Chapter 14 - THE LAST CONFESSION
The search for my mother lasted twelve hours.
Twelve hours of phone calls.
Security teams.
Police reports.
Questions nobody could answer.
And every minute that passed made me feel more powerless.
Something I hated.
Because my entire life was built around control.
But now...
I couldn't protect the person who protected me.
At sunrise, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered immediately.
"Where is she?"
A voice replied.
"You're asking the wrong question."
Victor.
My blood went cold.
"You took her."
"No."
"Then who did?"
Silence.
Then:
"The same person who took Rose."
My grip tightened.
"Who?"
Victor didn't answer.
Instead, he said:
"Come to the old Hale factory."
I drove there without thinking.
When I arrived, Victor was waiting.
But he wasn't alone.
My mother was there.
Alive.
Weak.
But standing.
I ran toward her.
"Mother."
She grabbed my hand.
"I'm sorry."
I looked at Victor.
"What is this?"
Victor looked exhausted.
Not powerful.
Not confident.
Exhausted.
"Because you finally need to hear everything."
My mother sat down.
And began.
"Rose didn't disappear because of me."
I stayed silent.
"I tried to save her."
She looked at Clara.
"I tried to save your sister."
Clara's eyes filled with tears.
"What happened?"
My mother took a deep breath.
"Victor found out Rose had evidence against him."
Victor looked away.
"And your father wanted to expose him."
I looked at him.
"Then why didn't he?"
Victor's face changed.
"Because he was killed."
The room became silent.
"What?"
My mother closed her eyes.
"Your father didn't leave us."
My voice became quiet.
"Then what happened?"
Victor answered.
"I found him after the attack."
I stared.
"You?"
He nodded.
"He gave me one instruction."
"What?"
Victor looked at me.
"Protect Bennett."
I couldn't breathe.
Everything changed.
"My father knew?"
Victor nodded.
"He knew Victor would come after you."
I looked at my mother.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Her tears finally fell.
"Because I was trying to keep you alive."
I wanted to be angry.
I wanted to blame her.
But seeing her sitting there...
sick.
Broken.
A mother who carried twenty-eight years of pain...
made it harder.
Then Victor spoke.
"There is one thing you still don't know."
I looked at him.
"What?"
He reached into his pocket.
Pulled out a folder.
Inside were documents.
Old legal papers.
DNA records.
Bank transfers.
Everything.
"The person behind everything wasn't me."
I frowned.
"What?"
Victor shook his head.
"I was selfish. I was greedy. But I wasn't the person who ordered Rose's disappearance."
I looked between them.
"Then who?"
Victor opened the final document.
My eyes moved across the page.
And I froze.
Because the signature at the bottom...
belonged to someone I knew.
Someone who had been helping my family for years.
Someone I trusted completely.
My father's closest advisor.
The man who managed Hale Industries after my father's death.
The man everyone believed was loyal.
I whispered his name.
"Thomas."
Victor nodded.
"Thomas knew everything."
May you like
My mother looked at me.
"And he is still running your company."
