Chapter 3 - Victor Hale Finally Revealed Himself—Then Madison Learned Her Father's Death Had Been Part of a Plan to Make Adrian and Her Families Destroy Each Other
Victor Hale looked exactly like the man Madison had seen on television.
Elegant.
Older.
Silver-haired.
Friendly.
That made him more frightening.
“Miss Lane.”
Madison stepped closer to Adrian.
Victor smiled.
“Don't be afraid.”
“I am.”
“Good.”
Adrian's eyes hardened.
“You've been waiting for this.”
“For years.”
“Why her?”
Victor looked at Madison.
“Because your father chose you.”
“What did he choose?”
“Freedom.”
Victor laughed.
“He believed he could build a financial system no one could control.”
Adrian stared.
“He created the trust.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To protect legitimate assets.”
Victor's expression hardened.
“And that trust was transferred to you when he died.”
Madison frowned.
“I never received anything.”
“You did.”
He took out a document.
“Your entire apartment was placed inside it.”
“What?”
“Your building.”
Madison stared.
The Hawthorne Building.
The place she lived.
Victor had bought it.
Not Adrian.
Victor.
But the ownership was buried.
“Why?”
“To keep you where I could watch you.”
Adrian's face changed.
“You used me.”
Victor smiled.
“You were convenient.”
Adrian looked at Madison.
She understood.
The building transfer.
The automated message.
The wrong number.
Everything.
“Wait.”
Madison's voice shook.
“The landlord changed to Mercer Holdings.”
“Yes.”
Victor laughed.
“Adrian bought the building because I wanted him there.”
Madison looked at Adrian.
He seemed genuinely shocked.
“You knew?”
“No.”
Victor smiled.
“I arranged for him to buy it.”
Adrian stared.
“Why?”
“Because your father and hers left unfinished business.”
Victor's plan was clear.
He wanted Adrian close to Madison.
He wanted the scandal.
He wanted the identity fraud.
He wanted them afraid.
Then he planned to blame Adrian for the stolen funds.
Madison looked at him.
“You wanted us to trust each other.”
Victor nodded.
“And then?”
“I wanted you to destroy each other.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“You underestimated her.”
Victor laughed.
“I underestimated no one.”
He pressed a button.
Screens appeared.
Bank transfers.
Photographs.
Recordings.
A fabricated trail connecting Madison and Adrian to the fraud.
Madison felt sick.
“You framed us.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your fathers stole from me.”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
Victor's expression changed.
“You don't know the truth.”
“Then tell me.”
Victor stared.
“Your fathers didn't steal.”
Silence.
“They took the money from me.”
“Why?”
“Because they were going to expose me.”
Madison looked toward the documents.
“What were they going to expose?”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“The entire network.”
Political corruption.
Illegal contracts.
Money laundering.
Corporate fraud.
Everything.
Adrian's father and Michael Lane had tried to dismantle it.
Victor had stopped them.
Michael disappeared.
Adrian's father died.
Victor remained.
He had been waiting for the children.
Madison understood.
“You wanted me to inherit the evidence.”
Victor smiled.
“Yes.”
“Then why kill my father?”
“He refused to give it to me.”
“Where is he?”
Victor laughed.
“You still believe he's dead.”
Madison froze.
“What?”
“He isn't.”
Her heart stopped.
Victor walked closer.
“He has been alive for years.”
“Where?”
Victor smiled.
“You'll find out when you earn it.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Let her go.”
Victor shook his head.
“I don't think so.”
Gunfire erupted.
Adrian pulled Madison down.
His security team returned fire.
The room exploded into chaos.
Madison crawled behind a desk.
Someone grabbed her.
She screamed.
Adrian reached her.
He pulled her free.
“Stay with me.”
They ran.
Victor escaped.
The bank burned.
Evidence disappeared.
But Madison still had one thing.
Her father's letter.
And Adrian had something else.
A memory.
His father once told him:
“If you ever meet Michael Lane's daughter, protect her.”
He had been nine.
He had never understood.
Now he did.
Their fathers had planned for them to meet someday.
Not as enemies.
As allies.
May you like
The only problem was that someone had been waiting eighteen years to make sure they never discovered why.
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