Chapter 6 - THE RIVER
Victor refused to let me go alone.
I refused to stay behind.
So at midnight, three black SUVs stopped near the river.
Rain fell heavily.
The water moved beneath the bridge.
Victor stood beside me.
“Stay close.”
“I will.”
“If anything happens, you run.”
“I've been running my whole life.”
He looked at me.
“Not anymore.”
We waited.
Nothing.
Then a boat appeared beneath the bridge.
A single light flickered.
Victor raised his weapon.
A man stepped onto the shore.
He was old.
Tall.
His hair was silver.
And when he looked at me, his eyes filled with tears.
“Lily.”
I couldn't move.
He walked closer.
Victor stepped between us.
“Who are you?”
The man looked at him.
“Your father.”
Victor froze.
I stared.
“You're lying.”
The man shook his head.
“My name is Michael Vale.”
Victor's face became unreadable.
“You died.”
“I had to.”
“Why?”
Michael looked at me.
“Because your mother discovered the truth.”
“What truth?”
He swallowed.
“Our family was never the real owner of the empire.”
Victor frowned.
Michael continued.
“Your mother was.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“Elena inherited everything from her father. The companies. The properties. The accounts. She hid it because she feared what would happen if the family knew.”
Victor looked stunned.
“Then why did she marry you?”
“Because I loved her.”
His voice cracked.
“And because I believed I could protect her.”
“Could you?”
“No.”
Silence.
Michael looked at me.
“Your mother never abandoned you.”
“Then why did she disappear?”
“Because someone inside our family ordered your death.”
Victor's eyes hardened.
“Who?”
Michael looked toward the city.
“Your grandfather.”
I stared.
“My grandfather?”
“He believed you were the key to Elena's inheritance.”
I touched the necklace.
“The key.”
Michael nodded.
“Your mother created a trust in your name.”
“How much?”
“Enough to destroy every person who betrayed her.”
Victor stepped closer.
“Where is Elena?”
Michael looked at me.
“She's alive.”
My heart jumped.
“Where?”
“Underground.”
“Why?”
“Because she has been waiting for the right moment.”
Suddenly headlights appeared on the road.
Too many.
Victor turned.
“Get down!”
Gunfire erupted.
Victor pushed me behind a concrete barrier.
His men returned fire.
Michael grabbed my arm.
“Lily, listen to me.”
“What?”
“You cannot trust Victor.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
He whispered:
“Because your brother has been keeping something from you.”
A bullet struck the concrete.
Michael fell.
“Dad!”
I dropped beside him.
Victor rushed over.
“Stay back!”
Michael grabbed my wrist.
“The file…”
“What file?”
“Your grandmother's last letter.”
“Where is it?”
“Your apartment.”
My blood froze.
Victor looked at me.
“Your apartment?”
I nodded.
Michael's eyes closed.
Then he whispered:
“They already know.”
A vehicle screeched away.
Victor's men chased it.
I stared at my father.
For twenty years, I believed I had no family.
Now I had a brother.
A mother.
A father.
And every one of them seemed to be hiding something.
Victor crouched beside me.
“Emily.”
I looked at him.
“Don't call me that.”
His expression softened.
“Lily.”
I nodded.
He said:
“We're going home.”
But I knew something had changed.
May you like
Because for the first time, I didn't know whether home was the place with the people I had just found—
or the apartment where I had spent twenty years believing I was alone.
