Chapter 6 - The Betrayal Inside My Blood
The person stepped into the warehouse light.
And I forgot how to breathe.
For a moment, my mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing.
Because it was impossible.
It was someone I had trusted.
Someone who had sat at my table.
Someone who had watched me build my empire.
Someone who had looked me in the eyes every day while carrying the biggest secret of my life.
My aunt.
Clara Hale.
My father's younger sister.
The woman who raised me after I lost him.
The woman who held my hand at his funeral.
The woman who told me everything would be okay.
She stopped several feet away from me.
Her face showed no surprise.
No fear.
Like she had known this moment would come.
"Victor."
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
I stared at her.
"How long?"
She didn't answer.
"How long did you know?"
Clara looked down.
That was all the answer I needed.
My entire life changed in one second.
The person I thought had protected me had been protecting a lie.
"You knew my father was alive."
Her eyes lifted.
"Yes."
The word was quiet.
But it destroyed something inside me.
Elena stepped back.
Daniel looked away.
Even he couldn't defend her.
I laughed once.
A bitter sound.
"Twelve years."
Clara said nothing.
"Twelve years you watched me believe my father abandoned me."
"Victor..."
"No."
My voice became colder.
"You don't get to say my name like you still know me."
The warehouse felt smaller.
Every secret had finally found a place to stand.
Richard watched Clara carefully.
"You shouldn't have come here."
Clara looked at him.
"I had no choice."
"There is always a choice."
She ignored him.
Her eyes stayed on me.
"I was trying to keep you alive."
I shook my head.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
I looked around the room.
"Everyone lied to me for my own protection."
My anger grew.
"Do you know what that did to me?"
Clara's expression changed.
For the first time, I saw regret.
"I know."
"No, you don't."
My voice cracked slightly.
"You watched me bury him."
A tear formed in her eyes.
"I watched you lose everything."
"Because you let me."
Silence.
That was the truth nobody wanted to say.
Clara took a slow breath.
"Your father wanted you to hate him."
I froze.
"What?"
She looked at Richard.
Then Daniel.
Then back at me.
"He knew Marcus would come after you."
I stared at her.
"So he disappeared?"
"He had to."
"No."
My voice became sharper.
"He chose to leave."
Clara shook her head.
"He chose to survive."
I looked at Richard.
"Tell me."
Richard stepped forward.
"Your father discovered Marcus Vale wasn't trying to steal your company."
I waited.
"He was trying to destroy the Hale family completely."
"Why?"
Richard looked at Clara.
"Because of what your family knew."
I frowned.
"What did we know?"
Clara's face changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
"The truth about Marcus's past."
I looked at her.
"Explain."
She stayed silent.
Then she finally said:
"Marcus Vale wasn't always Marcus Vale."
The words made everyone stop.
Richard continued.
"Years ago, Marcus entered your father's life using a false identity."
I looked at the documents on the table.
"Who was he?"
Clara whispered:
"Someone your father thought he had buried."
The room went silent.
A sound came from outside.
A car door closing.
Then another.
Richard immediately moved toward the window.
His face changed.
"They're here."
Daniel looked at me.
"Who?"
Richard didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Because everyone already knew.
Marcus.
Clara stepped closer.
"Victor, you need to leave."
I looked at her.
"No."
"Please."
I almost couldn't believe it.
My aunt was begging.
Not ordering.
Not manipulating.
Begging.
"After everything, you expect me to trust you?"
"No."
Her voice broke.
"I expect you to survive."
The warehouse doors shook.
Someone was trying to open them.
Daniel moved toward the entrance.
"We don't have much time."
I looked at Clara.
"You knew this would happen."
She nodded.
"Yes."
"And you still came."
"Because there is something you need to know before Marcus finds you."
"What?"
She reached inside her coat.
She pulled out a small envelope.
Old.
Sealed.
My father's handwriting was on the front.
Victor.
My heart stopped.
Clara handed it to me.
"He wrote this the night before he disappeared."
I didn't open it.
I couldn't.
Not yet.
Because I already knew.
Whatever was inside would change everything.
Again.
The warehouse doors exploded open.
Men rushed inside.
Armed.
Fast.
Trained.
Daniel immediately moved in front of Elena.
Richard pulled a weapon.
Clara grabbed my arm.
"Now."
I looked at the envelope.
Then at the people attacking us.
Then back at Clara.
"Who are they?"
She looked toward the entrance.
And whispered:
"Your father's security team."
I froze.
"Why would my father's people attack us?"
Clara's face went pale.
"Because they don't work for your father anymore."
The first shots echoed through the warehouse.
Everyone moved.
The room became chaos.
I pulled Elena behind cover.
Daniel fired back.
Richard shouted instructions.
But my eyes stayed on the envelope.
My father's final message.
The truth I had spent twelve years searching for.
I opened it.
Inside was only one page.
One sentence.
One warning.
Victor,
The person you trust most will be the one who destroys you.
I looked up slowly.
Because I finally understood.
My father wasn't warning me about Marcus.
He wasn't warning me about an enemy.
He was warning me about someone standing beside me.
Someone who had protected me.
Someone who had lied to me.
Someone who had just handed me the letter.
I turned toward Clara.
And she was no longer there.
She had disappeared into the smoke.
Then my phone vibrated.
A new message appeared.
From Isabella.
May you like
Three words.
She killed him.
