Chapter 10: The Secret My Father Buried
For a moment, nobody spoke.
The recording had ended.
But my mother’s voice remained.
I’m sorry, Rocco.
Four words.
Four words that somehow carried twenty years of unanswered questions.
Maria replayed the footage.
Again.
And again.
The same image appeared.
My mother entering Noah’s room.
The same folder in her hand.
The same look toward the camera.
Like she knew someone would eventually find it.
Like she wanted to be discovered.
I looked at the woman standing across from me.
The woman I had spent half my life mourning.
“Was that you?””
Her face changed.
Not confusion.
Not surprise.
Acceptance.
“Yes.””
The answer was quiet.
Too quiet.
I felt something inside me collapse.
“Why?””
She looked toward the stairs.
Toward the room where Noah slept.
“Because I needed to know if he had the same gift.””
My eyebrows pulled together.
“What gift?””
She looked at me.
“The ability to notice what everyone else ignores.””
I stared.
“That’s not an answer.””
“No.””
She shook her head.
“But it’s the beginning.””
I wanted to reject everything.
I wanted to tell her she had no right to speak in riddles after disappearing.
But then I remembered Ethan.
Marcus.
Victoria.
Everyone had a piece.
Everyone had a reason.
And somehow, every piece led back to the same place.
My family.
“What was in the folder?””
My mother looked away.
“Something your father wanted destroyed.””
“What?””
“The truth about Vale Holdings.””
Ethan stepped forward.
“You knew about the folder?””
My mother looked at him.
“Yes.””
His expression hardened.
“You lied to me too.””
She nodded.
“I did.””
That surprised him.
Because Ethan expected an excuse.
She didn’t give one.
“I was wrong.””
The room became still.
After everything tonight, those words felt strange.
Someone admitting they were wrong.
No defense.
No explanation.
Just regret.
My mother continued.
“I thought hiding the truth would keep both of you alive.””
Ethan’s voice was cold.
“And how did that work?””
She closed her eyes.
“Poorly.””
I looked at Ethan.
“Why does she think the truth puts us in danger?””
He looked at me.
“Because it does.””
I turned.
“Then tell me.””
He hesitated.
That hesitation was familiar.
Too familiar.
“No.””
My anger returned.
“No?””
He sighed.
“Not until we know where Marcus and Victoria went.””
“Why?””
“Because they have the original documents.””
I looked at Maria.
“Can we track them?””
She shook her head.
“They disabled the vehicle tracker.””
“Marcus knew how.””
“Yes.””
Of course he did.
Marcus knew everything.
Every system.
Every weakness.
Every door.
I walked to the window.
The city stretched outside.
Thousands of lights.
Thousands of people.
And somehow, my entire world had narrowed to five names.
Rocco.
Ethan.
Marcus.
Victoria.
Mother.
“Ethan.””
“Yes?””
“Did you ever trust Marcus?””
His silence lasted too long.
“No.””
The answer hurt.
Because I had.
“What did you see?””
“He was different after your father died.””
“How?””
“He stopped grieving.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“He was sad when others were watching.””
Ethan looked at the floor.
“But when nobody was around, he was calculating.””
I remembered.
The funeral.
The weeks after.
Marcus taking over meetings.
Marcus helping me manage the company.
Marcus telling me I needed to be stronger.
I had thought he was saving me.
Maybe he was preparing me.
“Why did my father trust him?””
My mother answered.
“Because your father trusted potential.””
I looked at her.
“Meaning?””
“He saw Marcus as the son he never had.””
The sentence made me uncomfortable.
“Ethan was his son.””
“Yes.””
She looked at Ethan.
“But your father always believed Ethan had too much heart.””
Ethan looked away.
“And he believed I had too much ambition.””
The words came from the doorway.
Everyone turned.
Maria reached for her weapon.
But it wasn’t necessary.
The voice belonged to Victoria.
She stood there.
Alone.
No Marcus.
No guards.
No confidence.
Just a woman who looked exhausted.
“You came back.””
I stared at her.
She looked at Ethan.
Then my mother.
Then me.
“I need to tell you the truth.””
I almost laughed.
“Everyone suddenly loves that word.””
Victoria flinched.
“I deserve that.””
“Yes.””
She nodded.
“I know.””
That was new.
No argument.
No defense.
“I was never trying to hurt Noah.””
I said nothing.
She continued.
“I was trying to protect him.””
I looked at the photograph.
“From what?””
“From Marcus.””
The room changed.
Ethan stepped closer.
“What?””
Victoria looked at him.
“He lied to you too.””
Ethan’s expression hardened.
“Explain.””
She took a shaky breath.
“Marcus wasn’t working alone.””
“With who?””
She looked at my mother.
Then me.
“With your father.””
Nobody moved.
“What?””
Victoria looked terrified.
“Your father was alive when Ethan disappeared.””
The words made no sense.
“My father died twelve years ago.””
“Yes.””
“Then how?””
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
Ethan stepped forward.
“You’re lying.””
“I’m not.””
“You expect us to believe our father was alive after his funeral?””
“No.””
Victoria looked at him.
“I expect you to believe what you see.””
She pulled something from her pocket.
A small drive.
She placed it on the table.
“What is that?””
“Security footage.””
“From where?””
She looked at me.
“The night your father died.””
My heartbeat changed.
“What?””
She nodded.
“I found it in Marcus’s private files.””
Maria immediately took it.
“Encrypted.””
“Password?””
Victoria looked at me.
“Your birthday.””
I froze.
Maria entered it.
The drive opened.
A video appeared.
Date.
Twelve years ago.
The night my father supposedly died.
The footage showed a private office.
My father.
Alive.
Standing beside someone.
I moved closer.
The image was blurry.
But the person beside him was clear enough.
Marcus.
Younger.
Smiling.
My stomach turned.
The two men were talking.
No audio.
Then my father handed Marcus a document.
Marcus looked at it.
Then shook his head.
The video continued.
My father pointed at something.
Marcus became angry.
Then the footage cut.
I stared.
“What is this?””
Victoria whispered:
“The beginning.””
“Of what?””
She looked at the screen.
“The reason Ethan disappeared.””
The video suddenly changed.
A second file appeared.
New footage.
This one had audio.
My father’s voice filled the room.
“Marcus, if anything happens to me, you protect my sons.””
I stopped breathing.
Then Marcus answered.
“Both of them?””
“Yes.””
A pause.
Then Marcus said:
“What if one of them becomes the problem?””
The room froze.
My father’s voice became colder.
“Then you make sure he never finds out.””
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Because we all understood the same thing.
Marcus had been involved from the beginning.
But not as the enemy.
Not exactly.
He had been protecting a secret.
A secret my father wanted hidden.
Then Maria’s tablet received a final alert.
She looked at it.
Her face changed.
“Boss.””
“What?””
She turned the screen.
A location.
A live signal.
Marcus’s car.
And beneath it…
Another device had activated.
One connected to the folder.
I stared.
“Where is he?””
Maria answered.
“Blackwater Ridge.””
Ethan went pale.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
He stared at the location.
“He’s not going there for the documents.””
“Then why?””
His voice dropped.
“He’s going there to finish what started five years ago.””
My phone rang.
Marcus.
I answered.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then his voice came through.
Broken.
Tired.
“Rocco.””
I said nothing.
He whispered:
“I know you hate me.””
A pause.
“But before you decide what I am…”
His voice shook.
“Come to Blackwater Ridge.””
I looked at Ethan.
At my mother.
At Victoria.
Then Marcus said the words that made my blood run cold.
“Because the person you should fear isn’t me.””
Silence.
May you like
Then:
“It’s the person who taught me how to betray you.””
