Chapter 5 - The Man Who Knew Who Victor’s Father Really Was
Arthur Bellamy lived in Maine under another name.
Victor found him in a small coastal house overlooking the Atlantic.
The old man opened the door and immediately looked at Victor's face.
"You look like him."
"My father?"
Arthur nodded.
"But not in the way you think."
Victor entered.
"Tell me everything."
Arthur poured two drinks.
"Your mother loved your father."
"I know."
"Then she met another man."
Victor's jaw tightened.
"Who?"
Arthur stared at him.
"Me."
Victor went still.
Arthur continued.
"It happened once."
"Was I yours?"
Arthur's eyes filled with regret.
"Yes."
Victor stood completely still.
Everything he had believed about his identity had just disappeared.
But Arthur had more.
"Your mother didn't know at first."
"When did she find out?"
"Years later."
"Did my father know?"
Arthur nodded.
"Eventually."
"Why did he keep me?"
"Because he loved you."
Victor looked away.
"Then why was the truth hidden?"
"Because your family was already fracturing."
Arthur explained that Victor's father had discovered the affair shortly before becoming head of the organization.
Instead of abandoning Victor, he made a decision.
He would raise him as his own.
But another man wanted the truth buried.
That man was Victor's uncle.
The same man who had eventually arranged Elena's death.
Except there was another layer.
Eva had been working for him.
She had not been acting alone.
Victor's biological father was not the only secret.
His uncle had used the family's internal conflict to seize control of several assets.
The ledger was evidence.
Elena discovered it.
She planned to expose him.
She died before she could.
Arthur handed Victor an envelope.
"She left this for you."
Victor opened it.
Elena's handwriting.
Victor,
If you're reading this, please don't spend the rest of your life becoming angry.
I know you will want revenge.
I know you will blame yourself.
But Adrian needs you.
And if you ever meet the woman who teaches you how to smile again, let her.
Victor closed his eyes.
Aliyah.
Elena had known there would be someone.
Arthur smiled sadly.
"She loved you enough to imagine you moving on."
Victor's throat tightened.
"Why didn't you give me this before?"
"I was afraid."
"Of what?"
"Of the family."
Victor took the letter.
Then his phone rang.
Luca.
"Boss, we have a problem."
"What?"
"Adrian is gone."
Victor's blood froze.
"What?"
"Security found two unconscious guards."
"Where is Aliyah?"
Silence.
"She's gone too."
Victor closed his eyes.
Arthur stood.
"What happened?"
"They took my son."
Victor hung up.
The journey back to Boston felt endless.
He arrived at the estate.
The security team had found one piece of evidence.
Aliyah's coat.
And a message.
BRING THE LETTER.
Victor knew immediately what they wanted.
Elena's final letter.
Not the ledger.
Not money.
The evidence she had hidden.
The letter contained something only Victor would understand.
A location.
Something about his father.
Something about Adrian.
The kidnappers had discovered the existence of the letter.
Victor refused to tell anyone where it was.
Instead, he went alone to the meeting point.
A warehouse near the harbor.
Eva stood there.
Adrian was tied to a chair.
Aliyah was beside him.
She looked terrified but unbroken.
Eva smiled.
"You came."
Victor looked at her.
"You killed Elena."
Eva's smile faded.
"Your wife was a fool."
"No."
Victor stepped forward.
"She was brave."
Eva raised a gun.
"Give me the letter."
Victor took it from his coat.
He held it up.
"You want this?"
"Yes."
"You'll get it."
He dropped it.
Eva moved toward it.
At the same moment, the lights exploded on.
Federal agents stormed the building.
Victor had not come alone.
He had sent Luca ahead.
Eva fired.
Aliyah pushed Adrian down.
Victor rushed them.
The gunshot struck the wall.
Eva was arrested.
Adrian was safe.
Aliyah grabbed Victor.
"Are you okay?"
He nodded.
Then he looked at her.
"You came back."
"I never left."
He held her.
For the first time, he did not care who saw.
Eva watched from across the room.
As federal agents took her away, she looked at Victor.
"Do you think this changes anything?"
Victor answered calmly.
"It changes everything."
The ledger was recovered.
The financial network collapsed.
Arthur's testimony confirmed Victor's parentage.
But one mystery remained.
Who had ordered Elena's murder?
Eva had been an accomplice.
But she had received orders from someone else.
The name emerged the next morning.
Victor's uncle.
And there was one problem.
May you like
He was already in prison.
For a crime he supposedly committed eleven years earlier.
