Chapter 5 - The Name Hidden In The Darkness
The name appeared on the screen.
I stared at it.
I couldn't move.
I couldn't speak.
Because the person standing behind Julian in the video was someone I had known my entire life.
Someone I had trusted.
Someone whose death I had mourned.
The name appeared beneath the frozen image.
Victor Vale.
My father.
My hands went cold.
"No..."
The word escaped before I realized I had said it.
Clara looked at me.
Richard stopped breathing.
Even Lily became silent in Clara's arms.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Because everyone in that room understood the same impossible thing.
My father was dead.
He had been dead for seven years.
But the face on the screen belonged to him.
I stepped closer to the monitor.
The video was frozen.
Julian was sitting in a dark room.
And behind him was the man who had buried me emotionally years ago.
My father.
"That's impossible," I whispered.
Richard looked at the screen.
"It shouldn't be."
I turned toward him.
"You knew?"
His expression changed.
"I knew there was a possibility."
I grabbed his jacket.
"A possibility?"
My voice shook.
"You let me believe my father was dead while you knew he might be alive?"
Richard didn't fight back.
Because he knew I was right.
"I didn't know the truth."
"Then explain what I'm looking at."
He had no answer.
That was the first time I saw fear on Richard's face.
Not guilt.
Not nervousness.
Fear.
A sound came from the computer.
The video started playing again.
Julian looked directly into the camera.
His face was tired.
His eyes looked different.
The confident brother I remembered was gone.
This was someone who had been running.
Someone who had been hiding.
"Adrian..."
Julian paused.
Like he was trying to find the right words.
"If you found this recording, then it means you finally know."
I moved closer.
My heart was pounding.
"Know what?"
The recording continued.
"The man you called father was never the man you believed him to be."
My jaw tightened.
I wanted to deny it.
I wanted to shut the screen off.
But I couldn't.
Because Julian had never lied to me.
Not once.
"Seven years ago, when Dad died, I discovered something hidden in his files."
Julian looked away.
"There was evidence that his death wasn't an accident."
The room went silent.
My father's death.
Another lie.
Another secret.
"I found financial records. Names. Payments. People connected to him."
Julian leaned closer.
"And then I found something worse."
The video glitched.
Static covered the screen.
Then his voice returned.
"Dad was investigating someone inside our own family."
I looked at Clara.
She looked terrified.
Julian continued.
"Someone who had been manipulating Vale International for years."
The screen flickered.
For a second, another image appeared.
A document.
A signature.
A name.
Then it disappeared.
I froze.
Because I recognized the signature.
It was mine.
The recording continued.
"Adrian, if you're seeing this, don't trust anyone who tells you they are protecting you."
My chest tightened.
The words felt familiar.
Because Julian had said the same thing before.
"Protection is just another word people use when they want control."
The video suddenly stopped.
The screen went black.
I stood there.
Waiting.
But nothing happened.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
YOUR BROTHER LEFT YOU THE WRONG VIDEO.
My eyes narrowed.
Another message appeared.
ASK RICHARD WHAT HAPPENED THE NIGHT YOUR FATHER DIED.
I looked up.
Richard's face changed.
He knew.
"What happened that night?" I asked.
Richard didn't answer.
"Richard."
Still nothing.
I walked closer.
"Tell me."
He looked at Clara.
Then at Lily.
Then back at me.
"I was there."
The words hit me.
"You were where?"
"At your father's house."
The room became silent.
"The night he died."
My hands curled into fists.
"You told everyone you were out of the country."
"I lied."
I stepped forward.
"Why?"
Richard looked exhausted.
"Because your father asked me to."
I laughed bitterly.
"Of course he did."
I turned away.
Every answer created more questions.
Every truth opened another door.
"Start from the beginning."
Richard sat down slowly.
"Your father discovered someone was stealing from the company."
I listened.
"Not small amounts. Millions."
"Who?"
Richard looked at me.
"Your uncle."
My eyes widened.
"My uncle died before I was born."
Richard nodded.
"That's what everyone was told."
The room felt unreal.
"Everyone?"
Richard looked at the floor.
"Your family has been hiding things for a long time, Adrian."
I looked at Lily.
The baby who had entered my office and destroyed everything I believed.
The baby who was proof that Julian had a life nobody told me about.
"What does Lily have to do with this?"
Richard's expression softened.
"Julian found out that someone was trying to erase every connection to your family."
"And Lily?"
"She was the reason he stopped running."
I looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
Richard took a deep breath.
"Julian wasn't only trying to expose the people who betrayed your family."
He looked at the baby.
"He was trying to protect his daughter."
The word still felt impossible.
Daughter.
My brother had a daughter.
A child.
A family.
And I had known nothing.
"Why didn't he tell me?"
Richard looked at me.
"Because he believed someone close to you would use Lily against you."
My phone vibrated again.
This time, it wasn't a message.
It was a call.
Unknown number.
Everyone looked at it.
I answered.
No one spoke.
Then I heard breathing.
A familiar sound.
A voice.
"Adrian."
My entire body froze.
"Julian?"
Silence.
Then:
"I'm sorry."
I closed my eyes.
For eighteen months, I had imagined hearing his voice again.
I imagined anger.
Relief.
A thousand questions.
But hearing him apologize was something I never expected.
"Where are you?"
Another pause.
"I can't tell you."
"Why?"
"Because if I tell you, they will know where I am."
I looked around the room.
"Who are they?"
Julian's voice became quieter.
"The people who caused everything."
I gripped the phone.
"Are you safe?"
"No."
The answer came immediately.
"No, Adrian. I'm not."
A noise came through the phone.
A door opening.
Someone walking.
Julian lowered his voice.
"You need to leave the office."
My heart raced.
"What?"
"They know you're with Richard."
I looked toward the office door.
"Who?"
Julian didn't answer.
Instead, he said:
"Adrian, listen carefully."
The fear in his voice was real.
"Do not let anyone enter that room."
I turned slowly.
May you like
Because at that exact moment...
The office door handle moved.
