Chapter 20: The Inheritance of Lies
Chapter 20: The Inheritance of Lies
I couldn’t hear anything.
Not the sound of the city outside.
Not the voices around me.
Not even my own breathing.
All I could hear was one sentence.
The transfer documents were signed the day after your mother disappeared.
The day after.
Not years later.
Not after a long legal battle.
Not after a complicated investigation.
The very next day.
As if someone had been waiting.
As if someone already knew what was coming.
I looked at Nathan.
“You knew.”
His expression changed.
“Elena…”
“You knew my father inherited Orion Crest.”
Nathan didn’t answer.
That silence was enough.
My chest tightened.
“Everyone knew except me.”
“No.”
My voice became sharper.
“Don’t say that.”
Nathan stepped closer.
“You were the only person your mother wanted to protect.”
“Protect?”
I laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“Protected from what?”
“From the truth?”
“From my own family?”
“From the people who were supposed to love me?”
Nathan looked away.
Because he knew I was right.
For years, everyone had made decisions about my life.
Everyone had decided what I could handle.
Everyone had decided what I deserved to know.
But nobody ever asked me.
Nobody ever trusted me enough to choose for myself.
“I need to see those documents.”
Nathan nodded.
“They’re at Vale International.”
I froze.
“My father’s company?”
“Yes.”
“And you expect me to walk back into that building?”
Nathan looked at me.
“You have to.”
“Why?”
“Because the truth is there.”
An hour later, I stood in front of the Vale International headquarters.
The same building where I had once entered proudly beside my father.
The same building where I believed I was finally discovering my place.
But everything looked different now.
The glass walls.
The marble floors.
The employees walking through the lobby.
It no longer felt like an empire.
It felt like a crime scene.
Marcus was waiting for me upstairs.
The moment he saw my expression, he knew.
“You found out.”
I nodded.
“Show me.”
Without another word, he led me into the private archive room.
A place I had never entered before.
Inside were thousands of confidential files.
Marcus opened a secured cabinet.
“This was hidden behind a false database entry.”
He placed a box on the table.
“Who found it?”
“Your father’s old legal team.”
My hands stopped.
“My father knew?”
“We don’t know.”
I looked at him.
“You’re defending him.”
“No.”
Marcus shook his head.
“I’m saying we need proof before we decide.”
Inside the box was a single folder.
No company logo.
No identification.
Just one word written on the cover.
ORION.
I opened it.
The first page was a transfer agreement.
The second page was a list of assets.
The third page…
Made my blood run cold.
A signature.
Adrian Vale.
My father.
I stared at it.
Trying to find an explanation.
A mistake.
A forgery.
Anything.
But the signature looked exactly like his.
“Why would he do this?”
Marcus remained silent.
Then he said:
“Because maybe he wasn’t taking Orion Crest from your grandfather.”
I looked up.
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe he was trying to control it.”
I turned the page.
There was another document.
A handwritten note.
Not from my father.
Not from my grandfather.
From my mother.
My hands shook as I read it.
Adrian, if you accept control of Orion Crest, you become exactly what your father created.
I stopped breathing.
My mother had written this.
To my father.
You promised me you would destroy it.
You promised Elena would never inherit a world built on lies.
My eyes blurred.
Then I saw the final line.
If you choose power over us, I will make sure Elena knows the truth.
I dropped the paper.
My father wasn’t just hiding Orion Crest.
He was connected to it.
But maybe…
Maybe the story wasn’t as simple as I thought.
Maybe he wasn’t the villain.
Maybe he was someone who made a choice.
A terrible choice.
A choice that destroyed everything.
My phone rang.
My father.
I stared at the screen.
For a long moment, I considered ignoring it.
But I answered.
“Hello.”
Silence.
Then his voice.
“Elena.”
I closed my eyes.
“You know.”
It wasn’t a question.
“You found Orion.”
“Yes.”
Another silence.
“You found the documents.”
“Yes.”
His breathing changed.
“Elena, listen to me.”
“No.”
My voice trembled.
“For once, you listen to me.”
I stood in the archive room surrounded by decades of secrets.
“I found out my mother was investigating Orion Crest.”
Silence.
“I found out she trusted Nathan.”
Silence.
“I found out you inherited the organization after she disappeared.”
His voice became quiet.
“Elena…”
“Why?”
A long pause.
Then he answered:
“Because I had no choice.”
I froze.
“No choice?”
“No.”
“Everyone says that.”
My voice broke.
“Everyone says they had no choice.”
My father sighed.
“Your mother was right about one thing.”
“What?”
“Orion Crest was dangerous.”
“Then why did you take control?”
“Because if I didn’t…”
He stopped.
“Someone worse would have.”
I frowned.
“What are you saying?”
His voice lowered.
“Your grandfather wasn’t the only person behind Orion.”
The room became silent.
“What?”
“Elena, your grandfather created it.”
“Yes.”
“But he didn’t run it alone.”
I gripped the phone.
“Who helped him?”
My father didn’t answer immediately.
And that scared me more than anything.
“Dad.”
Finally, he whispered:
“Your grandfather had a partner.”
“Who?”
A pause.
Then:
“Someone who is still alive.”
My heart raced.
“Who?”
My father’s voice shook.
“Someone inside the Vale family.”
I looked at Marcus.
He looked back at me.
Because we both understood.
There was another person.
Another secret.
Another betrayal.
“Who is it?”
My father didn’t answer.
Instead, he said:
“Come home.”
I froze.
“What?”
“Come home, Elena.”
“Why?”
“Because if you continue searching…”
His voice cracked.
“They will come after you.”
The call ended.
I stared at my phone.
My father was afraid.
Not angry.
Not defensive.
Afraid.
And for the first time…
I wondered if maybe he wasn’t hiding the truth because he was guilty.
Maybe he was hiding it because he knew something worse was coming.
That night, I returned to the Vale mansion.
The place where my family history had been displayed proudly for generations.
Portraits.
Awards.
Memories.
Lies.
I walked through the hallway until I stopped in front of my grandfather’s portrait.
The man everyone admired.
The man who built the family empire.
The man who started everything.
Then I noticed something.
A small mark on the frame.
Something I had never seen before.
I touched it.
The portrait moved slightly.
Behind it…
Was a hidden compartment.
Inside was an old envelope.
With my mother’s handwriting.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Only one sentence was written inside.
Elena, if you found this, it means your father failed to protect you.
I stopped.
Then I read the next line.
And it means the person who betrayed our family is closer than you think.
My heart pounded.
At the bottom of the page…
Was a name.
A name I never expected.
A name that would destroy the last piece of my family I still believed in.
Alexander Vale.
The man I trusted.
The man who helped me uncover the truth.
The man who claimed he wanted justice.
Was he the person my mother feared all along?
And if he was…
Why had he been helping me find the evidence?
Unless…
May you like
He wasn’t helping me uncover the truth.
He was leading me toward it.
