Chapter 10 - THE BETRAYAL INSIDE MY FAMILY
I stared at Richard.
"Say it again."
He looked uncomfortable.
"Your father's former partner."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Amelia—"
"No."
Because the person he named was impossible.
Someone my father trusted.
Someone who attended my childhood birthdays.
Someone who stood beside my family after my father's death.
"Victor Hayes."
My uncle.
---
The USB contained one video file.
My father's voice filled the room.
"Amelia, if you are watching this, something has gone wrong."
I stopped breathing.
My father's face appeared on the screen.
Older.
Tired.
Serious.
"I need you to understand something."
He looked directly into the camera.
"Not everyone who loves this family wants to protect it."
My eyes filled with tears.
Because hearing his voice after years felt like being pulled into the past.
---
"My company was never the real target."
My father's voice continued.
"The real target was control."
He explained everything.
Years earlier, he discovered someone inside the company was moving money.
Someone close.
Someone trusted.
He created a hidden protection system.
A system that would expose everything if anyone tried to remove his daughter.
Me.
---
The video ended with one final message.
"Amelia, trust your instincts."
The screen went black.
Nobody spoke.
Then Evelyn said:
"Your father knew."
I looked at her.
"He knew someone would come after me."
She nodded.
"Yes."
My hands covered my face.
All those years.
All those warnings.
And I almost ignored them.
---
The next morning, we made a plan.
Richard would cooperate.
Not because I forgave him.
I hadn't.
Not even close.
But because we needed him.
He knew things we didn't.
He knew how Mark operated.
He knew who was behind the helicopter plan.
And most importantly…
He knew how dangerous they were.
---
We prepared everything.
The evidence.
The documents.
The recordings.
Then Richard received a message.
He looked at his phone.
And all the color disappeared from his face.
"What happened?"
He slowly turned the screen toward me.
One sentence appeared.
"You should have stayed dead."
My blood ran cold.
Because the message was not sent to Richard.
It was sent to me.
And underneath it was a photograph.
A photograph taken moments earlier.
Of my house.
Of my bedroom window.
Someone was watching me.
Someone knew I survived.
And they were no longer hiding.
May you like
---
CHAPTER 10 END
