Chapter 9 - The Secret Letter Revealed the Last Person They Never Suspected
The investigation began quietly.
There were no signs of forced entry.
No cameras had been disabled.
Only one person had accessed the archive legitimately.
Thea.
Lachlan looked at her.
She shook her head.
“I didn't take it.”
“I know.”
They traced the security badge.
It belonged to Astrid.
But Astrid was in the hospital.
Then they realized.
Someone had copied her credentials.
Gideon found the footage.
A woman entering the archive.
Gray hair.
Dark coat.
Face hidden.
But the walk was familiar.
Thea stared.
“Who is that?”
Lachlan knew.
His face drained.
“My mother.”
Impossible.
His mother had been dead for twenty years.
The footage was old.
Twenty years old.
The date was wrong.
The archive computer had been manipulated.
Someone was recreating old footage.
The mastermind was still alive.
Someone believed dead.
Lachlan's father.
No.
His father had died.
Then a man walked into the room.
Older.
Scarred.
But unmistakable.
Lachlan froze.
The man smiled.
“You finally figured it out.”
Thea grabbed Lachlan's hand.
The man wasn't his father.
He was his father's identical twin.
Marcus Voss.
The secret brother the family had erased from history.
He had worked with Julian.
He had survived the old war.
And he had been the real architect behind the attack on Lachlan's father.
“Why?” Lachlan demanded.
Marcus smiled.
“Because your father chose you.”
“And?”
“He chose you over the family.”
Marcus told them the truth.
He wanted Voss Industries.
He had manipulated Julian.
He had manipulated the marriage.
He had kept Thea's family in debt.
He had orchestrated the hospital crisis.
Everything.
Julian had been a pawn.
Marcus had been the king.
Thea realized something.
“The ledger.”
Marcus smiled.
“You found it.”
“And the letter?”
“I took it.”
“Why?”
“To remind Lachlan that love always creates weakness.”
Thea stepped forward.
“No.”
Marcus frowned.
She continued.
“Love creates witnesses.”
Gideon entered with police.
Marcus looked shocked.
Lachlan smiled.
“You talked too much.”
Marcus's expression twisted.
“You think arresting me changes anything?”
“No.”
Lachlan stepped forward.
“But choosing not to become you does.”
Marcus was arrested.
The final chapter of the Voss family's dark history ended.
Years later, Thea stood in the garden outside the Voss estate.
Lachlan approached.
She was holding a newborn baby.
Their daughter.
He looked at her.
Then at the child.
“You're sure?”
“About what?”
“Coming home.”
She smiled.
“This is home.”
He kissed her forehead.
“I still can't believe you chose me.”
“You didn't give me much choice at nineteen.”
He winced.
“That was before.”
“I know.”
She smiled.
“You gave me one later.”
“When?”
“When you asked me to marry you without a contract.”
He laughed.
Their daughter moved in her arms.
Lachlan touched the baby's tiny hand.
“She has your eyes.”
Thea smiled.
“And your stubbornness.”
“Definitely yours.”
“Liar.”
They laughed.
But before they could go inside, Thea noticed something on the garden bench.
An envelope.
No name.
Only six words.
May you like
You were never the real target.
Her blood ran cold.
