PART 7 — MY MOTHER WAS ALIVE
“Mom?”
My voice barely came out.
The intercom crackled.
Then I heard her again.
“Elizabeth.”
My knees weakened.
I grabbed the edge of the table.
“No…”
Daniel stood completely still.
Laura looked between us.
“You recognize the voice?”
I nodded.
“It’s my mother.”
The speaker crackled again.
“I know this is difficult.”
“Where are you?”
Silence.
Then:
“Not far.”
I looked around the vault.
“Open the door!”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because if I open it, they will find you.”
“Who?”
Another pause.
“Victor.”
Daniel stepped toward the intercom.
“Margaret, it's me.”
The voice immediately changed.
“You shouldn't have brought her here.”
Daniel lowered his head.
“I had no choice.”
“You always say that.”
I stared at him.
“You know my mother?”
He didn't answer.
My anger returned.
“You knew she was alive.”
“Elizabeth…”
“You knew!”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
Daniel swallowed.
“Six years.”
I slapped him.
The sound echoed through the vault.
He didn't defend himself.
“You let me mourn her.”
“I was protecting you.”
“Stop saying that!”
My voice broke.
“You lied to me for six years!”
My mother's voice came through the speaker.
“Elizabeth, he did what I asked.”
I froze.
“What?”
“I told Daniel to stay close to you.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because Victor was watching you.”
I shook my head.
“You could have told me.”
“If I had, you would have come looking for me.”
“Yes!”
“And Victor would have followed you.”
My mother sounded exhausted.
“I couldn't risk that.”
I pressed my hand against the speaker.
“Mom, why did you let me believe you were dead?”
“I needed everyone to believe it.”
“Everyone?”
“Especially Charles.”
I looked at Daniel.
“Then what happened to Dad?”
“He helped me disappear.”
“But the warehouse…”
“My father arranged the fire,” Daniel said quietly.
I turned toward him.
“My father?”
“Charles.”
My mother confirmed it.
“Charles believed your father died that night.”
“And Daniel?”
“He helped your father escape.”
I looked at Daniel.
“So you weren't the one who caused the fire.”
“No.”
“Then why did Charles accuse you?”
“Because he needed someone to blame.”
The pieces were beginning to connect.
But one question remained.
“Why did you disappear after Dad came back?”
My mother was silent for several seconds.
Then she said:
“Because your father wasn't the only person who survived that night.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who else?”
“Victor.”
Laura immediately moved closer to the intercom.
“Where is he?”
My mother didn't answer.
Instead, she said:
“Elizabeth, open the USB drive.”
I picked it up.
“What is on it?”
“The truth about Mercer Logistics.”
I inserted it into the laptop my attorney had given me.
A folder appeared.
PROJECT 317.
I clicked it.
There were hundreds of documents.
Bank transfers.
Company records.
Photographs.
Audio files.
Then I saw a document labeled:
BENEFICIARY — ELIZABETH MERCER
I opened it.
My name appeared at the top.
Below it was something that made my blood run cold.
Ultimate controlling beneficiary: Margaret Mercer.
I looked at the screen.
“Mom…”
“Yes?”
“You still own the company.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you let me buy it?”
“Because I needed you to become visible.”
I frowned.
“Visible?”
“Victor believed I was dead. He couldn't touch the company without revealing himself.”
“And now?”
“Now he knows I'm alive.”
The vault suddenly shook.
A loud metallic bang echoed from above.
Laura raised her weapon.
“What was that?”
My mother answered immediately.
“They found you.”
Daniel moved toward the vault door.
“We need to get out.”
“There's another exit,” my mother said.
“Where?”
“Behind the wall.”
I looked around.
“Which wall?”
“The one behind the photograph.”
Daniel immediately understood.
He grabbed the framed photograph from the wall.
Behind it was a keypad.
He entered a code.
Nothing happened.
“Wrong code.”
My mother spoke.
“Elizabeth.”
I looked at the keypad.
“Try your birthday.”
I entered it.
A click.
The wall opened.
A narrow passage appeared.
Laura went first.
Daniel followed.
I was about to enter when I heard my mother's voice again.
“Elizabeth.”
I stopped.
“Yes?”
“There is one thing you need to know.”
“What?”
“Your husband did not marry you by accident.”
I looked at Daniel.
He closed his eyes.
“What does that mean?”
My mother answered:
“His father ordered him to marry you.”
My heart stopped.
Daniel turned toward me.
“Elizabeth…”
I stepped backward.
“No.”
“Listen to me.”
“You were sent to marry me?”
“I was.”
The answer destroyed something inside me.
“How long were you planning to use me?”
“I wasn't.”
“You just admitted it!”
“I was supposed to watch you.”
“Why?”
“Because your father believed the trust would eventually pass to you.”
I stared at him.
“So your family knew.”
“Yes.”
“And the shares?”
“They knew you would inherit them.”
My hands began shaking.
“Then everything was a lie.”
“No.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“My feelings weren't.”
I laughed through tears.
“How convenient.”
He looked devastated.
“I fell in love with you.”
“But you started with a mission.”
“Yes.”
“And you stayed.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
His voice broke.
“Because somewhere along the way, you became the only person I wanted to protect.”
I couldn't answer.
Then another explosion shook the vault.
The lights flickered.
Laura shouted:
“We're out of time!”
We entered the hidden passage.
Behind us, the vault door began to buckle.
Someone was trying to break through.
We ran through the narrow corridor until we reached a steel door.
Daniel pushed it open.
We emerged into an underground parking garage.
Dozens of cars were parked in darkness.
Then headlights suddenly appeared.
A black SUV accelerated toward us.
Laura shouted:
“MOVE!”
We jumped aside.
The SUV crashed into a concrete pillar.
The driver's door opened.
A man stepped out.
Tall.
Gray-haired.
Calm.
Daniel stopped.
“Victor.”
The man smiled.
Then he looked directly at me.
“Hello, Elizabeth.”
I froze.
Victor slowly raised his hands.
“I've been waiting twelve years to meet you.”
Laura aimed her weapon.
“Get on the ground!”
Victor laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
He pointed toward Daniel.
“Ask your husband why your mother chose him.”
Daniel's face changed.
Victor continued:
“Because Daniel isn't Charles's biological son.”
My entire world seemed to stop.
I looked at Daniel.
He couldn't speak.
Victor smiled.
“Your mother raised the boy who would eventually destroy her enemies.”
Then he said the words that changed everything:
“Daniel is my son.”
