Chapter 4 - The Message From Isabella
My phone screen stayed lit in the darkness.
One name.
One impossible name.
Isabella.
For twelve years, I had lived with the belief that my sister was gone.
I had buried the memories.
I had accepted the pain.
I had forced myself to move forward because there was no other choice.
But now her name was sitting in my hand.
Alive.
Real.
Waiting.
The warehouse was completely silent.
Daniel stood frozen.
Elena stared at my phone.
Neither of them spoke.
Finally, I opened the message.
There was only one sentence.
Victor, if Daniel is with you, do not trust him.
My stomach tightened.
Slowly, I looked up.
Daniel saw my expression change.
"What did she say?"
I didn't answer.
Because the worst part wasn't the warning.
The worst part was that Isabella knew Daniel would be there.
She knew exactly where I was.
She knew exactly who I would find.
That meant someone had been watching everything.
Including me.
Daniel stepped closer.
"Victor, listen to me."
I raised my hand.
He stopped.
"How did she get my number?"
Daniel didn't answer.
That was enough.
"You knew."
His face changed.
"I knew she was alive."
The words landed like a punch.
Elena stepped back.
"You knew?"
Daniel looked at her.
"I didn't have a choice."
"No one forced you to lie to me for twelve years."
His eyes lowered.
"I was trying to protect you."
I almost laughed.
Everyone who betrayed you always had the same excuse.
Protection.
Fear.
A reason they believed made their lies acceptable.
But lies were still lies.
"Tell me everything," I said.
Daniel looked around the room.
Not at me.
At the walls.
At the photographs.
At the evidence that had been hidden for years.
"Not here."
I stepped toward him.
"You don't get to decide that anymore."
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Daniel reached into his jacket.
Elena immediately tensed.
I prepared myself.
But he didn't pull out a weapon.
He pulled out a small envelope.
Old.
Folded.
Worn.
"I was supposed to give this to you if Isabella couldn't come back."
I stared at it.
"How long have you had that?"
"Seven years."
My expression hardened.
"Seven years?"
Daniel nodded.
"She contacted me after she disappeared."
The anger inside me grew.
"You talked to her."
"Yes."
"You knew she was alive."
"Yes."
"And you said nothing."
Daniel looked at me.
"Because every time I tried, someone got closer to finding her."
I stepped closer.
"Who?"
Daniel looked at Elena.
Then at me.
"Marcus."
The name filled the room again.
I hated how often I was hearing it.
I hated that a man I had never met had somehow controlled my life for years.
"Who is Marcus Vale?" I asked.
Daniel sat down slowly.
Like he was preparing to tell me something that could never be taken back.
"Marcus wasn't always your enemy."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"He worked with your father."
The room went quiet.
My father.
A man whose empire I inherited.
A man whose death had shaped everything I became.
"What does my father have to do with this?"
Daniel looked at the envelope.
"Everything."
I took it from his hand.
Inside was a photograph.
An old one.
My father.
Marcus Vale.
And Isabella.
All standing together.
But there was something wrong.
Something I noticed immediately.
The date.
The photograph was taken two years after Isabella supposedly died.
My fingers tightened around the picture.
"Explain."
Daniel looked away.
"Your father discovered Marcus was building something behind his back."
"Building what?"
"A private network."
"Doing what?"
Daniel hesitated.
"Controlling information."
I stared at him.
"That's impossible."
"No."
His voice was quiet.
"That's exactly why it worked."
I looked at Elena.
She was listening carefully.
Daniel continued.
"Marcus knew money wasn't the most powerful thing in the world."
"Then what is?"
"Knowing the truth before everyone else."
The answer bothered me because I understood it.
Information was power.
Secrets were weapons.
And someone had spent years collecting both.
"What did Isabella find?" I asked.
Daniel looked at the hidden room.
"She found proof that Marcus wasn't working alone."
"Who helped him?"
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
"Someone inside your family."
The words made my chest tighten.
"My family?"
Daniel nodded.
"Someone who had access to everything."
My mind started moving through names.
People I trusted.
People who had been around me for years.
But before I could ask more, Elena suddenly looked toward the entrance.
"What is that?"
We all turned.
A faint sound came from outside.
A car.
Stopping.
Then another.
Daniel stood immediately.
His face changed.
"They found us."
I looked at him.
"Who?"
Daniel moved toward the door.
"People who don't leave witnesses."
The warehouse lights suddenly flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then came back on.
But something was different.
The main entrance was open.
It had been locked.
I knew because I had seen it.
A man stood in the doorway.
Not one of Daniel's men.
Not one of Marcus's guards.
Someone older.
Someone I recognized.
My entire body went still.
Because I had seen that face before.
In photographs.
In memories.
In the last picture I ever took with my father.
Daniel whispered behind me.
"Victor..."
I didn't move.
The man stepped into the warehouse.
His eyes met mine.
And then he said the one sentence I never expected to hear.
"Your father didn't die in that accident."
I felt the entire world stop.
The man reached into his coat and pulled out a document.
"Because I was there when he survived."
May you like
Then he placed the paper on the floor.
And the name written at the top was the one that changed everything.
