Chapter 11 - What My Father Really Owed
Victor stood behind my mother.
I couldn't move.
Mateo stepped slightly in front of me.
Victor laughed.
“Still protecting her.”
Mateo's eyes narrowed.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
“So was your brother.”
The words hit him like a physical blow.
Victor smiled.
“That was the problem with your family.”
Mateo's voice was quiet.
“You killed him.”
“Yes.”
My mother looked away.
I stared at her.
“You knew?”
She couldn't answer.
Victor continued.
“Your father stole from me.”
“What did he steal?”
“Control.”
I frowned.
“My father didn't own anything.”
“He owned information.”
Victor looked at me.
“He knew every transaction. Every account. Every name.”
“And the money?”
“Protection.”
I looked at Mateo.
Victor smiled.
“Your father created a hidden trust to protect the evidence.”
“For me?”
“For you.”
My mother spoke softly.
“He knew they would come after you.”
Victor shook his head.
“He knew you were the key.”
I felt cold.
“The key to what?”
Victor pointed at me.
“Your father's account isn't just money.”
He looked at Mateo.
“It contains the original ledger.”
Mateo's expression changed.
“The ledger was destroyed.”
“No.”
Victor smiled.
“Maeve has it.”
I stared at him.
“I don't.”
“You do.”
He pointed toward my wedding dress.
I remembered.
The gown.
My father's initials had been sewn into the inner lining.
I had never understood why.
Victor laughed.
“He hid the final ledger inside the dress you were going to wear tomorrow.”
I felt dizzy.
Mateo looked at me.
“Do you know where?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
Victor's smile widened.
“Then we'll find out.”
He stepped forward.
Mateo moved faster.
The room exploded into chaos.
My mother fired.
Mateo pulled me down.
Gemma screamed.
Glass shattered.
When I looked up, Victor was gone.
My mother was on the floor.
Alive.
Crying.
“Maeve.”
I stared at her.
“Where is the dress?”
She closed her eyes.
“Your hotel.”
Mateo stood.
“We're going.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“I need to do this.”
“Not alone.”
“You're not alone.”
We reached the hotel before dawn.
My wedding dress still hung in the bridal suite.
I touched the fabric.
Nothing.
Then I remembered the seam beneath the bodice.
I opened it carefully.
A small metal capsule fell onto the floor.
Inside was a memory card.
Mateo picked it up.
His phone displayed one file.
FINAL LEDGER.
He opened it.
Names appeared.
Then transactions.
Then photographs.
And at the bottom of the final page was one sentence:
The person who ordered everything is not Victor Hayes.
Mateo stared.
“Who is it?”
The screen loaded one final photograph.
I saw the face.
May you like
My blood turned cold.
Because the person in the photograph was standing beside me in our wedding rehearsal three days earlier...
