Chapter 5 - The Name Written In Blood
The photograph remained in Desmond’s hand.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody breathed.
Because everyone in the room understood the same thing.
A secret had finally found its way home.
Desmond stared at the back of the picture.
Six words.
Six words written by Maeve.
Ask him why he killed Maeve.
His fingers tightened around the paper.
The photograph shook slightly.
Not because he was afraid.
Because he was trying to control the anger rising inside him.
“Who is he?”
His voice was quiet.
Too quiet.
Adrian looked at him.
“You know.”
“No.”
Desmond lifted his eyes.
“I want you to say it.”
The room became colder.
Adrian hesitated.
Then he spoke.
“Victor Hail.”
The name fell like a weapon.
Desmond stopped moving.
His father.
The man whose portrait hung in the main hall.
The man whose name was carved into every company building.
The man who taught him that family was everything.
“No.”
Adrian watched him carefully.
“Desmond.”
“No.”
His voice became harder.
“You are accusing my father.”
“Yes.”
“You disappeared for eighteen years.”
“Yes.”
“You expect me to believe you?”
Adrian nodded slowly.
“No.”
That answer surprised him.
“I don’t expect you to believe me.”
Adrian looked at the photograph.
“I expect you to find the proof yourself.”
Desmond said nothing.
Because that was exactly what Victor Hail had taught him.
Never trust words.
Trust evidence.
Trust what people try to hide.
And right now, someone had spent twenty years hiding something.
Raina stood silently near the doorway.
She looked at Desmond.
Not like a powerful man.
Not like a mafia boss.
Like someone seeing another person’s world collapse.
“My sister knew this?”
Adrian turned toward her.
“Yes.”
“She knew your father was involved?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t she tell me?”
Adrian looked down.
“Because she was trying to protect you.”
Raina laughed softly.
But there was no humor in it.
“Protect me?”
Her eyes filled with anger.
“She left me with a child and a thousand unanswered questions.”
“She thought the truth would put you in danger.”
“She was already gone.”
The room became silent.
Raina looked at Teddy.
Her voice lowered.
“And I had to explain to him why his mother wasn’t coming back.”
Nobody answered.
Because there was no answer.
Desmond looked at Teddy.
The boy who had entered his home hungry.
The boy who was connected to a past he thought was buried.
Something inside him shifted.
For years, he believed his biggest mistake was trusting the wrong people.
Now he realized his biggest mistake was not asking enough questions.
“Where is Elliot?”
Raina looked at him.
“What?”
Desmond looked at Adrian.
“You said he was investigating.”
Adrian nodded.
“He discovered documents.”
“What documents?”
“Proof.”
“Proof of what?”
Adrian looked around the room.
Then at the walls.
“The kind of proof that gets people killed.”
Desmond’s expression hardened.
“Where is it?”
Adrian did not answer.
That worried him more.
“Where?”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Maeve hid it.”
“Where?”
“In the one place nobody would search.”
Desmond waited.
Adrian looked toward the old mansion.
“Your house.”
The silence was immediate.
Desmond slowly turned.
“My house?”
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
Adrian shook his head.
“That was why it worked.”
Desmond looked around.
The mansion.
The place where he grew up.
The place where his family built their empire.
The place where he buried memories.
“You’re saying Maeve hid evidence here?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“The last night she was here.”
Desmond’s eyes narrowed.
“The last night she was here, my father told me she left.”
Adrian looked at him.
“Your father lied.”
The words were simple.
But they carried years of pain.
Desmond walked away.
He needed distance.
Because every memory from his childhood suddenly looked different.
The dinners.
The conversations.
The advice.
The lessons.
Everything.
A question entered his mind.
How much of his life had been controlled?
Raina watched him.
“Mr. Hail.”
He stopped.
She hesitated.
Then continued.
“If Teddy is connected to this…”
Desmond turned.
“He is.”
Her expression changed.
“You don’t even know that.”
“I do.”
The certainty in his voice surprised her.
“Why?”
Desmond looked at the ring.
“Because Maeve trusted you with it.”
He paused.
“And she trusted me to recognize it.”
Raina looked away.
For the first time, she saw something besides power in him.
Regret.
Before anyone could speak, a loud sound came from upstairs.
A crash.
Everyone turned.
Kora immediately looked worried.
“The guest room.”
Desmond moved first.
He ran upstairs.
Not walked.
Ran.
The same man who never rushed toward anything suddenly moved with urgency.
Raina followed.
“Teddy!”
They reached the room.
The door was open.
The bed was empty.
Raina’s heart stopped.
“Teddy?”
No answer.
The window was slightly open.
Cold air entered the room.
Desmond checked the hallway.
Nothing.
No guards.
No alarms.
Impossible.
His security system was one of the best in the city.
Nobody entered.
Nobody left.
Unless they had help.
Raina grabbed the blanket from the bed.
“No.”
Her voice shook.
“No, no, no.”
Desmond turned.
“Raina.”
“He was right here.”
Her eyes filled.
“He was right here.”
Desmond saw the fear on her face.
The same fear Maeve must have felt years ago.
The same helplessness.
Something inside him broke.
He turned toward security.
“Lock the estate.”
Guards immediately appeared.
“Find him.”
Everyone moved.
Except Raina.
She stood frozen.
Then she noticed something.
A small object on the pillow.
A piece of paper.
Her hands trembled as she picked it up.
Desmond saw her expression change.
“What is it?”
She did not answer.
She handed it to him.
The paper contained only one sentence.
“You should have listened to your father.”
Desmond’s face changed.
Because whoever took Teddy was not threatening him.
They were sending him a message.
And they knew exactly which wound to open.
Adrian looked at the note.
His expression turned pale.
“No.”
Desmond looked at him.
“What?”
Adrian stepped closer.
“That message…”
“What about it?”
Adrian swallowed.
“I saw it once before.”
“When?”
Adrian looked toward the dark hallway.
“The night Maeve disappeared.”
Nobody moved.
Desmond’s eyes narrowed.
“What are you saying?”
Adrian looked terrified.
“I’m saying the person who took Teddy…”
A phone rang.
Everyone froze.
The sound came from somewhere inside the empty room.
Not Desmond’s phone.
Not Raina’s.
Not Adrian’s.
It was an old phone hidden beneath the bed.
A phone that should not have existed.
Desmond slowly reached down.
He picked it up.
The screen turned on.
One incoming call.
No name.
Only one word.
MAEVE.
Desmond stared at it.
May you like
Because the phone was still ringing.
And someone on the other end was waiting for him to answer.
