Chapter 6 - The Truth Buried Beneath the Voss Name
The elevator doors opened.
And standing there was the one person I never expected to see.
My father’s old partner.
Richard Blackwood.
For thirteen years, I believed he had disappeared after my father's death.
For thirteen years, I believed he was just another casualty of the past.
But he was standing in my office.
Older.
Calmer.
Alive.
My security team reacted instantly.
Weapons were raised.
But Richard didn't move.
He simply looked at me.
Like he had been waiting for this moment longer than I had.
"Adrian."
Hearing my name from him felt wrong.
Too familiar.
Too normal.
I tightened my grip on my weapon.
"You have five seconds before I forget who you used to be."
Richard looked at the screens behind me.
The frozen image of Noah.
Then he looked back at me.
"You finally found them."
I stepped forward.
"You knew."
His silence was enough.
My anger exploded.
"You knew about Luca."
Richard didn't deny it.
"You knew he was alive."
A pause.
"You knew about Emma."
Another pause.
"And Noah."
His eyes changed slightly.
Pain.
Regret.
Something I never expected to see from him.
"Yes."
The answer was quiet.
But it was enough.
I walked closer.
"You watched me bury my brother."
Richard lowered his eyes.
"I watched you bury a lie."
The room went silent.
Marcus looked at him.
"You were part of it."
Richard looked at Marcus.
"No."
A bitter smile appeared.
"I was the reason Luca survived."
I laughed.
A cold, empty sound.
"Everyone keeps telling me they were protecting him."
I pointed toward the screen.
"Everyone had a reason."
I looked at Richard.
"But somehow, everyone forgot to protect me."
Richard accepted the words.
Because he knew I was right.
"My father was not the mastermind."
The sentence stopped me.
I stared at him.
"Don't."
"Adrian—"
"Don't defend him."
Richard shook his head.
"I'm not."
He stepped inside my office.
"The man you called your father spent his entire life building an empire. But near the end, he discovered someone inside that empire was stealing everything from him."
"Who?"
Richard looked at Clara.
Then Marcus.
Then me.
"The person who controlled information."
My eyes narrowed.
"Someone who knew every move we made."
Richard nodded.
"Someone who knew when Luca would be alone."
The pieces started connecting.
But I didn't want them to.
Because the answer was too close.
Too obvious.
"Who?"
Richard didn't speak.
Instead, he walked toward the desk.
He placed an old envelope beside the birth certificate.
"This was found in the Voss estate."
I looked at it.
My father's handwriting.
I recognized it immediately.
My hands froze.
"You had this?"
Richard nodded.
"Your father left it for you."
I stared at the envelope.
"For me?"
"He knew he might not survive long enough to tell you himself."
I opened it.
Inside was a single letter.
My father's words.
The man I spent years hating.
The man I blamed for everything.
The letter began with one sentence.
Adrian, if you are reading this, then Luca failed to keep you away from the truth.
My chest tightened.
I continued reading.
I know what you believe about me. I know you think I betrayed my own son.
I stopped.
Because those words felt like they came from a dead man sitting across from me.
But the person who destroyed this family was never outside our walls.
My eyes moved faster.
They were inside. They watched us. They waited. They knew our weaknesses.
I looked up.
Everyone was silent.
I continued.
The person you trust most is the person you should fear the most.
The same warning.
Again.
The same message Luca had left.
I turned the page.
There was only one name.
One name written at the bottom.
My breathing stopped.
Because it wasn't Richard.
It wasn't Marcus.
It wasn't anyone I expected.
It was:
Clara.
Slowly, I looked up.
Clara's face changed.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
She knew.
"Explain."
My voice was colder than before.
Clara didn't speak.
"Explain why my father wrote your name."
She looked at the letter.
Then at me.
"I can explain."
"Then do it."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I was never your father's assistant."
The room went still.
"What?"
She swallowed.
"My real name isn't Clara."
Marcus stepped back.
Like he already knew.
Richard looked away.
And that told me everything.
Everyone knew something except me.
"My name is Isabella."
The name meant nothing.
But the way she said it did.
"Who are you?"
She looked at the photograph of Luca.
"I was Luca's fiancée."
The words hit harder than anything else that night.
My brother.
My dead brother.
Had a secret life.
A daughter.
A son.
A woman.
And I knew nothing.
"You were with Luca?"
She nodded.
"Before the explosion."
"Then why did you work for me?"
Her expression broke.
"Because Luca asked me to."
I stared.
"He asked you to stay near me."
"Yes."
"Why?"
She looked at me.
"Because he knew if anything happened, you would be the last person they would suspect."
The sentence confused me.
"Who?"
She looked toward the windows.
"The people who wanted Luca gone."
A sudden sound interrupted us.
A gunshot.
The glass behind me cracked.
Everyone dropped.
The lights went out again.
Security alarms finally screamed.
Victor rushed into the room.
"Everyone down!"
I grabbed Isabella and pulled her behind the desk.
Another shot.
Closer.
Someone was trying to kill us.
Not threaten.
Not warn.
Kill.
When the lights returned, the office window was damaged.
But nobody was hit.
Because the shooter wasn't trying to kill me.
They were sending a message.
On the glass, written with a marker from the outside, were four words.
BRING ME THE BOY.
Noah.
My stomach tightened.
They knew where he was.
They knew we knew.
I turned toward Richard.
"Where is Noah?"
His face went pale.
"Adrian..."
"Where is he?"
Richard looked at the monitor.
The video feed from the old estate appeared.
The screen showed Noah standing alone in the hallway.
Then the camera moved.
Someone entered behind him.
A woman.
I couldn't see her face.
But I recognized the voice.
Because I had heard it before.
On the phone.
In the message.
The woman leaned toward Noah.
And whispered:
"Tell your uncle the truth about who your father really was."
The camera cut.
Then my phone received one final message.
A location.
May you like
And one sentence.
Come alone, or the boy learns the truth from me first.
