Chapter 7: The Voice From the Past
The video froze for a moment.
A dark room.
A shadowed figure.
A voice I knew better than my own.
Nobody in the underground office moved.
Because everyone was waiting for me to say it.
To confirm what we had all heard.
But I couldn’t.
My mind refused to accept it.
“Play it again.””
Vincent looked at me.
“Dominic—”
“Play it.””
He restarted the recording.
The screen flickered.
Static.
Then the voice returned.
“Dominic Vale was never supposed to survive the crash.””
My fingers tightened around my cane.
The person stepped closer to the camera.
The face slowly became visible.
And my world shifted.
Samuel Mercer.
My doctor.
My friend.
The man who had held my hand when I woke up after surgery.
The man who had told me I would walk again.
The man who had looked me in the eyes and promised he would help me recover.
Clare covered her mouth.
“No…”
Vincent immediately reached for his radio.
I stopped him.
“Wait.””
He looked at me.
“Dominic, that’s a confession.””
“No.””
I stared at the screen.
“Not yet.””
Because something felt wrong.
Samuel in that video didn’t look like the man standing in my conference room.
The Samuel I knew was tired.
Broken.
Guilty.
This man looked terrified.
The recording continued.
“I told you this was too much.””
Samuel’s voice shook.
“Arthur, you promised the accident would only scare him.””
The screen shifted.
A second person entered the room.
Arthur.
My stomach tightened.
“You’re getting emotional,” Arthur said.
His voice was calm.
Cold.
“Emotions make people careless.””
Samuel looked at him.
“Dominic almost died.””
“And he didn’t.””
“That was not the agreement.””
Arthur stepped closer.
“The agreement was that he would lose control.””
The video paused.
I felt like the air had disappeared.
Lose control.
Not die.
Not disappear.
Control.
That was what Arthur wanted from the beginning.
Vincent looked at me.
“The crash…”
I nodded slowly.
“It wasn’t random.””
Nobody spoke.
I watched the rest.
Samuel looked exhausted.
“I can’t do this anymore.””
Arthur smiled.
“You already did.””
“I repaired the damage.””
“You repaired the damage you caused.””
Samuel looked away.
Then Arthur leaned forward.
“You created the brace. You adjusted the therapy. You changed the medication.””
My heart sank.
Samuel closed his eyes.
“But I never agreed to hurt him.””
Arthur laughed softly.
“Does that make you feel better?””
The video ended.
The room went dark.
Nobody looked at Samuel the same way anymore.
Because now we had answers.
But they were worse than questions.
Vincent turned toward me.
“Dominic.””
I raised my hand.
“Not yet.””
I needed to think.
For six months, I had believed my enemy was obvious.
Arthur Voss.
A man who wanted my companies.
A man who wanted my position.
But the truth was more complicated.
Arthur didn’t act alone.
He had someone with medical knowledge.
Someone who understood my injury.
Someone who could manipulate my recovery.
Someone I trusted.
Samuel.
A sound came from the staircase.
Everyone turned.
A guard appeared.
“Mr. Vale.””
“What?””
“We found something upstairs.””
“What?””
The guard held a small envelope.
“It was hidden behind the painting in your office.””
My eyes narrowed.
“Bring it here.””
The envelope was old.
No name.
No label.
Just one word written on the front.
*Dominic.*
I opened it.
Inside was a handwritten note.
My hands went cold as I read the first line.
*If you are reading this, Samuel failed to protect you.*
I looked up.
Vincent noticed my expression.
“What does it say?””
I continued.
*He was never the person you should have feared most.*
My heartbeat increased.
Because beneath the note was a photograph.
A photograph of Arthur.
And standing beside him…
Was me.
Not today.
Not after the accident.
Fifteen years earlier.
The day I first met Arthur Voss.
May you like
On the back of the photo were four words:
*You hired him.*
