Chapter 9: The Truth That Cost Everyone Everything
The sound of the gunshot followed me into my nightmares.
Even after the room went silent.
Even after the shouting stopped.
Even after I realized I was still standing.
All I could hear was that single explosion.
The bullet meant for my father.
Vincent moved faster than anyone I had ever seen.
He pushed me down behind the marble wall just as the second shot rang out.
Glass shattered above us.
People screamed.
Footsteps thundered across the mansion.
But through all the chaos, I saw one thing clearly.
Victoria.
She wasn’t holding the gun.
She wasn’t attacking us.
She was standing between Vincent and the shooter.
Protecting him.
The woman who had lied to me for years had just risked her life for the man she helped lose his daughter.
I didn’t understand anything anymore.
“Emily!””
Vincent’s voice pulled me back.
“Are you hurt?””
I looked at him.
He was checking my arms, my face, my shoulders.
Like nothing else mattered.
“I’m fine.””
His eyes moved past me.
Then his expression changed.
“Stay here.””
“No.””
I grabbed his sleeve.
He stopped.
For a moment, he looked surprised.
Maybe because nobody ever stopped Vincent Gallo.
Maybe because everyone was afraid of him.
But I wasn’t afraid anymore.
Not of him.
Not of anyone.
“Don’t leave me.””
The words came out quietly.
Something changed in his face.
He nodded.
“I won’t.””
Then he turned toward the hallway.
“Find the shooter.””
His men moved instantly.
Marco appeared from the other side of the room.
His suit was torn.
There was blood on his arm.
But he was standing.
“I know who it was.””
Everyone stopped.
Vincent looked at him.
“Who?””
Marco’s expression was grim.
“The person who has been moving everything from the beginning.””
My stomach tightened.
“Who?””
Marco looked toward Victoria.
And Victoria closed her eyes.
Because she already knew.
“Tell her,” Vincent demanded.
Victoria didn’t move.
“Tell Emily.””
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Victoria whispered:
“It was your grandfather.””
The room went silent.
I stared at her.
“My grandfather is dead.””
“Yes.””
“Then how?””
Victoria looked at me.
“Because he didn’t die before finishing his plan.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“What plan?””
Victoria looked at the documents scattered across the table.
“The plan to control everything after his death.””
Vincent’s expression hardened.
“My father would never—”
“He did.””
Victoria’s voice broke.
And for the first time, she looked exhausted.
“He was obsessed with power.””
Nobody moved.
“He believed the Gallo name was too valuable to be left to emotions.””
She looked at me.
“Especially not a child.””
I felt sick.
“So he wanted me controlled.””
“Yes.””
“By who?””
Victoria looked at James.
The answer hit before she spoke.
“By the perfect husband.””
James went pale.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“No?””
His face twisted.
“I didn’t know.””
Again.
Those words.
I almost laughed.
“You didn’t know.””
James looked at me.
“I swear.””
I stared at him.
“You married me because someone told you to.””
“No.””
“You lied to me because someone told you to.””
“No.””
“You hid my identity because someone told you to.””
He had no answer.
That was the answer.
I looked away.
The pain was different now.
Not sharp.
Not burning.
Just empty.
Marco stepped forward.
“There’s something else.””
Everyone looked at him.
“I found out why your grandfather chose James.””
My eyes moved toward him.
“Why?””
Marco looked at James.
“Because James was easy to control.””
James flinched.
“That’s not true.””
Marco ignored him.
“You grew up wanting your father’s approval.””
James said nothing.
“You spent your entire life trying to prove you belonged.””
His voice became colder.
“And your grandfather knew that.””
I looked at James.
Suddenly, I understood.
The Thompson family wasn’t just cruel.
They were trapped too.
Different cage.
Same prison.
James looked broken.
“I thought if I followed the plan, nobody would get hurt.””
I stared at him.
“Nobody?””
My voice shook.
“You think nobody got hurt?””
He looked at me.
“I mean—”
“You destroyed me.””
Silence.
“I loved you.””
His eyes filled.
“I know.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You don’t.””
Because if he did…
He would have chosen differently.
A sound came from outside.
A car door.
Then another.
Vincent’s men looked toward the entrance.
One rushed in.
“Sir.””
Vincent turned.
“The shooter escaped.””
Everyone froze.
“How?””
The man hesitated.
“Someone helped him.””
Vincent’s eyes narrowed.
“Who?””
The man looked uncomfortable.
Then:
“We found the security logs.””
He handed over a device.
“The cameras were disabled from inside.””
My heart sank.
“Inside?””
The man nodded.
“Yes.””
Vincent looked around the room.
Everyone understood.
The enemy was not outside.
They had been here.
With us.
The entire time.
The device played the footage.
The screen showed the hallway.
The moment before the shooting.
A person walked toward the security room.
A familiar figure.
My breath stopped.
Because I recognized the way she moved.
The way she held herself.
The way she looked around before opening the door.
“No…”
Vincent looked at me.
“Emily?””
I couldn’t speak.
Because the person in the video was impossible.
It was Victoria.
But then—
The footage zoomed in.
The person turned slightly.
And everyone saw it.
A disguise.
A mask.
Someone pretending to be Victoria.
The room exploded with confusion.
Marco stepped closer.
“That’s not her.””
Vincent looked furious.
“Then who?””
The video stopped.
The person removed the mask.
For only one second.
But it was enough.
James whispered:
“No…”
I looked at him.
“Who is it?””
His face had lost all color.
“It’s…”
He couldn’t finish.
Vincent grabbed his shoulder.
“Say it.””
James looked at the screen.
Then at me.
And whispered:
“Claire.””
My heart stopped.
Claire.
James’s younger sister.
The woman who sat at the dinner table tonight.
The woman who barely looked at me.
The woman everyone thought was harmless.
Nobody spoke.
Then Richard shouted:
“That’s impossible!””
But nobody believed him.
Because the evidence was right there.
Claire Thompson.
The quiet daughter.
The forgotten one.
The one nobody suspected.
Vincent turned to his men.
“Find her.””
They moved.
But before they reached the door—
The lights went out.
Complete darkness.
Someone screamed.
A struggle.
A crash.
Then the lights returned.
And Claire was standing in the center of the room.
Everyone froze.
She held a small device in her hand.
And she was smiling.
Not the shy smile I remembered.
Not the polite one.
Something else.
Something cold.
“You were always so easy to fool.””
James stared.
“Claire?””
She laughed softly.
“I’m sorry, brother.””
My body went cold.
Because she wasn’t looking at James.
She was looking at me.
“You know what’s funny, Emily?””
I didn’t answer.
She stepped closer.
“For five years, everyone thought you were the weakest person in this house.””
A smile.
“But you were the only one who had something they all wanted.””
Vincent moved forward.
Claire raised the device.
“Don’t.””
He stopped.
“What is that?””
Her smile widened.
“The reason your mother couldn’t escape.””
My blood froze.
“What did you do to my mother?””
Claire looked at me.
And for the first time…
She looked almost excited.
“Your mother isn’t dead.””
The room went silent.
“I know.””
Claire smiled.
“No.””
She shook her head.
“You don’t understand.””
She pressed a button.
The mansion doors locked.
The screens around the room turned on.
And there she was.
A woman with dark hair.
Older.
But unmistakably familiar.
My mother.
Alive.
My knees nearly gave out.
Isabella Gallo looked directly into the camera.
And then she spoke.
A voice I had waited twenty-eight years to hear.
“Emily.””
A tear fell down my face.
“Mom…”
Everyone stared.
Then my mother said the words that changed everything.
“Run.””
The screen flickered.
Her face filled with fear.
“Because Claire Thompson is not my enemy.””
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A pause.
“She is your sister.””
