PART17
For several seconds…
Nobody spoke.
* * *
The phone was still in my hand.
The call had ended.
But the woman’s words remained.
* * *
“Your father wasn’t killed by an accident.”
* * *
My mind refused to accept it.
* * *
My father.
* * *
The man who always came home smiling.
The man who taught me to forgive.
The man who told me that family was the only thing that truly mattered.
* * *
Murdered.
* * *
I looked at Jonathan.
* * *
His face had changed.
* * *
He wasn’t surprised.
* * *
And that terrified me.
* * *
“You knew.”
* * *
My voice was barely a whisper.
* * *
Jonathan looked away.
* * *
“Jonathan…”
* * *
“You knew my father was murdered.”
* * *
A long silence.
* * *
Then he answered.
* * *
“Yes.”
* * *
The room felt like it had stopped moving.
* * *
“You knew…”
I repeated.
* * *
“And you said nothing?”
* * *
His eyes met mine.
* * *
“Because I was trying to find the person who did it.”
* * *
I shook my head.
* * *
“No.”
* * *
My voice became colder.
* * *
“You were protecting yourself.”
* * *
Jonathan didn’t argue.
* * *
Because maybe a part of him knew I was right.
* * *
Andrew stepped forward.
* * *
“Claire, listen—”
* * *
I turned toward him.
* * *
“No.”
* * *
My voice cracked.
* * *
“I am done listening.”
* * *
I looked at both of them.
* * *
“For years, everyone decided what I should know.”
* * *
“My father.”
* * *
“Jonathan.”
* * *
“You.”
* * *
“Everyone protected me from the truth.”
* * *
I wiped my tears.
* * *
“But nobody protected me from living a lie.”
* * *
Nobody answered.
* * *
* * *
Then Jonathan slowly walked toward the table.
* * *
He picked up the old documents.
* * *
“There is something you need to see.”
* * *
I laughed bitterly.
* * *
“Another secret?”
* * *
He looked at me.
* * *
“Yes.”
* * *
“Of course.”
* * *
He opened the final page.
* * *
A list of names.
* * *
Not companies.
Not investors.
* * *
People.
* * *
Powerful people.
* * *
Politicians.
Business leaders.
Judges.
Executives.
* * *
At the top of the list was one name.
* * *
Alexander Whitmore.
* * *
My stomach tightened.
* * *
“Why is his name here?”
* * *
Jonathan pointed below it.
* * *
“Because your father discovered he was trying to take control of the Vale legacy.”
* * *
“How?”
* * *
“By destroying the people connected to it.”
* * *
I stared at the list.
* * *
“And my father?”
* * *
Jonathan looked at me.
* * *
“He was the last person standing in his way.”
* * *
The room became silent.
* * *
* * *
Andrew suddenly spoke.
* * *
“There is something else.”
* * *
I looked at him.
* * *
“What now?”
* * *
His expression was filled with guilt.
* * *
“Dad didn’t die immediately after the accident.”
* * *
My heart stopped.
* * *
“What?”
* * *
Andrew swallowed.
* * *
“He survived.”
* * *
The words felt impossible.
* * *
“Then why did everyone say he died?”
* * *
Andrew looked at the floor.
* * *
“Because he made us promise.”
* * *
“Who is us?”
* * *
A pause.
* * *
“Me.”
* * *
“Richard.”
* * *
“And Jonathan.”
* * *
I stepped back.
* * *
“No…”
* * *
My voice shook.
* * *
“My father was alive?”
* * *
Jonathan shook his head.
* * *
“Not for long.”
* * *
I closed my eyes.
* * *
Trying to process everything.
* * *
“How long?”
* * *
Andrew answered quietly.
* * *
“Three days.”
* * *
Three days.
* * *
My father had lived for three more days.
* * *
And nobody told me.
* * *
“Why?”
* * *
My voice broke.
* * *
“Why didn’t anyone let me see him?”
* * *
Jonathan looked away.
* * *
“Because he knew someone was watching you.”
* * *
“Who?”
* * *
Jonathan hesitated.
* * *
Then said:
* * *
“The person who caused the accident.”
* * *
A cold silence filled the room.
* * *
* * *
I looked at the letter again.
* * *
The warning from my father.
* * *
Do not trust the person who says they love you most.
* * *
Suddenly…
I understood.
* * *
The warning wasn’t about Jonathan.
* * *
It wasn’t about Andrew.
* * *
It was about someone much closer.
* * *
Someone who had been part of my family.
* * *
Someone who had been there during my childhood.
* * *
My phone vibrated.
* * *
A new message.
* * *
This time…
Not from Richard.
* * *
Not from Jonathan.
* * *
Not from an unknown number.
* * *
The sender’s name appeared.
* * *
Mother.
* * *
My hands froze.
* * *
My mother had been dead for twenty years.
* * *
I opened the message.
* * *
Only one sentence.
* * *
“Claire, if you are reading this, it means your father failed to keep you away from the truth.”
* * *
My breathing stopped.
* * *
A second message appeared.
* * *
“And it means they finally found you.”
* * *
I looked at Jonathan.
* * *
He immediately became pale.
* * *
“What?”
* * *
I showed him the phone.
* * *
The color disappeared from his face.
* * *
Because he recognized something I didn’t.
* * *
A symbol at the bottom of the message.
* * *
A small black mark.
* * *
Jonathan whispered:
* * *
“No…”
* * *
“What is it?”
* * *
He looked at me.
* * *
And for the first time…
* * *
I saw real fear in his eyes.
* * *
“That symbol belonged to the organization your mother tried to escape from.”
* * *
My blood ran cold.
* * *
“My mother?”
* * *
Jonathan nodded.
* * *
“She wasn’t running from them.”
* * *
A pause.
* * *
“She was one of them.”
* * *
I stared at the message.
* * *
At the name of the woman I barely remembered.
* * *
And suddenly I realized…
* * *
My father’s secrets didn’t begin with Jonathan.
* * *
They didn’t begin with the empire.
* * *
They began before I was born.
* * *
With my mother.
* * *
And the truth about my family…
* * *
Was far darker than I ever imagined.
* * *
END OF PART 17
