Chapter 9 - THE PERSON HE NEVER SUSPECTED
Nathan couldn’t move.
The words echoed in his mind.
Your mother was murdered.
For twenty years, he believed he had lost his mother naturally.
He remembered the hospital room.
Her weak smile.
Her hand holding his.
Her final words.
“Promise me you’ll stay kind, Nathan.”
Now everything was changing.
“Who?” Nathan asked.
His voice was quiet.
“Who killed my mother?”
Dominic smiled.
“You’re asking the wrong question.”
Nathan’s eyes hardened.
“I’m not in the mood for games.”
“The question isn’t who killed her.”
Dominic looked at him.
“The question is who helped hide it.”
Nathan looked around the room.
At Victoria.
At Margaret.
At the old documents.
Everyone had secrets.
Suddenly, Margaret stepped forward.
“Mr. Whitmore.”
Nathan turned.
“What?”
Her face was pale.
“There is something you need to know.”
Dominic smiled.
“Finally.”
Nathan looked at Margaret.
“You know something?”
The older woman looked down.
“For twenty years, I kept a promise.”
Nathan’s heart sank.
“To who?”
Margaret’s voice trembled.
“Your mother.”
The room became silent.
Nathan stared.
“You knew?”
“I knew she was afraid.”
“Afraid of Dominic?”
Margaret shook her head.
“No.”
She looked toward the documents.
“She was afraid of someone closer.”
Nathan felt a chill.
“Who?”
Margaret didn’t answer.
She reached into her pocket.
And pulled out an old key.
“I was told to give this to you only if the truth came out.”
Nathan took it.
“What does it open?”
Margaret whispered:
“Your father’s private vault.”
Dominic’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Nathan noticed.
For the first time tonight…
Dominic looked worried.
“What’s wrong?” Nathan asked.
Dominic didn’t answer.
Nathan smiled.
“You’re afraid of what’s inside.”
Dominic’s silence confirmed it.
The key was hidden inside an old family safe behind a painting in Nathan’s father’s study.
Nobody had opened it in twenty years.
Nathan inserted the key.
The lock clicked.
Inside was one envelope.
One photograph.
And one handwritten journal.
Nathan opened the journal.
The first sentence made his blood run cold.
If my son is reading this, then everyone I trusted has failed him.
Nathan turned the page.
The handwriting continued.
Dominic Rainer is not the only enemy.
Nathan stopped.
The next line was worse.
The person closest to you has been working against this family for years.
Nathan slowly looked up.
At Victoria.
At Margaret.
At Dominic.
Then he turned the page.
And saw the name.
The name written by his own father.
The name of the person who betrayed them.
Nathan’s face went pale.
Because it wasn’t Victoria.
It wasn’t Dominic.
It was someone he had trusted his entire life.
Before Nathan could say anything…
the house exploded with noise.
A gunshot.
Then another.
The window behind him shattered.
Everyone dropped.
Someone outside was shooting.
Dominic’s men reacted immediately.
Victoria grabbed Nathan’s arm.
“Move!”
Nathan looked at her.
“You knew this was coming?”
“No.”
For the first time, he believed her.
They ran through the hallway as bullets hit the walls behind them.
Then Nathan saw the person standing at the end of the corridor.
Holding a gun.
Waiting.
The person smiled.
“Nathan.”
He froze.
May you like
Because he knew that voice.
And he never expected to hear it from an enemy.
