Chapter 14: The Fall Of The Mercer Name
The call ended before I could respond.
I stared at the phone.
The silence in the room felt heavier than before.
Daniel was in custody.
The evidence was overwhelming.
The recordings.
The financial documents.
The witnesses.
Yet somehow…
he still sounded confident.
Like he had one final card.
The agent immediately tried tracing the call.
“He used a temporary line.””
I looked at him.
“Can you find him?””
“Not yet.””
Arthur looked toward the window.
“He always has a backup plan.””
I turned to him.
“You would know.””
The words hurt.
But they were true.
Arthur accepted them.
“Yes.””
The investigation moved quickly after that.
For the first time in months, Daniel couldn’t control the story.
News stations reported the evidence.
The Mercer companies were investigated.
Executives resigned.
Accounts were frozen.
The empire that Daniel used as a weapon began collapsing.
But the biggest surprise came three days later.
Richard Vale was arrested at the airport.
He had tried to leave the country.
The documents Victoria provided connected him directly to the financial crimes.
For once, powerful people couldn’t simply walk away.
But Daniel was still silent.
And that scared me.
Because men like Daniel didn’t accept losing.
They planned.
They waited.
They attacked when people relaxed.
I learned that lesson the hard way.
A week later, I returned to my company.
My real home.
The place I built before Daniel entered my life.
The office smelled like coffee and paper.
Normal things.
Beautiful things.
Claire stood beside my desk.
“I know you don’t forgive me.””
I looked at her.
She was right.
“I don’t.””
Her eyes lowered.
“But I’m trying to earn back your trust.””
I nodded.
“That takes time.””
“I know.””
A long silence passed.
Then she placed a folder on my desk.
“What is this?””
“Something I found before I left Daniel.””
I opened it.
Inside was a document.
A marriage contract.
But not mine.
Daniel’s.
I frowned.
“What am I looking at?””
Claire pointed.
“Read the final page.””
I turned it.
And my heart stopped.
The signature wasn’t Daniel’s.
It wasn’t Victoria’s.
It wasn’t Richard’s.
It belonged to someone else.
Someone who had been invisible.
Someone who had controlled everything from the shadows.
I looked at Claire.
“Who is this?””
She hesitated.
“I don’t know.””
Before I could respond, my computer screen turned on.
Nobody touched it.
A file appeared.
*FINAL_MESSAGE_FOR_EMMA*
I stared at it.
Claire stepped back.
“Emma…”
I clicked the file.
A video loaded.
For several seconds, there was only darkness.
Then a man appeared.
Daniel.
But not the Daniel from the wedding.
This Daniel looked exhausted.
Cornered.
Afraid.
“If you’re watching this,” he said, “then everything went wrong.””
I leaned closer.
“I know you think I’m the villain.””
A bitter smile.
“Maybe I am.””
That was the first time I heard him admit anything.
“But you don’t know the full story.””
I felt my anger rise.
“Of course.””
Even now.
Another secret.
Another hidden truth.
Daniel continued.
“The person who planned your wedding.””
A pause.
“The person who wanted your company.””
Another pause.
“The person who started everything…”
The screen flickered.
Then his voice became quieter.
“Was not me.””
The video stopped.
A single sentence appeared.
*FILE TWO AVAILABLE AFTER MIDNIGHT.*
Claire looked at me.
“What does that mean?””
I didn’t answer.
Because I already knew.
The nightmare wasn’t over.
Daniel had been a monster.
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But monsters were sometimes created by something worse.
And now I needed to know who created him.
