Chapter 7 - The Truth Hunter Could Never Escape
My father's name was on the security alert.
For five seconds, I couldn't move.
Not because I believed he had betrayed me.
Because a small part of me was afraid that he had.
After everything that happened, trust had become something fragile.
Everyone had a reason.
Everyone had an explanation.
Everyone claimed they were protecting me.
And everyone had hidden something.
I stared at the screen.
"Private Vault Access Confirmed."
Location:
Morgan Executive Archive.
Authorized user:
Richard Morgan.
My father.
I called him immediately.
He answered after one ring.
"Tess."
His voice sounded different.
Not confident.
Not controlled.
Worried.
"Why are you inside the vault?"
Silence.
That was the answer I feared.
"Father."
"I was trying to stop them."
My grip tightened around the phone.
"Stop who?"
Another pause.
Then:
"Hunter."
My heart sank.
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
Everything always led back to him.
"Tell me the truth."
My father exhaled.
"I found out they were searching for your grandfather's original ownership records."
"The ones proving my control of Apex?"
"Yes."
"And you went there alone?"
"I couldn't risk those documents disappearing."
I looked down the hallway outside the executive conference room.
Hunter was still standing there.
Watching me.
Knowing something had changed.
Knowing I had received information.
"You should have told me."
"I know."
That sentence again.
Everyone knew after the damage was done.
"I was trying to protect you."
I almost laughed.
"No."
My voice became colder.
"You were trying to protect the company."
My father didn't answer.
Because I was right.
And that hurt more than being wrong.
I ended the call.
Then I looked at Hunter.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
The man I married.
The man who held my hand while promising forever.
The man who watched his mother demand money from me.
The man who stood in a room planning how to question my authority.
He looked exhausted.
Not powerful.
Not confident.
Just tired.
"Tess."
I walked toward him.
"What happened to you?"
The question surprised him.
"What?"
"I spent three years with you."
I looked at his face.
"I thought I knew you."
His expression softened.
"I never wanted it to become this."
"But it did."
He lowered his eyes.
That was the first honest reaction I had seen from him.
"I made mistakes."
I shook my head.
"No."
I pointed toward the conference room.
"Mistakes happen once."
I stepped closer.
"This was a series of choices."
He swallowed.
"I was scared."
"Of what?"
"Of losing you."
I stared at him.
"Then why did you do everything that could make you lose me?"
He didn't answer.
Because there was no answer.
Fear explained actions.
It didn't excuse them.
"I found out who you were."
His voice became quieter.
"And suddenly everything made sense."
"What did?"
He looked at me.
"The way you spoke about business."
"The way you understood contracts."
"The way people listened to you."
I remained silent.
"I realized I wasn't just married to Tess Morgan."
He paused.
"I was married to someone who could change my entire future."
There it was.
The truth.
Not love.
Not completely.
Opportunity.
He had fallen in love with me.
But he had also fallen in love with what I represented.
And those two things became impossible to separate.
"I wanted to believe you loved me."
"I did."
"Maybe."
I looked away.
"But you loved what came with me too."
He didn't deny it.
That was the part I would remember forever.
Not the betrayal.
Not the lies.
The silence after the truth.
My phone rang again.
This time, it was my attorney.
Rebecca Hall.
I answered.
"Tess, where are you?"
"Apex."
Her voice changed.
"You need to leave immediately."
"Why?"
"The board meeting."
"I know."
"No."
She sounded alarmed.
"You don't understand."
I looked around.
"What happened?"
"The evidence they presented isn't about your wealth."
I frowned.
"Then what?"
A pause.
"They are accusing you of hiding financial information from the board."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"They are claiming you concealed your identity to gain control."
I almost laughed.
The irony was unbelievable.
"They are using the truth against me."
"Exactly."
Rebecca lowered her voice.
"And they have someone testifying."
"Who?"
Silence.
Then she answered.
"Your uncle Daniel."
The world stopped.
I couldn't speak.
My uncle.
The man who disappeared.
The man everyone believed was gone.
The man whose disappearance started all these secrets.
"No."
My voice came out as a whisper.
"That's impossible."
"I saw the recording."
"What recording?"
Rebecca hesitated.
"The board has a video."
My hand went cold.
"What does it show?"
Another pause.
"Tess..."
"What does it show?"
Her voice dropped.
"It shows Daniel saying you were never supposed to inherit Apex."
I felt like the floor moved beneath me.
That didn't make sense.
My uncle loved me.
He protected me.
He was the one person in my family who never treated me like an asset.
"He would never say that."
"I know."
Rebecca sounded uncertain.
"Which is why you need to see it yourself."
I ended the call.
Hunter was watching me.
"What happened?"
I looked at him.
For once, he looked genuinely afraid.
"My uncle is alive."
His face changed.
And that reaction told me something.
Hunter knew.
Not everything.
But enough.
"You knew."
He shook his head.
"No."
"Don't lie to me."
"I didn't know he was alive."
"But you knew he wasn't gone."
Silence.
I stepped back.
Every answer created another question.
Every secret opened another door.
I left the building.
I didn't go home.
I went directly to Apex headquarters.
The board meeting was still happening.
Security tried to stop me.
They failed.
Because everyone in that building knew my name.
Not Tess Morgan.
The real name.
I entered the conference room.
Every person turned.
The room became silent.
At the center of the table was a large screen.
Paused on a video.
My uncle Daniel.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
My heart broke.
Because he looked exactly like the man I remembered.
Then the video played.
Daniel looked into the camera.
And said:
"Tess Morgan cannot be trusted with Apex Capital."
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
I watched myself become a stranger through someone else's words.
Then Daniel continued.
"The truth is..."
The screen froze.
The boardroom lights suddenly flickered.
Everyone looked toward the entrance.
The door opened slowly.
And a voice behind me whispered my name.
"Little Tess."
May you like
I turned.
My uncle Daniel was standing there.
