Chapter 5 - The Man Who Was Declared Dead
The ballroom did not feel like a celebration anymore.
It felt like a courtroom.
Everyone was waiting for someone to speak.
Everyone was waiting for someone to break.
But the only person who moved was Renzo.
He stared at the screen.
At the face of the father he had buried fifteen years ago.
At the man who was supposed to be gone.
I had seen Renzo control rooms full of powerful people.
I had seen him silence arguments with a single look.
But I had never seen him look lost.
Not until that moment.
"My father..."
His voice was barely audible.
My mother stood beside me.
"I know this is impossible."
Renzo slowly turned toward her.
"No."
A pause.
"Impossible would be my father being alive."
His eyes returned to the screen.
"This is something else."
Nobody knew what to say.
Because everyone in that ballroom understood the same thing.
A dead man had just exposed a living secret.
The video started again.
The older man on the screen looked directly into the camera.
"Renzo, if you are watching this, then I failed."
Renzo stepped closer.
The man continued.
"I thought I had more time."
His voice was tired.
Not weak.
Tired.
"I thought I could protect you."
Renzo's jaw tightened.
"Protect me from what?"
The video continued.
"Conrad Priest."
The name filled the ballroom.
Every person looked toward Conrad.
But he was no longer standing with confidence.
He looked smaller.
Older.
Like the weight of fifteen years had suddenly returned.
Renzo noticed.
Everyone noticed.
The man on the screen continued.
"Conrad wasn't interested in business."
A document appeared beside him.
"He was interested in control."
The screen showed contracts.
Private agreements.
Hidden ownership records.
My eyes moved quickly across the information.
My training took over.
Dates.
Numbers.
Connections.
The same patterns.
The same manipulation.
The same system I had been chasing for years.
My mother whispered:
"He built everything around secrets."
I looked at her.
"You knew all of this?"
She looked at me.
"I knew pieces."
"Pieces?"
Her eyes filled with regret.
"I knew enough to understand that if I stayed, you would become a target."
The words hurt.
Not because I didn't believe her.
Because part of me did.
And that made everything harder.
For eleven years, I had hated a woman who might have been protecting me.
Renzo looked at my mother.
"Where was she?"
My mother understood immediately.
"Who?"
"My father."
Silence.
She looked down.
"I don't know."
Nobody expected that answer.
Renzo's expression changed.
"You don't know?"
"No."
She shook her head.
"The last time I saw him, he was trying to get evidence out."
"Evidence of what?"
She looked toward Conrad.
"That the Priest family wasn't just hiding money."
The room became still.
"What else?"
My mother's voice lowered.
"They were hiding people."
A wave of confusion moved through the guests.
Renzo looked at her.
"Explain."
Before she could answer, Conrad finally spoke.
"You have no idea what you are doing."
Everyone turned.
His voice was different.
No arrogance.
No control.
Just anger.
"You walk into my event after disappearing for years and expect people to believe this?"
My mother looked at him.
"You expect them to believe you?"
The silence after that was immediate.
Because Conrad didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Renzo stepped between them.
"Where is my father?"
Conrad looked at him.
And for a second, I saw something.
Fear.
Real fear.
Then he covered it.
"I don't know."
Renzo stared.
"You're lying."
"I said I don't know."
"No."
Renzo's voice remained calm.
"You're afraid."
Nobody moved.
Because Renzo was right.
Conrad wasn't angry.
He was afraid.
The lights suddenly flickered.
The video froze.
Then the entire ballroom went dark.
People screamed.
Security moved.
Phones appeared.
For several seconds, there was only darkness.
Then emergency lights turned on.
A soft red glow filled the room.
And someone was gone.
I looked around.
My mother was still beside me.
Renzo was still there.
Gianna was still near the stage.
But Conrad Priest had disappeared.
Renzo immediately turned.
"Lock every exit."
Security moved.
But before they could reach the doors, every screen turned on again.
This time there was no video.
Only a message.
YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE WRONG PERSON.
Everyone stared.
Then another line appeared.
THE MAN WHO BETRAYED RENZO WAS NOT CONRAD.
My stomach tightened.
Renzo looked at the screen.
"What does that mean?"
Another message appeared.
ASK LEORA WHY HER NAME WAS USED.
Every eye turned toward me.
I felt the room change.
Again.
The same way it changed when the recording exposed Gianna.
The same way it changed when my mother's voice appeared.
Except this time, the accusation was aimed at me.
Gianna smiled.
Slowly.
"There it is."
I looked at her.
"What?"
"The truth."
She walked closer.
"Everyone thinks you're the victim."
Her smile grew.
"But maybe you've been part of this the entire time."
My mother immediately stepped forward.
"Don't."
Gianna ignored her.
"You found the files."
She looked at the guests.
"You had access to every account."
She looked at Renzo.
"Her signature was on the documents."
Renzo didn't react.
But I saw the question in his eyes.
Not suspicion.
Not yet.
A question.
I needed to answer.
"I didn't do this."
Gianna laughed.
"Of course you would say that."
I looked at Renzo.
"I can prove it."
"How?"
I turned toward the screen.
"The original server."
Everyone watched me.
"The files are stored there."
Renzo nodded.
"Take us."
I didn't hesitate.
Because for the first time in my life, I wasn't running from the truth.
I was chasing it.
The Priest family headquarters was only fifteen minutes away.
Renzo brought his own security team.
My mother came with us.
And somehow, Gianna came too.
Nobody trusted anyone anymore.
Not even family.
The building was empty when we arrived.
Too empty.
That bothered me immediately.
A company that managed billions of dollars should never feel abandoned.
The security desk was empty.
The lights were on.
But nobody was there.
Renzo noticed my expression.
"What?"
"This is wrong."
"What?"
"Someone cleared the building."
He looked at me.
"How do you know?"
"Because people don't leave like this."
I walked toward the server room.
The door was open.
That made my heart drop.
I stepped inside.
The computers were still running.
But every screen showed the same message.
WELCOME BACK, LEORA.
I stopped.
Nobody spoke.
Renzo moved beside me.
"What is this?"
I didn't answer.
Because I didn't know.
A file appeared.
Automatically.
No one touched anything.
The title appeared slowly.
THE TRUTH ABOUT LEORA VANCE.
My mother grabbed my arm.
"No."
I looked at her.
"You know this file?"
Her face went pale.
"I know what it contains."
"What?"
She looked at the screen.
Then whispered:
"The reason Conrad was afraid of you."
The file opened.
A photograph appeared.
A baby.
A hospital bracelet.
And a name.
Not mine.
Not Gianna's.
Someone else's.
Renzo looked at the screen.
Then at my mother.
"Who is that?"
My mother's hand started shaking.
Because beneath the photograph was one sentence.
A sentence that changed everything.
LEORA VANCE WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE A PRIEST EMPLOYEE.
A second line appeared.
SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO INHERIT EVERYTHING.
May you like
Then the server room door slowly closed behind us.
And the lock clicked from the outside.
