Chapter 10: The Secret My Family Buried
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
The name stayed in the air.
My mother.
Arthur Voss had spent months trying to destroy my life.
He had manipulated my recovery.
He had turned people I trusted against me.
And now, standing inside my father’s abandoned home, he was telling me the person behind everything was the woman who raised me.
“No.””
The word escaped before I could stop it.
Arthur didn’t look surprised.
He looked like someone who had carried a painful truth for too long.
“You can deny it.””
I stared at him.
“You expect me to believe you?””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“I expect you to listen.””
Vincent stepped forward.
“Dominic, we need to be careful.””
I knew what he meant.
Arthur was a professional manipulator.
Every conversation with him was dangerous.
But something had changed.
The confidence was gone.
The arrogance.
The certainty.
He looked like a man standing in front of a grave.
“Play the rest of the recording,” I said.
Arthur looked at me.
“There is no rest.””
“Then why did you bring me here?””
His eyes moved toward the desk.
“Because your father left something else.””
He walked slowly across the room.
Vincent immediately raised his hand.
“Stop.””
Arthur stopped.
Then smiled sadly.
“You still think I’m the biggest threat.””
Nobody answered.
Because we didn’t know anymore.
Arthur pointed toward the bookshelf.
“Behind the third row.””
I looked at Vincent.
He searched the area carefully.
After a moment, he found a hidden latch.
A small compartment opened.
Inside was a box.
Old.
Wooden.
With my family crest carved into the top.
My hands felt strangely heavy when I lifted it.
I had seen that crest my entire life.
On documents.
Buildings.
Company headquarters.
But I had never seen it on something my father hid.
Inside were letters.
Dozens of them.
The first one was addressed to me.
*Dominic,*
*If you are reading this, then the truth has finally reached you.*
My chest tightened.
I kept reading.
**There are people who will tell you I was a villain. There are people who will tell you I destroyed lives. Some of them are right.
Some are wrong. But the greatest mistake I made was believing I could control the consequences of my choices.**
I looked at Arthur.
He was watching me.
Not the letter.
Me.
Like he was waiting for something.
I continued.
*Your mother discovered what I had done. She knew about the agreement I made years ago. She knew about the people I hurt to build this company.*
My eyes moved faster.
*But she also knew something I didn’t. Someone else had been using my decisions for their own benefit. Someone inside our family.*
The room went silent.
Inside our family.
Not Arthur.
Not an outsider.
Someone closer.
I looked at Arthur.
“You knew.””
He nodded.
“I knew there was someone else.””
“Who?””
He looked away.
“I spent fifteen years trying to find out.””
The next letter was dated six months before my accident.
My hands stopped moving.
Six months.
Before everything collapsed.
*Dominic,*
*If anything happens to me, do not trust the person who tells you they are protecting you.*
I froze.
Those words.
The person who tells you they are protecting you.
My mind immediately went to the people who had said that.
Doctors.
Executives.
Security.
Family.
Everyone.
The room suddenly felt full of ghosts.
Then I noticed something.
A signature.
At the bottom of the letter.
My father’s name.
But beneath it was another handwriting.
A note added later.
*I tried to warn him.*
I recognized that handwriting.
My mother’s.
Vincent noticed my expression.
“What?””
I handed him the letter.
He read it.
Then looked at Arthur.
“You knew about these?””
Arthur nodded.
“I found them after your father died.””
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
His face hardened.
“Because I didn’t trust you.””
The answer shocked me.
“You didn’t trust me?””
“No.””
He looked directly at me.
“I thought you were part of it.””
The accusation hurt.
Because for the first time, I understood Arthur wasn’t only driven by greed.
He was driven by a belief.
A wrong one.
A dangerous one.
But real.
“My mother…”
I couldn’t finish.
Arthur looked toward the window.
“Your mother disappeared because she found out the truth.””
My heart stopped.
“She didn’t die?””
Silence.
That silence answered everything.
Vincent looked at me.
“Dominic…”
I stepped back.
All my life, I believed my mother died when I was young.
A car accident.
A tragic ending.
A memory buried by time.
But Arthur was saying something impossible.
“She’s alive.””
Arthur didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
The look on his face was enough.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone froze.
I answered.
A woman’s voice came through.
Older.
Shaking.
But familiar in a way I couldn’t explain.
“Dominic.””
My knees almost gave out.
Because I knew that voice.
Even after fifteen years.
Even after believing she was gone.
“Mom?””
A long silence followed.
May you like
Then she whispered:
“I’m sorry I waited so long.””
