Chapter 13: The Daughter Who Became the Target
Chapter 13: The Daughter Who Became the Target
The world became silent for one terrifying second.
Then everything moved at once.
The black SUVs surrounded the harbor.
Men stepped out.
Not police.
Not security.
People who followed orders without asking questions.
Richard Cross stood calmly in the middle of them, as if the entire night had been planned down to the smallest detail.
Because it had.
I finally understood.
People like Richard didn’t react.
They prepared.
Every conversation.
Every betrayal.
Every secret.
Every person involved in my life.
It was all part of a plan.
Richard looked at me.
“You have your father’s eyes.”
I said nothing.
“Strong.”
“Observant.”
“But still too trusting.”
I felt anger rise.
“You don’t know anything about me.”
He smiled.
“I know more than you think.”
He pointed toward the photograph still in his hand.
“Your first birthday.”
“Your first day of school.”
“Your mother holding you after your first injury.”
My blood ran cold.
“How do you have those?”
Richard didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at my mother.
“Because I was there.”
My mother’s face turned pale.
“You stayed close all these years.”
“Yes.”
Her voice became full of disgust.
“You watched her grow up.”
Richard smiled.
“I watched the most important piece on the board develop.”
I stepped forward.
“I’m not a piece.”
For the first time, Richard looked interested.
“No.”
He nodded.
“You’re right.”
“You’re the player.”
That answer surprised me.
“What?”
Richard walked closer.
“Your father spent years trying to hide you from this world.”
“But he made one mistake.”
“He underestimated you.”
I looked at him carefully.
“What do you want?”
Richard smiled.
“The same thing everyone in this story wants.”
“Power.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
He tilted his head.
“Then what?”
“Control.”
The smile faded slightly.
Because I was right.
Richard wanted control.
Not just money.
Not just companies.
People.
Their decisions.
Their fears.
Their weaknesses.
Everything.
A vehicle suddenly stopped near the warehouse.
Everyone turned.
A single person stepped out.
Victoria.
My heart sank.
Of course.
She was here.
Richard looked at her.
“You’re late.”
Victoria walked forward calmly.
“I came when I was supposed to.”
I stared at her.
“You work for him.”
She looked at me.
Not denying it.
Not confirming it.
That hurt more.
Because I realized something.
Everyone had been using me.
Nathan.
Victoria.
Richard.
Maybe even my father.
“You knew.”
Victoria’s expression softened slightly.
“I knew about Richard.”
“And you still used Nathan?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She looked at Richard.
“Because Nathan was useful.”
The answer was cold.
I looked at her.
“You’re no different from him.”
A small sadness appeared in her eyes.
“Maybe not.”
That surprised me.
For the first time, Victoria didn’t look like a villain.
She looked tired.
Like someone who had spent too long fighting a war she couldn’t leave.
Richard interrupted.
“This emotional reunion is unnecessary.”
He looked at me.
“The real question is simple.”
“Will you join me?”
I laughed quietly.
“Join you?”
“Yes.”
“You have intelligence.”
“Your father’s resources.”
“My network.”
“Together, we could control industries, governments, markets.”
I stared at him.
“You’re insane.”
Richard smiled.
“No.”
“I’m realistic.”
He walked closer.
“Your father wanted to use power responsibly.”
“Your mother wanted to expose power.”
“Victoria wanted to steal power.”
“But you?”
He looked at me.
“You have the ability to understand power.”
I shook my head.
“I don’t want any of this.”
Richard’s expression became disappointed.
“That is exactly what makes you dangerous.”
Suddenly, one of Richard’s men moved toward my mother.
I reacted immediately.
“Don’t touch her.”
Richard stopped him.
Interesting.
He listened.
That told me something.
He didn’t just want me alive.
He needed me.
“Why?”
I asked.
“Why do you care what I do?”
Richard smiled.
“Because your father created a protection system.”
“A system only you can activate.”
I frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
Richard looked at Victoria.
“Didn’t she tell you?”
Victoria remained silent.
I turned toward her.
“Tell me what?”
Richard answered.
“Your father didn’t place the Vale empire under his control.”
“He placed it under yours.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“Years ago, he created a final safeguard.”
“In case he disappeared.”
“In case his enemies won.”
Richard smiled.
“And the only person who can access it…”
“Is you.”
I thought about the documents.
The company in my name.
The signatures.
The hidden accounts.
My father wasn’t just protecting me.
He had been preparing me.
I looked at Victoria.
“You knew.”
She nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
Her answer was quiet.
“Because I needed to know if you were your father’s daughter.”
I stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
“It means I needed to know if you were someone who wanted revenge…”
“Or someone who wanted justice.”
Before I could respond, a loud sound interrupted us.
A helicopter.
But this time...
It wasn’t Richard’s.
The lights swept across the harbor.
People moved into position.
Richard looked surprised for the first time.
My father stepped out.
Alive.
And not alone.
Behind him were dozens of agents from Vale International’s security division.
Richard’s smile disappeared.
“You found me.”
My father looked at him.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“She found you.”
Richard looked confused.
Then he realized.
The location.
The meeting.
Everything.
It wasn’t his trap.
It was mine.
I had sent the location before arriving.
I had activated the emergency system hidden inside my father’s files.
The same system Richard wanted.
The same system only I could access.
For the first time...
Richard Cross looked uncertain.
My father walked beside me.
“You finally understand.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
He smiled slightly.
“You were never the person we needed to protect.”
“You were the person we were waiting for.”
Richard stared at me.
And I saw something I had never seen before.
Fear.
Because he finally understood.
He had spent twenty years controlling everyone around him.
But he made one mistake.
May you like
He underestimated the daughter of Alexander Vale.
To be continued...
