Chapter 14 - THE LAST ENEMY

I never thought I would sit across from Arthur again.

The man who destroyed my family.

The man who stole thirty years from my mother.

The man who turned my childhood into a lie.

But there he was.

Behind glass.

Older.

Tired.

Broken.

Not the powerful advisor everyone feared.

Just a man who finally lost everything.

“You wanted to see me.”

Arthur looked at me.

“Yes.”

I sat down.

“Why?”

He smiled slightly.

“Because now you understand.”

“Understand what?”

“That I wasn’t the only monster.”

I hated that he was partly right.

But I refused to let him use the truth as an excuse.

“You destroyed innocent people.”

“Yes.”

He admitted it without hesitation.

That surprised me.

“I did terrible things.”

“Then why?”

Arthur looked away.

“Because I became obsessed with power.”

For the first time, he sounded human.

Not innocent.

But human.

“Who tried to kill you?”

His expression changed.

“The people I worked for.”

I leaned forward.

“People?”

Arthur nodded.

“There was a group behind everything.”

My stomach tightened.

“Who?”

He slid a piece of paper across the table.

A list of names.

Powerful people.

People who controlled companies.

Politicians.

Investors.

The same people who benefited when my family fell apart.

“They used me,” Arthur said.

“And you used my family.”

“Yes.”

The honesty was unsettling.

“Why tell me now?”

Arthur looked at me.

“Because they are coming after you next.”

I stood.

“I’m not afraid.”

“You should be.”

His voice became serious.

“They don’t care about money anymore.”

“Then what do they want?”

Arthur whispered:

“Control.”

When I left the prison, I found my family waiting outside.

My mother immediately knew something was wrong.

“What happened?”

I handed her the list.

Her face changed.

She recognized some names.

“No…”

My father looked at her.

“You know them?”

She nodded slowly.

“They were the reason I disappeared.”

The truth finally connected.

Arthur wasn’t the beginning.

He was only a piece of a much bigger plan.

That night, we gathered every piece of evidence we had.

For the first time, my entire family stood together.

But then the security alarm started screaming.

Everyone froze.

A guard ran inside.

“Mr. Blackwood!”

“What happened?”

His face was pale.

“Someone broke into the company building.”

I grabbed my coat.

“What did they take?”

The guard swallowed.

“Nothing.”

I frowned.

“Then why break in?”

He looked at me.

“Because they left something behind.”

We rushed to the company.

On my desk was a single envelope.

My name written on it.

Inside was a photograph.

A photograph of me.

Taken that morning.

From outside my house.

Someone had been watching me.

The entire time.

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