Chapter 3 - The Photograph That Changed Everything
Victor had spent years believing his mother died with a secret.
Now he knew the secret had a face.
Dora Hayes.
He spread the photographs across his desk.
His lieutenant, Marcus, stood opposite him.
"We found the original records in a private archive."
Victor stared at the image.
His mother, Elena Vale, stood smiling beside a young woman.
The woman was Dora's mother.
Amelia Hayes.
The date was seventeen years ago.
Victor's fingers tightened around the paper.
"Why were they together?"
"We don't know."
"Find out."
"Already did."
Marcus placed another file on the desk.
"Amelia worked as Elena's personal assistant for almost three years."
Victor looked up.
"My mother never mentioned her."
"She did in a letter."
Marcus slid it across.
Victor unfolded the paper.
His mother's handwriting was unmistakable.
If anything happens to me, find Amelia.
She knows what they stole.
Victor's stomach turned cold.
"What did they steal?"
Marcus hesitated.
"The evidence."
"Evidence of what?"
Marcus lowered his voice.
"Your father's murder."
Victor stared at him.
His father had supposedly died in a car accident when Victor was twelve.
He had accepted that lie for twenty years.
Now the world suddenly seemed built on rotten foundations.
"What happened to Amelia?"
"She disappeared."
"When?"
"Shortly after Elena died."
"And Dora?"
Marcus nodded.
"Born three years later."
Victor looked toward the window.
Rain streaked the glass.
Dora had told him she grew up poor.
That her father disappeared when she was young.
That her mother worked multiple jobs until she died.
But she had never told him why.
Maybe she didn't know.
Maybe someone had made sure she never would.
Victor picked up the photograph again.
There was something handwritten on the back.
For my boy, when the truth finally comes.
He went still.
Marcus didn't speak.
Victor turned the photograph over.
The message continued.
Do not trust anyone with the Vale name.
His own mother had warned him against his family.
That included his uncle Richard.
Richard Vale had been the man who raised Victor after his parents died.
He was also the man who had spent years telling Victor to let the past stay buried.
Victor suddenly understood.
"Get me everything on Richard."
Marcus nodded.
Then the phone rang.
Victor answered.
"Yes?"
A distorted voice said, "You should have left the waitress alone."
Victor's expression became lethal.
"Who is this?"
"You know what happens when you touch things that belong to powerful men."
The call ended.
Victor looked at Marcus.
"Trace it."
Already moving.
Then another notification appeared.
A photograph.
Dora leaving work.
Dora entering her building.
Dora standing at her window.
Three images.
All taken within the last twenty-four hours.
Victor's blood turned to ice.
He stood so quickly the chair crashed backward.
"She's being watched."
Marcus saw the photos.
"We can send a team."
"No."
Victor grabbed his coat.
"I'll do it."
Meanwhile, Dora had no idea anyone was watching her.
She sat cross-legged on her tiny couch, eating instant noodles and reading a rejection email from another job.
She laughed softly.
"Perfect."
Her phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
She ignored it.
It buzzed again.
Then again.
Finally she answered.
"Hello?"
A woman's voice whispered, "Your mother lied to you."
Dora went still.
"Who is this?"
"You were never supposed to meet Victor Vale."
"Who are you?"
The line went dead.
Dora's hands shook.
She stared at the phone.
Then someone knocked on her apartment door.
Three slow knocks.
Her blood ran cold.
She approached without making a sound.
Another knock.
"Dora."
Victor.
She opened the door.
He stood in the hallway.
Without waiting for permission, his eyes swept the apartment.
"Pack a bag."
"What?"
"You're leaving."
"Why?"
"Because someone sent me photographs of you."
Her face drained.
Victor handed her the phone.
Dora stared at the images.
The fear she had hidden for years finally surfaced.
"How long have they been watching me?"
"I don't know."
"Victor."
He stepped closer.
"I'm going to find out."
Dora swallowed.
"Why do I feel like my entire life just became something I don't recognize?"
Victor looked at her.
"Because someone has been lying to you."
"About what?"
He hesitated.
"Your mother."
Dora's breath caught.
"No."
"Her name is in my mother's files."
Dora shook her head.
"My mother wasn't involved in anything."
"Maybe she was protecting you."
"From what?"
May you like
Victor looked at her with an expression that frightened her more than anger ever could.
"From the men who killed my father."
