Chapter 5 - Vincent's Betrayal Was Worse Than Arthur Could Have Imagined
Arthur dismissed everyone.
Everyone except Nora.
Vincent remained.
“Tell me,” Arthur said.
Vincent didn't speak.
“Now.”
Vincent looked at Nora.
“She stays.”
Arthur's voice hardened.
“She knows too much already.”
Vincent swallowed.
“That is exactly why she should hear it.”
Nora frowned.
Vincent sat down.
“I knew about the room.”
Arthur froze.
“How long?”
“Two years.”
“You knew about B-17?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Daniel told me not to.”
Arthur stood.
“Daniel is dead.”
“No.”
The word landed like a gunshot.
Vincent looked at him.
“Daniel is alive.”
Nora covered her mouth.
Arthur said nothing.
Vincent continued.
“Your brother survived the overdose. It was staged.”
“By whom?”
“Your father.”
Arthur's expression changed.
“My father died fifteen years ago.”
“He wasn't who you thought he was.”
Vincent explained everything.
Arthur's father had been involved in an underground trafficking network.
Daniel discovered it.
He tried to expose him.
Their father had Daniel drugged and declared dead.
Vincent secretly helped Daniel escape.
Years later, Daniel returned.
He was preparing to expose the entire network.
Then came the explosion.
Arthur had been brought to the warehouse because Daniel needed his help.
But someone betrayed them.
Dr. Shaw was working for the network.
The explosion was intended to kill Daniel.
Arthur was collateral damage.
Vincent had tried to warn him.
But he had been too late.
Arthur's blindness had prevented him from identifying the men responsible.
Nora asked:
“Where is Daniel now?”
Vincent hesitated.
“Alive.”
Arthur's voice shook.
“Where?”
Before Vincent could answer, the office windows shattered.
Gunfire erupted.
Vincent shoved Arthur down.
Nora hit the floor.
Several seconds passed.
Then silence.
Vincent was bleeding.
Arthur crawled toward him.
“Vincent.”
“I’m okay.”
“You're not.”
Vincent pressed a hand against his shoulder.
“Get Nora out.”
Arthur refused.
“No.”
Another shot struck the wall.
Arthur grabbed Nora.
“Move.”
They escaped through a hidden corridor.
At the end, Vincent stopped.
“There's something you need to know.”
“What?”
“Your father wasn't the one who ordered the explosion.”
Arthur stared.
“Who was?”
Vincent looked at Nora.
Then whispered:
“Your mother.”
Arthur froze.
Nora felt the air disappear from the room.
“My mother died when I was twelve.”
“She didn't.”
Vincent's eyes filled.
“She disappeared.”
“Why?”
“To protect Daniel.”
Arthur's hands shook.
“For fourteen years, she has been alive.”
Then a phone rang.
Nora answered.
A woman's voice whispered:
“Arthur.”
He froze.
He knew the voice.
Even after all those years.
“Mom?”
The woman cried.
Then said:
“I'm sorry.”
May you like
The line went dead.
---
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