Chapter 6 - The Murder No One ExpectedGrace felt the world go silent.
“My mother?”
Daniel nodded.
“She didn't kill him willingly.”
Michael stepped forward.
“Explain.”
Daniel took a breath.
“Your grandfather discovered Victor's fraud.”
Grace's mother had helped him.
Victor found out.
He threatened the entire family.
Grace's mother agreed to disappear in exchange for Grace's safety.
But there was more.
“Your father was not murdered by Victor.”
Daniel looked at Grace.
“He died trying to expose him.”
Grace's eyes filled.
“So what did my mother do?”
“She covered it up.”
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
Grace's mother looked broken.
“I thought if the world believed your father was responsible for the corruption, Victor would leave you alone.”
“But he didn't.”
“No.”
Grace shook her head.
“So I grew up believing my father was dead and my mother abandoned me.”
“I watched you.”
“You watched me?”
“From a distance.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor was watching too.”
Grace turned away.
She needed air.
Michael followed.
He stopped several feet behind her.
“I won't tell you it's okay.”
She laughed through tears.
“Good.”
“I don't think anything about this is okay.”
She looked at him.
“But I am here.”
Grace nodded.
“That's all I need right now.”
Daniel brought them to the family vault.
Beneath an abandoned church.
Inside were boxes.
Photographs.
Contracts.
A final recording.
Grace's father appeared on screen.
He looked younger.
Tired.
Angry.
He spoke directly into the camera.
“If Grace ever watches this, I failed.”
Grace covered her mouth.
Her father continued.
“Not because I lost the company.”
“Because I allowed my daughter to grow up believing she wasn't worth the truth.”
He explained Victor's plan.
Victor had intended to use Ror Global as a front for a much larger international operation.
The company was merely one piece.
The real objective was Orion.
Because Orion controlled the debt obligations connected to dozens of major corporations.
Whoever controlled Orion could influence the entire financial network.
Grace understood why Victor wanted her gone.
She was not merely an investor.
She was the lock.
The one person standing between him and massive control.
Her father looked into the camera.
“If you're hearing this, trust no one who tells you that love requires silence.”
Grace sobbed.
Michael stood beside her.
His own eyes were wet.
He whispered:
“He sounds like you.”
Grace looked at him.
“No.”
“He does.”
“He sounds tired.”
“So do you.”
She laughed weakly.
“Maybe.”
Daniel handed Michael another file.
“There's one more thing.”
“What?”
“Victor didn't disappear.”
Michael looked up.
“He went to the gala.”
Grace froze.
“What?”
Daniel nodded.
“He has been watching you from inside your own company.”
Michael's phone buzzed.
A live photo appeared.
Victor.
Standing in the Ror ballroom.
Holding a detonator.
Grace's blood went cold.
The gala building was still occupied.
Employees.
Staff.
Guests.
Hundreds of people.
Michael called security.
“No response.”
“Jam their signal,” Grace said.
Michael looked at her.
She was already thinking.
“The gala has underground service tunnels.”
Michael nodded.
“And there are three exits.”
“Which one would Victor use?”
“The one with the fewest cameras.”
Grace answered immediately.
“East loading dock.”
Michael stared.
“How do you know?”
“I reviewed the security maps when I invested.”
He smiled.
“There you are.”
“What?”
May you like
“The woman I married.”
They ran.
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