PART 8 — DANIEL'S REAL FATHER
For a moment, nobody moved.
The underground garage seemed to become completely silent.
I looked at Daniel.
Then at Victor.
Then back at Daniel.
“That's not true.”
Victor smiled.
“Ask him.”
Daniel's face had lost all color.
I turned toward him.
“Daniel?”
He didn't answer.
“Tell me he's lying.”
Daniel looked at me.
His eyes were filled with something I had never seen before.
Shame.
“I didn't know.”
Victor laughed.
“You didn't know because Charles wanted you to believe he was your son.”
Daniel's fists tightened.
“Stop.”
Victor took a step forward.
“Your mother knew.”
I froze.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
Victor's voice became colder.
“She knew who your biological father was.”
I looked at Daniel.
“Then why did she protect you?”
Victor's expression changed.
“Because Margaret was always sentimental.”
He smiled bitterly.
“She believed she could save everyone.”
Laura kept her weapon pointed at him.
“Enough. Get on your knees.”
Victor ignored her.
He looked directly at me.
“Do you know why your mother chose Daniel to marry you?”
I felt sick.
“Because of the trust.”
“Exactly.”
He nodded.
“She knew the trust would eventually control Mercer Logistics.”
“And she trusted Daniel?”
“No.”
Victor laughed.
“She trusted herself.”
Daniel finally stepped forward.
“You're lying.”
Victor looked at him.
“Am I?”
“You killed people.”
“I built an empire.”
“You destroyed families.”
“I made them rich.”
“You murdered my father.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“Your father?”
Daniel stared at him.
“You mean the man who raised me?”
Victor's eyes hardened.
“Charles wasn't your father.”
Daniel shook his head.
“You abandoned me.”
“I protected you.”
“You used me.”
Victor's expression became almost amused.
“And yet here you are.”
Daniel moved closer.
“You told Charles to use me.”
“Yes.”
“You told him to marry me to Elizabeth.”
“Yes.”
“You planned everything.”
Victor looked toward me.
“Not everything.”
I stepped forward.
“What don't you know?”
Victor looked at me.
“The one thing Margaret never told anyone.”
“What?”
He smiled.
“She didn't create the trust for you.”
I frowned.
“Then why?”
“To hide the real beneficiary.”
My heart pounded.
“Who?”
Victor looked at Daniel.
“Him.”
Daniel froze.
“No.”
Victor nodded.
“Your mother placed the controlling shares in Daniel's name.”
I stared at him.
“That can't be.”
Victor continued.
“She knew Charles would eventually turn against her.”
“So she used Daniel as protection.”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked at me.
“I never knew.”
Victor laughed.
“You didn't need to.”
I shook my head.
“This makes no sense.”
Victor reached into his coat and pulled out a document.
“Read it.”
Laura moved toward him.
“Put that down.”
Victor ignored her and tossed the document onto the hood of a nearby car.
I picked it up.
The first page contained a legal trust agreement.
The beneficiary name was hidden beneath a redacted section.
But the signature at the bottom was unmistakable.
Margaret Mercer.
And beneath it:
Daniel Hale.
I stared at the name.
“Hale?”
Daniel's expression collapsed.
“My mother used my middle name.”
Victor nodded.
“Daniel Alexander Hale.”
I looked at him.
“So your real name…”
“Daniel Hale.”
My mind raced.
Victor Hale.
Daniel Hale.
Father and son.
Then I remembered the offshore documents.
The name I'd seen months ago.
D. Hale Holdings.
I looked at Daniel.
“That was you.”
He shook his head.
“No.”
Victor smiled.
“It was.”
Daniel looked at him.
“You used my identity.”
“I used what belonged to me.”
“You stole my name.”
“I gave you your name.”
Laura stepped closer.
“Victor, you're under arrest.”
Victor laughed.
“You still think this is about the company.”
He looked at me.
“It isn't.”
“Then what is it?”
He pointed at the trust document.
“The company is only the key.”
“To what?”
“The Mercer vault.”
I frowned.
“What vault?”
Victor's smile widened.
“Your mother never told you?”
“No.”
“Then ask her.”
My phone suddenly rang.
The screen showed:
MOM.
I answered.
“Mom?”
Her voice was urgent.
“Elizabeth, don't listen to him.”
“Tell me about the vault.”
Silence.
“Mom?”
Finally she whispered:
“The vault contains evidence that can destroy Victor.”
Victor laughed.
“Not just me.”
My mother's voice became frightened.
“Elizabeth, listen carefully.”
“Yes.”
“You must leave immediately.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor isn't the most dangerous person there.”
I looked at Victor.
“Then who is?”
My mother hesitated.
Then:
“Charles.”
My blood ran cold.
“Charles?”
“He was never working for Victor.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“What?”
My mother continued:
“Charles was working against him.”
I looked at Victor.
His face had changed.
For the first time, he looked genuinely frightened.
“That's impossible,” he whispered.
My mother spoke through the phone.
“Charles has been playing both sides for thirty years.”
Victor stepped backward.
“No.”
“He created the offshore accounts.”
Victor's expression hardened.
“He betrayed me?”
“Yes.”
“And the money?”
“He moved it into a separate trust.”
My heart pounded.
“Whose trust?”
My mother didn't answer.
I already knew.
“Mine?”
“Yes.”
Victor suddenly lunged toward me.
Daniel tackled him.
The two men crashed onto the concrete floor.
Laura shouted.
“Don't move!”
Victor pushed Daniel away.
“You have no idea what your mother did!”
Daniel grabbed him again.
“You're not touching her!”
Victor laughed.
“You still don't understand, boy.”
He looked at Daniel.
“Your mother didn't choose you to protect Elizabeth.”
He paused.
“She chose Elizabeth to protect you.”
Daniel froze.
Victor continued:
“Because if the truth about your birth ever became public…”
He looked at me.
“…you would inherit everything.”
Then gunshots rang out from the upper level.
Laura turned toward the sound.
“Everyone down!”
People in dark clothing appeared behind the concrete pillars.
Victor smiled.
“They're here.”
I looked at Daniel.
“Who?”
Victor answered for him.
“Charles's men.”
The lights went out.
Again.
But this time, before the darkness swallowed us, I saw one final thing.
A man stepped out from behind the pillars.
Charles.
He was holding a gun.
And he was pointing it directly at Daniel.
“I'm sorry, son,” he said.
Then he pulled the trigger.
