Chapter 12: The Enemy Behind the Enemy
Arthur sat down.
For the first time since I had known him, he looked defeated.
Not angry.
Not calculating.
Defeated.
“Voss Holdings,” I repeated.
Vincent nodded.
“The company was created twelve years ago.””
I looked at Arthur.
“You knew?””
He shook his head.
“No.””
I believed him.
That frightened me.
Because if Arthur was telling the truth, then the person who had manipulated him had been hiding in plain sight.
“How?””
Arthur looked at the floor.
“I thought I was building something.””
His voice was quieter.
“I thought I was taking control from you.””
“But?””
“But someone was giving me opportunities.””
I narrowed my eyes.
“Richard.””
Arthur nodded.
“He approached me years ago.””
The pieces moved.
“He knew about your anger.””
“Yes.””
“He used it.””
Arthur looked away.
“Yes.””
I studied him.
“You were never the mastermind.””
The words seemed to hurt him.
“I was the weapon.””
Nobody spoke.
Because that was the truth.
Arthur had done terrible things.
But someone had pointed him in the right direction.
Someone had given him information.
Someone had convinced him that destroying me was justice.
My phone buzzed.
A message.
From my mother.
This time, only one sentence.
*Do not go to Richard. He wants you to find him.*
I showed Vincent.
His expression changed.
“She’s warning us.””
“No.””
I looked at the message.
“She’s telling us something else.””
“What?””
“He knows we’re looking.””
Arthur stood.
“Then we need to move.””
I looked at him.
“You’re helping me now?””
He didn’t answer immediately.
Then he said:
“I spent fifteen years trying to destroy your life.””
His eyes met mine.
“I don’t want someone else getting the satisfaction.””
It wasn’t an apology.
Not yet.
But it was the first honest thing he had said.
We returned to the city.
The investigation moved quickly.
Richard Cross had disappeared from every official record.
But Vincent found something.
A bank account.
A property.
A hidden company.
And one final connection.
A medical payment.
I stared at the document.
The payment was made six months before my accident.
To Samuel Mercer.
I looked at Vincent.
“Samuel.””
He nodded.
“Richard paid him.””
Everything went silent.
Samuel had not just been forced by Arthur.
He had been controlled by someone higher.
I closed my eyes.
The betrayal felt endless.
Then my phone rang.
My mother.
I answered immediately.
“Mom.””
Her voice was urgent.
“Dominic, where are you?””
“At home.””
“No.””
A pause.
“You cannot stay there.””
I looked around.
My house.
My walls.
My security.
Everything I thought was safe.
“Why?””
Her voice dropped.
“Because Richard was never trying to hide from you.””
My grip tightened.
“He was trying to get close.””
“What do you mean?””
“He has someone inside your home.””
The lights suddenly went out.
Every screen in the room turned black.
Vincent reached for his weapon.
The security alarms failed.
Then the speakers activated.
A voice filled the house.
A familiar voice.
“Hello, Dominic.””
Everyone froze.
I knew that voice.
I had heard it my entire life.
A voice that belonged to someone I never imagined could betray me.
My mother whispered through the phone:
“Run.””
The voice from the speakers continued.
“You finally found the truth.””
A pause.
“But you’re still missing the most important part.””
The emergency lights flickered on.
And standing at the entrance of my office was the person who had been beside me since the beginning.
The person who knew every secret.
Every weakness.
Every move.
My closest ally.
He smiled.
“Because I was never working for Richard.””
May you like
He stepped into the light.
“I was working for your father.””
