Chapter 10: The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
The voice on Vanessa’s phone disappeared.
But the damage was already done.
Everyone in the room had heard enough.
Especially me.
Because I knew that voice.
I had spent ten years believing it belonged to a memory.
A painful one.
A closed chapter.
But it wasn’t.
It was alive.
“Who was that?”” Marcus asked.
Vanessa stared at me.
She knew there was no point pretending anymore.
I stepped closer.
“Say his name.””
Her lips pressed together.
“No.””
“Say it.””
She looked away.
Then a quiet voice came from behind her.
“You already know.””
Everyone turned.
The man standing in the doorway made my entire body freeze.
For a moment, my mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing.
Older.
Thinner.
With gray hair covering the face I remembered.
But the scar along his jaw was the same.
The eyes were the same.
My hands became cold.
“Dad…”
The word left my mouth before I could stop it.
Nobody moved.
Lily looked at me.
“Dad?””
The man stepped into the room.
“Yes.””
My father.
The man I buried ten years ago.
The man whose funeral I attended.
The man whose death created the company empire I spent my life protecting.
Impossible.
Vanessa walked toward him.
“You came back too soon.””
He ignored her.
His eyes stayed on me.
“You were never supposed to find out this way.””
I couldn’t breathe.
“You’re alive.””
He nodded slowly.
“Yes.””
I laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because nothing else made sense.
“You let me believe you were dead.””
His expression changed.
Regret.
“Because I had no choice.””
“No choice?””
My voice rose.
“You disappeared.””
“I was protecting you.””
“By abandoning me?””
Silence.
Lily held my hand tighter.
My father looked at her.
His expression softened.
“So this is Lily.””
I immediately stepped between them.
“Don’t.””
His eyes returned to mine.
“You think I’m the enemy.””
“I don’t know what to think.””
“That’s fair.””
Marcus moved slightly.
“Sir, we need to leave.””
My father looked at him.
“Your security team won’t protect you from what’s coming.””
I stared at him.
“You’re the one who started all of this.””
His face hardened.
“No.””
He looked at Vanessa.
“She did.””
Vanessa’s expression changed.
“What?””
My father walked toward the table.
“You were supposed to follow the plan.””
Vanessa laughed.
“The plan?””
She pointed at me.
“You promised he would disappear.””
My heart stopped.
Everyone became silent.
I looked between them.
“What plan?””
Neither answered.
Then my father spoke.
“The accident.””
My stomach dropped.
“What about it?””
He looked at me.
“Vanessa wasn’t supposed to hurt you.””
I felt anger rising.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
His voice lowered.
“Because it’s true.””
“Then who changed the plan?””
Nobody spoke.
And that silence told me there was still another person.
Another person controlling everything.
Vanessa suddenly laughed.
“You really think he’s telling the truth?””
I looked at her.
“What do you mean?””
She smiled.
“Your father never cared about you.””
My father’s expression changed.
“Enough.””
“No.””
Vanessa stepped closer.
“He left you because he was trying to save himself.””
I looked at my father.
“Is that true?””
He didn’t answer.
That hurt more than any confession.
Then he finally whispered:
“I made mistakes.””
I shook my head.
“Mistakes?””
My voice cracked.
“You let me bury you.””
He lowered his eyes.
“I thought staying away would keep you alive.””
“Instead, it destroyed everything.””
Before he could answer, the mansion lights suddenly flickered.
Marcus looked at his phone.
“Sir.””
“What?””
“Someone has accessed the company servers.””
My father’s face changed instantly.
“That’s impossible.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
Because for the first time…
He looked afraid.
“Because the only person who could do that…”
He stopped.
I waited.
“Is someone who knows the original ownership code.””
I looked at Vanessa.
Then my father.
Then the empty hallway.
A horrible realization entered my mind.
The person controlling everyone wasn’t Victor.
It wasn’t Vanessa.
It wasn’t my father.
May you like
Someone else had been watching us all.
And they had just taken control of my entire empire.
