Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 241

With time to kill, Willa Vance leaned back on the sofa and scrolled through her private messages.

Ever since her artisanal craft videos went viral, her inbox was flooded with daily messages from strangers.

She swiped down the screen, skimming the texts.

Near the very bottom of the list, one message caught her eye.

The profile picture was a gray default icon. There was no username, just a garbled string of letters and numbers.

The message was brief. She read it three times.

*I know your father was framed.*

Willa immediately tapped into the user's profile, but it was empty. It was a brand-new account, and she was the only person they followed.

Suspicion gnawed at her.

Who was this?

Was it an insider who knew the truth, or someone testing the waters with an ulterior motive?

Her hands trembled as she typed her reply: *Who are you? What do you know?*

She sent the message, but it was met with dead silence.

Just as she was about to send another follow-up, her phone buzzed with a new text.

*Willa, let's meet up. I'll give you your dad's things.*

It was Naomi Whitman. She had finally replied.

Lately, Willa had tried every method to contact her biological mother, desperate to get her hands on the documents Arthur Vance had left behind.

But Naomi had either made excuses or outright ignored her calls, avoiding her at all costs.

Now, she was taking the initiative to reach out. Willa couldn't shake the feeling that this was a trap.

Willa sent a time and location, choosing a cafe close to the estate.

"I just want the files," Willa interrupted, having zero patience for her mother's fake pleasantries.

The faux warmth completely drained from Naomi's face. She pulled a manila folder from her designer bag, slapped it onto the table, and planted her hand firmly over it. "You can have this, Willa. But it's going to cost you another five million dollars."

Willa scoffed inwardly. Just as she suspected. Naomi was running the exact same playbook.

"What's the excuse this time? Last time you said Stella needed the money urgently to study abroad. It's been over half a year, and she's still lingering around the city."

Naomi's facade finally cracked. Her eyes darted away defensively before she forced herself to meet Willa's gaze. "Now, Willa, that's not fair. Stella's paperwork hit a snag, so she's been delayed.

Besides, Randal aggressively targeted the Whitman family's business recently. Warren lost a fortune. Someone has to fill that hole, right?"

Pivoting seamlessly, Naomi adopted a fawning tone and leaned closer. "You're with Mr. Yates now. Five million is just pocket change to him. Do this one little favor for me, and I'll hand over the files immediately. I swear."

Willa's gaze dropped to the manila folder.

She could recognize her father's handwriting anywhere.

"If you want me to pay up, you need to show me what's inside first."