Chapter 10: The Name in the Notebook
The name on the page stared back at me.
For several seconds, I couldn’t breathe.
I read it again.
Then again.
Because my mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing.
*Victor Hale.*
The same man whose voice had filled my living room.
The same man who claimed he was helping me uncover the truth.
The same man who said my father had lied.
My hands tightened around the notebook.
“No.””
The word came out quietly.
Everyone looked at me.
“What?”” Lily asked.
I turned the notebook around.
My sister leaned closer.
Then her face changed.
“Victor?””
My father looked at me.
And for the first time that night, he smiled.
Not a happy smile.
A bitter one.
“Now you understand.””
I looked at him.
“You knew.””
“I tried to tell you.””
“No.””
My voice became sharper.
“You were trying to distract me.””
My father stood.
“You think I wanted Victor involved?””
I looked back at the page.
The handwriting was clear.
My grandmother had recorded everything.
Dates.
Amounts.
Names.
And beside Victor’s name was a note.
*Assisted Robert Carter in transferring company funds.*
My stomach turned.
“Why would he help you?””
My father looked away.
“Because he wasn’t my partner.””
The room became silent.
“What?””
My father sighed.
“Victor was my investor.””
I shook my head.
“No. You told everyone he betrayed you.””
“I needed people to believe that.””
The confession landed heavily.
My mother covered her mouth.
“You lied about him?””
My father didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
I looked toward the phone.
The call had ended, but Victor’s words replayed in my mind.
He had acted like he was exposing my father.
But he had been part of the story from the beginning.
“Then why is he helping me now?””
Nobody answered.
Then Mr. Anderson spoke.
“Because people rarely reveal the truth without a reason.””
I looked at him.
“What does that mean?””
He walked toward the table.
“It means Victor may not be helping you. He may be using you.””
My father nodded.
“Exactly.””
I stared at him.
“You don’t get to be right after what you did.””
“I know.””
The words surprised me.
My father sat down.
For once, he didn’t look powerful.
He looked tired.
“I made mistakes.””
I almost laughed.
“Selling my house wasn’t a mistake.””
He looked at me.
“No.””
A pause.
“That was desperation.””
I studied him.
“You expect me to feel sorry for you?””
“No.””
His answer came immediately.
And somehow that made it worse.
“I expect you to understand that Victor is more dangerous than me.””
I looked at the notebook.
“Why?””
My father swallowed.
“Because Victor never loses.””
The sentence sounded strange coming from him.
My father had always believed he was the smartest person in the room.
But now he sounded afraid.
“What did Victor want?””
My father looked at the hidden compartment.
“The house.””
“Why?””
“Because of what was inside.””
The flash drive.
The documents.
The evidence.
But there was still something missing.
My grandmother’s recording had said the most important document proved who helped him.
Not just Victor.
Someone else.
Someone I trusted.
I flipped through the notebook again.
The last pages were filled with notes.
Then I saw another entry.
A date.
A meeting.
A location.
And another name.
My heart dropped.
Because it wasn’t a stranger.
It wasn’t a business associate.
It was someone who had been standing in this room the entire time.
May you like
I looked up slowly.
My eyes landed on my mother.
