Chapter 9 - The Last Lie of Victor Hale
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
Damian felt as though the floor had disappeared beneath him.
His father had planned his death.
Victor had helped.
And Margaret had kept the evidence for years.
“Where is the original?” Damian asked.
Margaret laughed.
“Not here.”
Adrian lowered his weapon.
“She's lying.”
Margaret looked at him.
“You always were an impatient boy.”
Damian stepped closer.
“Tell me everything.”
Margaret sighed.
“Your father wanted to leave the family business. He intended to transfer the legitimate companies to you and give the hidden accounts to Adrian. He believed he could make peace between two sons who didn't even know each other.”
“And Victor?”
“Victor wanted all of it.”
Margaret continued.
“He arranged your father's death. Then he used your grief to turn you against Isabelle. He knew you would destroy your marriage if he gave you the right evidence.”
Damian looked at Adrian.
“Why did you help him?”
Adrian's expression was unreadable.
“Because I spent my entire life being told you had everything while I had nothing.”
“You could have come to me.”
“I did.”
Damian frowned.
“What?”
“Three years ago. I approached you at the foundation gala. You dismissed me before I could finish speaking.”
Damian remembered dozens of people at that event.
He couldn't remember Adrian.
Adrian smiled bitterly.
“You didn't even look at me.”
Damian had no answer.
Lily stepped closer to him.
“Daddy?”
He looked down.
“I'm scared.”
He immediately put his weapon away.
“Come here, sweetheart.”
She ran into his arms.
Margaret watched them.
“You think love will save you? Your father made that mistake.”
“No,” Damian said quietly. “He made the mistake of believing power mattered more.”
He looked at Adrian.
“You can still choose.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he pointed his weapon at Margaret.
“Tell him where Victor is.”
Margaret laughed.
“Why would I?”
“Because I know what happened to your son.”
Her expression changed.
Adrian continued.
“You told me my mother died giving birth. You told me my father abandoned us. But the records show she was alive for twenty-two years after I was born.”
Margaret went pale.
Damian watched them.
“What happened to her?”
Adrian's voice cracked.
“She was kept in a private hospital under another name. Victor paid for everything.”
Margaret whispered, “She was unstable.”
“She was afraid of you.”
The silence was devastating.
Then Margaret finally spoke.
“Victor is at the old Vescari estate.”
Damian looked at Enzo's abandoned security badge lying near the fireplace.
“Why?”
“Because he intends to destroy the original records tonight.”
Damian immediately called his remaining trusted men.
But Margaret wasn't finished.
“There is something else.”
Damian turned.
“Enough.”
“Your father didn't leave you the family fortune.”
She smiled.
“He left it to Lily.”
Damian froze.
Margaret continued.
“The entire legitimate estate, the trust accounts, the properties, and the controlling shares of the family businesses were placed in a protected inheritance. Your daughter is the sole beneficiary.”
Isabelle looked at Damian.
He stared at Lily.
Three years old.
Too young to understand what adults had done in her name.
Margaret's voice dropped.
“Victor wants her because the trust cannot be accessed without a living Vescari heir. He believes controlling the child means controlling the money.”
Damian's face hardened.
“He'll never touch her.”
Margaret looked at him.
“You can't protect her forever.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Maybe not. But we can stop Victor tonight.”
Damian studied his half-brother.
Then he nodded.
“Then let's finish this.”
They left Greystone with Isabelle and Lily under heavy protection.
The old estate stood outside the city, surrounded by bare trees and iron fencing.
Inside, Victor Hale was waiting.
He looked older, but his smile remained familiar.
“Damian,” he said. “You've had a difficult week.”
Damian walked toward him.
“You killed my father.”
Victor sighed.
“Your father was a complicated man.”
“You framed my wife.”
“I gave you evidence.”
“You tried to kill my daughter.”
Victor's expression finally changed.
“I never wanted the child dead.”
“You wanted her controlled.”
“There's a difference.”
Damian looked at him with disgust.
“You're right. There is.”
Victor reached for a folder.
Inside were documents transferring control of the trust.
He placed them on the table.
“Sign these, and I will disappear. Your wife can have her life. Your daughter can have her money. Nobody needs to die.”
Damian looked at the papers.
Then at Victor.
“You really believe I would sign anything you put in front of me?”
Victor smiled.
“I believe you'll do whatever is necessary to keep your daughter alive.”
A monitor flickered on behind him.
It showed Lily and Isabelle inside a vehicle outside the estate.
Then the screen changed.
A live image of Lily appeared.
She was alone.
Her little voice came through the speakers.
“Daddy?”
Damian's blood ran cold.
May you like
Victor leaned forward.
“Now, let's discuss the inheritance.”
