Chapter 13: The Daughter Hidden From Him
Chapter 13: The Daughter Hidden From Him
The hangar went silent.
The kind of silence that came before a storm.
Dominic stared at the screen.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't speak.
The image remained frozen.
A young woman.
Dark hair.
A familiar expression.
A face that carried pieces of someone he had lost.
Victoria.
Himself.
His daughter.
Impossible.
A lifetime of memories collapsed into one moment.
"My daughter..."
The words escaped his mouth like a whisper.
Daniel and Marcus exchanged a look.
Neither man knew what to say.
Because they had seen Dominic face death.
They had seen him lose businesses.
They had seen him survive betrayal.
But they had never seen him shaken like this.
Nathan stood nearby.
His face had lost all confidence.
For the first time...
He looked defeated.
Dominic slowly turned toward him.
"You knew."
Nathan didn't answer.
That was enough.
Dominic walked forward.
"You knew."
Nathan looked away.
"I was trying to protect her."
Dominic's eyes turned cold.
"Protect her?"
"You let me believe my child was dead."
Nathan swallowed.
"There was no other way."
Dominic grabbed his collar.
"No other way?"
"You stole twelve years from me."
"You stole twelve years from Victoria."
Nathan didn't fight back.
Because he knew Dominic was right.
Victoria, still injured, watched them quietly.
Then she spoke.
"Dominic."
He looked at her.
"Not here."
Her voice was weak.
"But you need to know everything."
Dominic released Nathan.
"Tell me."
Victoria took a slow breath.
"The night of the explosion..."
"I wasn't alone."
Dominic froze.
Victoria continued.
"I was pregnant."
The words hit harder than any weapon.
Dominic stepped back.
"Pregnant?"
She nodded.
"I found out two weeks before the explosion."
"I wanted to tell you."
"But before I could..."
"Nathan discovered it."
Dominic looked at Nathan.
Nathan closed his eyes.
Victoria continued.
"He knew Helena would use the baby against us."
"So he made a decision."
Dominic's voice became dangerous.
"What decision?"
"To hide our child."
A painful silence followed.
Dominic looked back at the screen.
The young woman stared back at him.
Twelve years.
Gone.
A father who never knew he was a father.
A daughter who never knew her parents.
"Where is she?"
Helena's voice suddenly returned through the speakers.
"That is the right question."
Everyone looked up.
The screen changed.
Helena appeared again.
Calm.
Elegant.
Untouchable.
Dominic stepped toward the monitor.
"Where is my daughter?"
Helena smiled.
"Still focused on the wrong thing."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"Answer me."
"You think finding her solves everything."
"It doesn't."
"Because your daughter doesn't know you."
The words hurt more than Dominic expected.
Helena continued.
"She grew up believing her parents abandoned her."
Dominic looked at Victoria.
Pain crossed her face.
"Why?"
Helena smiled.
"Because that was the only way she could survive."
Dominic clenched his fists.
"What did you do?"
"I gave her a new identity."
"A new family."
"A new life."
"You took my daughter."
"No."
Helena shook her head.
"I saved her from becoming another weapon in your war."
Dominic laughed bitterly.
"You're pretending this was mercy?"
Helena leaned closer.
"Maybe."
"Maybe I did what you couldn't."
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"And what is that?"
"Protected her."
The screen went black.
Then a file appeared.
A name.
ELENA VALE.
Dominic stared.
The same last name.
His daughter had carried his blood without knowing it.
Daniel stepped closer.
"Boss..."
Dominic didn't answer.
He was reading every detail.
Birth records.
Medical files.
School records.
Everything.
She existed.
She had always existed.
Two hours later...
The Vale estate became a fortress.
Doctors treated Victoria.
Mia sat beside Harper.
And Dominic stood alone in his office.
The room where he had made thousands of decisions.
But none had ever felt this impossible.
A knock came.
He didn't turn.
"Come in."
Mia entered.
She closed the door behind her.
"You found out."
Dominic nodded.
"Mia..."
She understood immediately.
"You blame yourself."
He looked at her.
"I didn't even know she existed."
Mia sat down.
"Because they made sure you didn't."
Dominic looked at the documents.
"I missed everything."
"Her first steps."
"Her first words."
"Every birthday."
Mia remained quiet.
Then she said:
"You can spend the rest of your life mourning what you missed."
"Or you can fight for what you still have."
Dominic looked at her.
Those words sounded exactly like something Victoria would say.
"How do you know so much?"
Mia smiled sadly.
"Because I watched Victoria survive."
"She spent years believing she would never see you again."
"She never stopped loving you."
Dominic looked away.
"Why didn't she come back?"
Mia hesitated.
"Because Helena convinced her that coming back would put Elena in danger."
Dominic understood.
The same fear.
The same manipulation.
The same prison.
Different victims.
Meanwhile...
At an unknown location...
Elena Vale stood beside a large window.
She was twenty years old.
Confident.
Intelligent.
Completely unaware that the man searching for her was her father.
A woman entered the room.
"Are you ready?"
Elena turned.
"Ready for what?"
The woman smiled.
"The truth."
Elena frowned.
"I already know my story."
"No."
"You know the story you were given."
The woman placed a file on the table.
Inside was an old photograph.
Dominic.
Victoria.
A baby.
Elena looked at it.
Her hands started shaking.
"Who are they?"
The woman answered:
"Your parents."
Elena stared.
"No."
"My parents died."
The woman shook her head.
"That's what they wanted you to believe."
Elena looked up.
"Who?"
The woman smiled.
"The man who has been searching for you."
"Your father."
Back at the estate...
Dominic received a message.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
YOUR DAUGHTER WILL CHOOSE WHO SHE BELIEVES.
Then another message appeared.
A video.
Elena.
Standing in a room.
Looking directly into the camera.
But she wasn't crying.
She wasn't afraid.
She looked angry.
A man's voice spoke from behind the camera.
"Tell him."
Elena stared forward.
Then said:
"Dominic Vale."
"I don't know you."
"But I know one thing."
"You destroyed my family."
Dominic froze.
The video ended.
And beneath it appeared another countdown.
24 HOURS.
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MAKE HER BELIEVE YOU.
OR LOSE HER FOREVER.
