Chapter 4 - The Man Who Was Supposed to Be DeadElias Vale was alive.
Caspian found him in a small workshop near the harbor.
He was older.
Scarred.
Thin.
But undeniably his father's son.
Caspian stopped in the doorway.
Elias looked up.
For several seconds, neither man spoke.
Then Elias whispered:
“You shouldn't have found me.”
Caspian stepped inside.
“Why?”
“Because now they'll come for you.”
“Who?”
Elias laughed bitterly.
“You still don't understand.”
“No.”
“You think the money is the problem.”
“Isn't it?”
“The money is bait.”
Caspian stared.
“What is the real target?”
Elias looked at him.
“Lyric.”
“Why?”
“Because your father left something to her.”
“What?”
“A piece of the original Vale trust.”
Caspian felt the world tilt.
“What?”
“Your grandfather created a foundation before he died.”
“I know.”
“No, you don't.”
Elias reached into a drawer.
He pulled out a metal box.
Inside was a key.
A black ledger.
And an old photograph.
“Your grandfather didn't leave the family fortune to your father.”
Caspian frowned.
“Then who?”
“Your father was only a trustee.”
“For whom?”
“His children.”
Elias looked at him.
“You.”
Caspian stared.
“And me.”
“And Lyric.”
“Yes.”
The family empire had never belonged to one man.
It belonged to a trust with three branches.
But one clause made everything different.
If any heir died before reaching adulthood, their portion would transfer to the surviving descendants of the oldest line.
Lyric was the last surviving child.
That meant if Elias were officially recognized as alive and Lyric's inheritance were activated, Victor would lose control of billions.
Caspian finally understood.
His uncle wasn't trying to control a girl.
He was trying to erase an heir.
Elias continued.
“I ran because your father threatened Amara.”
“Why?”
“He said he'd take Lyric.”
“And you let them believe you were dead.”
“I didn't have a choice.”
“You could have come to me.”
“I was protecting you.”
Caspian laughed bitterly.
“You left me in a family full of liars.”
“I thought your father would keep you safe.”
“He didn't.”
“No.”
Elias looked away.
“I'm sorry.”
Caspian sat beside him.
“What happened to you?”
“A hit-and-run.”
“You survived.”
“Barely.”
“You let everyone think you died.”
“I was afraid he'd finish the job.”
Caspian felt anger rise.
At his father.
At Victor.
At everyone who had turned a family into a battlefield.
Then he asked the question that mattered.
“Why did you come back now?”
Elias looked toward the window.
“Because Lyric is ten.”
“So?”
“She was old enough for them to find her.”
“What happened?”
“They found us at the abandoned house.”
“Why did you send her into the diner?”
“I didn't.”
Caspian frowned.
“Who did?”
Elias looked at him.
“I did.”
“What?”
“I told Lyric to go there.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew someone was watching.”
Caspian felt his stomach turn.
“You used her as bait?”
“I needed to know whether they were following her.”
“You endangered your own daughter.”
“I needed to know who I could trust.”
Caspian stood.
“Never do that again.”
Elias looked ashamed.
“You're right.”
Then the workshop door slammed open.
Three men entered.
Elias shouted:
“Caspian, down!”
Gunfire erupted.
Caspian dove behind a workbench.
Elias grabbed a metal bar.
One attacker rushed forward.
Caspian tackled him.
They crashed against a table.
Elias fought another.
A third man ran toward the back door.
Caspian chased him.
The man escaped.
Elias was bleeding from the shoulder.
“Elias!”
“I’m fine.”
“You're bleeding.”
“It missed the bone.”
Caspian called Evelyn.
Then he looked at his brother.
“They know you're alive.”
Elias nodded.
“I know.”
“Then we move.”
“Where?”
“To my house.”
“You can't.”
“Why?”
“Because the safest place isn't your house.”
“Then where?”
Elias looked toward Blackmir Harbor.
“Your grandfather's old estate.”
Caspian's eyes widened.
“It's abandoned.”
“Exactly.”
They left.
When they returned to Caspian's house, Amara was gone.
Lyric was gone.
On the kitchen table was a note.
One sentence.
Come to the harbor alone.
Caspian's hands shook.
Elias closed his eyes.
“It begins.”
May you like
“What begins?”
“The part your father was trying to prevent.”
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