Chapter 9 - THE LAST REYES
Isabella survived the shooting, but she was rushed into emergency surgery.
Damian stayed beside Elena in the hospital corridor while doctors worked. Maria sat across from them, her hands clasped so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.
No one spoke about the ledger.
No one spoke about the shot.
Finally, Elena looked at Damian.
"Do you believe her?"
"That my father ordered someone killed? I don't know."
"She said he ordered a second attempt."
"Then we'll find out."
He called his attorney and instructed him to preserve every document, freeze every questionable transfer, and notify the authorities through an independent legal channel.
It was the first time Damian had willingly opened his empire to outside scrutiny.
It would cost him money.
It might cost him power.
But he was done letting other people decide what the truth was worth.
At dawn, a nurse brought word that Isabella was awake.
Damian entered her room alone.
She looked exhausted, her face pale against the pillows.
"Did you bring the ledger?" she asked.
"No."
"Good. Keep it away from your father."
"Tell me why you said he ordered the second attempt."
Isabella stared at the ceiling.
"Six months ago, your father learned that someone had been moving money through your mother's old accounts. He believed Maria had the ledger. He sent Victor to recover it."
"Recover it or kill her?"
"At first, recover it. Then he discovered that Elena had inherited the controlling interest."
"Why would that change anything?"
"Because the ledger proves that your father no longer owns the empire he claims to control. If Elena establishes her claim, every company connected to the stolen assets could be placed under court supervision."
Damian understood.
His father hadn't returned to protect his family.
He had returned to protect his power.
"Who fired the shot at the station?"
Isabella closed her eyes.
"Victor."
Damian stood.
"Why?"
"Because Victor works for the person who really controls the foundation."
"And who is that?"
Isabella looked at him.
"Your father."
Damian left the room without another word.
When he reached the corridor, Maria was waiting.
"I need to tell you something about Elena's father," she said.
He stopped.
"You said he was an accountant."
"He was. But before he died, he discovered that the people funding the operation planned to use your father's empire to launder money through legitimate businesses. He stole the original records and hid them with me."
"Why would the ledger name Elena as the beneficiary?"
"Because her father placed his remaining shares in a trust before he was killed. He named Elena as the heir."
Damian looked toward the hospital room.
"Does she know?"
"Not yet."
"Then she deserves to hear it from you."
Maria nodded, tears filling her eyes.
"I've spent sixteen years trying to protect her from the truth. I don't know how to tell her that the life she built was taken from her before she was old enough to understand what it meant."
"You tell her the truth," Damian said. "And then you let her decide what to do with it."
That evening, Damian returned to the estate.
His father was waiting in the study, dressed in a dark suit, his expression calm.
"I hear you've been busy."
Damian closed the door.
"Did you order Victor to kill Isabella?"
His father looked genuinely offended.
"Of course not."
"Did you send him to recover the ledger?"
"Yes."
"Did you know Elena was the legal heir?"
His father said nothing.
Damian placed the original documents on the desk.
"You built your empire on stolen assets, forged signatures, and a conspiracy that killed my mother."
His father slowly rose.
"Your mother was going to destroy everything."
"She was trying to stop you from destroying innocent people."
"She didn't understand the world we lived in."
"No. She understood it better than you did."
His father's face hardened.
"You think you can take this empire from me? You think a woman who cleans your floors can run a corporation?"
"Elena isn't taking anything that belongs to you. She's reclaiming what was stolen from her family."
His father laughed bitterly.
"Then you have learned nothing."
He pressed a button beneath the desk.
The study door locked.
A red light appeared on the wall.
Damian recognized the alarm system immediately.
His father had activated the estate's emergency lockdown.
"You can't leave," the older man said. "And neither can she."
Damian's phone vibrated.
A message from Elena appeared.
I FOUND THE FINAL PAGE.
A photograph followed.
It showed a document signed by Damian's mother shortly before her death.
The final line read:
If anything happens to me, my son must never be told who his real father is.
Damian stared at the screen.
His father watched him carefully.
Then, with a quiet smile, he said:
"Now you understand why I had to keep you close."
Damian looked up.
"Who am I?"
His father stepped toward him.
"You're not a Reyes by blood."
The study door clicked open.
A guard appeared in the doorway, holding a sealed envelope.
"Mr. Reyes," he said to Damian. "This was delivered for you. The sender says you need to read it before midnight."
Damian opened it.
Inside was a photograph of a man standing beside his mother.
On the back, someone had written:
May you like
YOUR FATHER IS STILL ALIVE. AND HE IS NOT THE MAN YOU THINK.
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