Chương 6
“Pretended the truth was more dangerous than the lies.”
Maya’s expression hardened.
“You destroyed enough lives already.”
Victor’s smile disappeared.
“You have no idea what I have protected.”
Richard moved closer.
“Enough.”
Victor looked at him.
“You should not be here.”
Richard laughed quietly.
“Neither should you.”
The tension between the two men was immediate.
Daniel noticed it.
They were not strangers.
They had been fighting this battle long before he ever knew it existed.
“What happened between you two?” Daniel asked.
Victor looked at Richard.
“Ask him.”
Richard looked away.
Daniel’s eyes moved between them.
“I am done finding out pieces of my own life after everyone else already knows.”
His voice was controlled.
“But I need every truth now.”
Nobody spoke.
Finally, Richard nodded.
“He deserves to know.”
Victor crossed his arms.
“Good.”
Richard took a breath.
“Years ago, before Maya met my son, Victor was involved with our family business.”
Daniel listened carefully.
“He was not just a partner.”
Richard continued.
“He was someone my family trusted.”
Victor’s expression remained unreadable.
“Until they stopped trusting me.”
Richard looked at him.
“Because you betrayed them.”
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
“I corrected their mistakes.”
Maya stepped closer to Daniel.
“Do not let him twist the story.”
Victor looked at her.
“You were always afraid of hearing what happened.”
Maya’s voice shook.
“I know exactly what happened.”
“Do you?”
Victor looked toward Noah.
“Do you know why this child matters?”
Daniel immediately answered.
“Because he is a child who deserves to be protected.”
Victor nodded slowly.
“That is what makes you different from the others.”
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Victor walked a little farther into the room.
“The people before you only saw Noah as a connection to something valuable.”
His eyes moved toward Richard.
“And some saw him as a way to erase old mistakes.”
Richard’s face tightened.
“That is not true.”
Victor looked at him.
“Isn’t it?”
The room became silent.
Daniel noticed the hesitation.
He realized there were still things even Richard had not explained.
“Richard.”
The older man looked at him.
“Tell me.”
Richard lowered his eyes.
“When my son died, there were documents left behind.”
“What kind of documents?”
“Records.”
“About what?”
Richard looked at Noah.
“About an inheritance.”
Daniel looked confused.
“An inheritance?”
Victor spoke.
“Not just money.”
Everyone looked at him.
Victor continued.
“Your family knows about the property.”
Richard interrupted.
“You do not know everything.”
Victor laughed.
“I know more than anyone.”
Maya looked frightened.
Daniel noticed.
“Maya.”
She looked at him.
“What is it?”
She hesitated.
“There was a company account.”
Daniel waited.
“And?”
“My former partner’s father created it years ago.”
Victor nodded.
“And that account was supposed to go to his first surviving heir.”
Daniel looked at Noah.
“You mean him.”
Victor smiled.
“Yes.”
The room went quiet.
Daniel looked at the baby.
A child who had no idea how much conflict surrounded him.
“He is not a possession,” Daniel said.
Victor’s expression softened slightly.
“I agree.”
That answer surprised everyone.
Victor continued.
“That is why I am here.”
Daniel looked suspicious.
“Then why have you been threatening Maya?”
Victor’s face changed.
“I never threatened her.”
Maya immediately responded.
“You sent people to follow me.”
“I sent people to protect you.”
Maya stared at him.
“You expect me to believe that?”
Victor looked frustrated for the first time.
“Someone else was following you.”
The room froze.
Daniel looked at Richard.
“Is that true?”
Richard slowly nodded.
“Yes.”
Daniel felt his stomach tighten.
“How long?”
Richard answered quietly.
“Before Noah was born.”
Maya looked shocked.
“You knew?”
Richard looked at her.
“I suspected.”
“You suspected someone was watching me and you said nothing?”
“I was trying to confirm it.”
Maya shook her head.
“Everyone keeps trying to protect me by hiding things from me.”
Her voice cracked.
“And nobody understands that the secrets are what hurt me the most.”
Daniel looked at her.
Those words affected him because they were exactly what he had been feeling.
The room became quiet again.
Victor looked at Maya.
“For what it is worth, I am sorry.”
Maya stared at him.
She did not forgive him.
But she heard the sincerity in his voice.
Daniel noticed something important.
Victor was not acting like someone who wanted power.
He was acting like someone desperate to fix something too late.
“What do you want from us?” Daniel asked.
Victor looked at Noah.
“I want him safe.”
Daniel narrowed his eyes.
“And what do you want in return?”
Victor shook his head.
“Nothing.”
Nobody believed him.
Victor sighed.
“You have every reason not to trust me.”
He reached into his jacket slowly.
Everyone became tense.
Daniel stepped forward.
Victor stopped.
“Relax.”
He removed a small envelope and placed it on the table.
“This is the last piece.”
Eleanor looked at it.
“What is inside?”
Victor looked at her.
“The evidence that I was not the person who started this.”
Richard stared at the envelope.
“You have had that all along?”
“Yes.”
“Why wait?”
Victor looked toward Noah.
“Because I needed everyone connected to the truth to be in the same room.”
Daniel looked at him carefully.
“That sounds like a trap.”
“It would.”
Victor nodded.
“If I wanted to hurt you, I would not have walked in here and warned you.”
Marcus looked toward the hallway.
“We need to be careful.”
Everyone knew he was right.
The situation had changed.
The enemy they expected might not be the only one.
Daniel picked up the envelope.
He looked at Maya.
She nodded slowly.
Together, they opened it.
Inside was a single document and a photograph.
Daniel looked at the photograph first.
His expression changed.
“What?”
Maya asked.
Daniel handed it to her.
Her face went pale.
The photograph showed Victor standing beside another person.
Someone she recognized immediately.
Someone she thought had disappeared forever.
“No,” she whispered.
Daniel looked at her.
“Who is that?”
Maya could barely speak.
“That is my father.”
May you like
The room froze.
Richard looked shocked.
