Chapter 4 - THE GHOSTS OF THE PAST
That evening,
I went to the gym.
I needed to move.
I needed the burn in my lungs.
I hit the heavy bag,
each punch a memory.
Left hook for the lies.
Right cross for the stolen hours.
Upper-cut for the broken trust.
I remembered my time in the service.
The long nights in the desert.
The sound of wind over the dunes.
Back then,
enemies were easy to spot.
They wore different uniforms.
They carried weapons.
In the civilian world,
enemies wear red dresses and blue shirts.
They carry smiles and wedding rings.
A man approached me at the gym.
He was older,
with a scar over his eye.
"You’re hitting that bag like it owes you money,"
he remarked.
I didn't stop.
"It owes me a lot more than that,"
I replied.
"You're Victoria Hayes,"
he said.
"I served with your father."
I stopped then.
I wiped the sweat from my brow.
"Then you know he’s probably mourning his reputation right now."
The man nodded.
"Reputation is a shadow,"
"it’s not the man."
"But you,"
"you’re the soldier."
"Don't let the bitterness cloud your aim."
I looked at him.
"My aim is perfect,"
I said.
"I’m not bitter."
"I’m finished."
I went back to my apartment.
I found a package at the door.
No return address.
Inside was a flash drive.
I plugged it into my laptop.
It was a video file.
I clicked play.
It was footage from a security camera.
A parking garage.
Six months ago.
I saw Ethan and Madison.
But they weren't alone.
They were talking to a man in a dark coat.
A man I recognized.
My father’s lawyer.
The plot was thicker than I thought.
This wasn't just an affair.
This was a takeover.
They were trying to push me out of the family trust.
They needed me gone so they could liquidate the assets.
The pregnancy wasn't just an accident.
It was a play for the inheritance.
I felt a chill run down my spine.
My own father?
Was he in on it?
Or was he being played too?
I called Daniel.
"I need a deep dive on my father’s legal team,"
I said.
"And find out who that man in the coat is."
"On it,"
Daniel said.
I sat in the dark.
The city lights flickered outside.
The war was no longer just about a marriage.
May you like
It was about a legacy.
And I was the only one standing in their way.
