Chapter 7 - Dylan’s Final Betrayal
Dylan disappeared.
No calls.
No messages.
Nothing.
For three days, Adrian's security team searched for him.
Then a package arrived.
Inside was the original ledger.
And a note.
I found it.
You were right to hate me.
Dylan.
He had found the evidence.
But where?
The note contained coordinates.
An abandoned warehouse outside Joliet.
Adrian wanted law enforcement involved.
We went with them.
The warehouse was empty.
Except for Sophie.
She was tied to a chair.
I ran toward her.
“Eve!”
Adrian stopped me.
“Wait.”
A red light blinked above us.
Camera.
Then Dylan stepped out of the shadows.
His hands were raised.
“Don't shoot.”
“Untie her,” I said.
“I will.”
“What happened?”
“Victor kidnapped Sophie.”
Sophie began crying.
“I thought Dylan was working with him.”
Dylan shook his head.
“I went undercover.”
I stared at him.
“You let me think you betrayed me.”
“I had no choice.”
“You always have a choice.”
He flinched.
“I know.”
He tossed the ledger onto the floor.
“The evidence is complete.”
Adrian picked it up.
“Why bring it here?”
“Because Victor is watching.”
The police checked the warehouse.
No Victor.
Then the cameras turned on.
Victor appeared on a monitor.
“Adrian.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“You're finished.”
Victor smiled.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“Eve is.”
The screen changed.
A video played.
It showed me entering Adrian's home.
Then the edited footage made it look like I had stolen company records.
Another video showed Adrian handing me confidential documents.
Victor had built a fake case.
Adrian understood.
“He wants me arrested.”
Dylan shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“He wants her.”
The warehouse doors slammed shut.
Smoke filled the room.
Everyone panicked.
Adrian grabbed my hand.
“Stay with me.”
We found an emergency exit.
Dylan led us.
Sophie stumbled.
I caught her.
We escaped into the rain.
By sunrise, the police had enough evidence to arrest Victor.
But Adrian's name was still tied to a financial investigation.
And mine was suddenly all over the news.
The public story became ugly again.
The Vale heir.
Secret daughter.
Family scandal.
Fraud investigation.
Secret marriage.
People who had never met me debated my entire life.
I turned off my phone.
“I hate this.”
Adrian sat beside me.
“We can leave Chicago.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because this is my life.”
He looked at me.
“I am not running from my own name.”
He smiled.
“You sound like your mother.”
“That's a compliment?”
“The highest.”
Dylan came to see us one last time.
“I’m leaving.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere I can't hurt you.”
I looked at him.
“You didn't ruin me.”
“I almost did.”
“But you also helped save Sophie.”
He nodded.
“I still love you.”
My chest tightened.
“I know.”
“Will you ever forgive me?”
“Maybe.”
He accepted it.
“That’s more than I deserve.”
He turned to leave.
I stopped him.
“Dylan.”
He looked back.
“Thank you for finally telling the truth.”
He smiled.
“Take care of my little sister.”
I laughed.
“I am not your sister.”
“I know.”
He walked away.
The trial began three months later.
The evidence from the ledger was overwhelming.
Victor's accounts.
Michael's signatures.
Forged documents.
Payments to intermediaries.
The fire.
Everything.
Victor was convicted.
The company survived.
But Adrian gave me controlling ownership of the trust.
I refused at first.
“I don't want his company.”
“It isn't his.”
“What is it, then?”
“Your mother's legacy.”
That changed everything.
I accepted.
May you like
Not because I wanted wealth.
Because I wanted the truth to become something good.
