Chapter 14 - THE FALL OF THE GHOST
By noon, Vale Holdings had lost eight billion dollars in market value.
Roman’s board demanded his resignation.
News trucks surrounded our townhouse.
Trevor released documents showing bribes, payoffs, and cover-ups tied to Vale companies.
Some were real.
Most belonged to Victor’s era.
But the headlines didn’t care.
ROMAN VALE CRIME EMPIRE EXPOSED.
THE GHOST FINALLY FALLS.
I found Roman alone in his office.
No jacket.
Sleeves rolled up.
He looked exhausted.
“What happens now?”
“The board removes me.”
“You’re letting them?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Trevor expects me to fight for control.”
Roman looked at me.
“I’m going to give him what he thinks he wants.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Roman opened a folder.
Inside were bank records.
Malcolm’s accounts.
Trevor’s payments.
Political donations.
Shell companies.
Everything.
“You already had this?”
“Most of it.”
“Why didn’t you release it?”
“Because innocent employees would get destroyed with Malcolm.”
“So what changed?”
Roman looked toward the television.
“He used you.”
That was it.
The line.
Roman could tolerate attacks on himself.
Not me.
“What are you going to do?”
“Tell the truth.”
“All of it?”
“Yes.”
“Even your part?”
Roman nodded.
“I watched my father nearly kill Elias.”
His voice was steady.
“I stayed silent for years.”
“You were seventeen.”
“I was still silent.”
I understood then.
Roman wasn’t trying to win.
He was trying to stop running from the same secret that had controlled all of us.
That afternoon, Roman held a press conference.
Hundreds of reporters packed the room.
He walked to the podium alone.
“My name is Roman Vale.”
Cameras flashed.
“My father committed crimes.”
Silence.
“I inherited evidence of those crimes and spent years quietly dismantling the network that protected him.”
Reporters shouted questions.
Roman raised one hand.
“I also made mistakes.”
He told them about my father.
About Malcolm.
About his silence.
About everything.
Then he released the evidence.
The entire room exploded.
Within an hour, twelve arrests were made.
Three former judges.
Two police commanders.
Four executives.
One senator’s chief of staff.
Malcolm’s plea deal vanished.
Trevor’s credibility collapsed when prosecutors confirmed he had accepted payments from Malcolm for years.
But Trevor disappeared before police could arrest him.
Again.
That night, Roman came home.
I stood in the kitchen.
“You lost your company.”
“Temporarily.”
“You sound confident.”
“I own thirty-eight percent.”
I laughed despite myself.
“There’s my arrogant husband.”
He smiled faintly.
Then the lights went out.
Glass shattered upstairs.
Roman’s smile vanished.
“Sadi, down!”
A figure rushed from the hallway.
Roman tackled him.
They crashed into the table.
I grabbed a lamp.
The figure pulled a knife.
Roman caught his wrist.
I swung.
The lamp smashed into the attacker’s shoulder.
He fell.
Roman pinned him.
I turned on my phone flashlight.
Trevor stared up at us.
Wild-eyed.
Bleeding.
He laughed.
“You really thought this was over?”
Then he looked at me.
“I came to tell you where Malcolm hid the last body.”
My blood went cold.
“What body?”
Trevor smiled.
“Victor Vale’s.”
Roman froze.
“My father was cremated.”
Trevor shook his head.
“No.”
May you like
Then he whispered:
“Malcolm killed him.”
