend as her adviser rather than speak for her.
Raina chose a simple black dress and carried no visible jewelry except the silver star. She did not want to look like an heiress performing wealth. She wanted every buyer to remember that the documents concerned a person, not an asset.
The ballroom resembled an elegant charity event, complete with champagne and soft music. Beneath the polished surface, executives traded secrets, debts, and corporate vulnerabilities. Raina recognized several faces from the Lincoln and Jones shareholder meetings.
Carlisle appeared by video rather than in person. He displayed the red portfolio and announced that its contents could determine control of Lincoln Group. Bidding began before anyone questioned whether trafficking stolen legal records was a crime.
Theo submitted the first bid to keep the auction moving while Luke traced the video signal. Noah objected privately to paying a thief, but Raina understood the tactic. Time mattered more than pride.
A masked bidder drove the price higher. Mathew identified the payment guarantee as coming from a shell company tied to Weston Hale. Though suspended from Jones Group, Weston was still trying to damage Theo through the Lincoln succession crisis.
Raina stepped onto the auction stage and addressed the room. She stated that the trust belonged to an active criminal investigation and that every bidder’s identity had been recorded. Several guests immediately abandoned their offers.
Carlisle laughed from the screen. He claimed the documents belonged to him through lawful purchase from Coco. She had signed an agreement naming herself the Lincoln daughter before the DNA confirmation and sold him any future inheritance claim.
The argument was legally weak, but it revealed another deception. Coco had gambled on remaining a Lincoln even before the families knew the truth. Raina felt the familiar ache without letting it distract her.
Luke located Carlisle in a hotel suite three floors above them. Joshua and police moved toward the room while Theo kept the video conversation active. Raina asked Carlisle what victory would give him that honest business had not.
His answer exposed years of resentment toward Noah. Carlisle believed Lincoln Group should have been his after their grandfather rejected a merger. He had waited for a family fracture and considered Raina’s return the perfect weapon.
Police broke into the suite, but Carlisle had escaped through a connecting maintenance passage. The red portfolio remained on the desk, weighted beneath a glass of untouched whiskey.
Noah opened it with gloved hands. The original trust page granted Raina equal protection and a board seat, not controlling ownership. Their grandfather had intended unity, while Carlisle’s replacement clause manufactured war.
Behind the genuine page was a photograph of Carlisle standing beside Weston and Walter years earlier. Written beneath it was a date only one week before Raina and Coco were switched at birth.