She had explained that if I left the family group, I would lose my position, my shares, and a large part of my fortune.

And she had made something even crueler clear to Lauren: if she used the pregnancy to pull me away from the family, the Ashfords had enough lawyers and resources to start a custody battle.

Lauren was 26 years old, had just lost her father, and was expecting multiple babies.

She ran.

But the lie went even deeper.

The $4,000,000 transfer had passed for 48 hours through the old design company of Lauren’s father before returning, through intermediary shell companies, to a structure controlled by my mother.

The letter was fake too.