Chapter 12 - THE TRUTH ABOUT DANIEL

Thomas did not seem afraid of the gun.

That bothered Adrian.

“You have ten minutes.”

Thomas looked toward the timer.

“More than enough.”

“To do what?”

“To make you understand.”

Adrian kept the weapon trained on his chest.

“I understand plenty.”

“No.”

“You understand betrayal.”

“You do not understand necessity.”

Thomas walked slowly toward the emergency console.

Adrian moved with him.

“Stop.”

Thomas ignored the command.

“You think I built the Circle because I enjoyed power.”

“You did.”

“I built it because power already existed.”

“Politicians were corrupt.”

“Police were purchasable.”

“Judges had prices.”

“Corporations paid everyone.”

“I simply stopped pretending the system was clean.”

Adrian’s expression did not change.

“And Daniel?”

Thomas finally looked at him.

“Daniel wanted to expose everything.”

“Because he had a conscience.”

“Because he was naive.”

“You tried to kill him.”

Thomas said nothing.

Adrian’s voice sharpened.

“Answer me.”

“I ordered the boat sabotaged.”

There it was.

No hesitation.

No regret.

Adrian felt something inside him break.

“Why keep him alive?”

Thomas’s mouth tightened.

“Because he survived.”

“By accident?”

“Yes.”

“He washed ashore.”

“One of my people found him before the authorities.”

“And instead of finishing the job?”

“I realized he could still be useful.”

Adrian almost fired.

“For six years?”

Thomas nodded.

“He knew too much.”

“He also knew where his child was.”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed.

“You knew about Lily immediately.”

“Before she was born.”

Adrian’s blood ran cold.

Thomas continued.

“Daniel tried to hide Anna.”

“He failed.”

“Why didn’t you take Lily?”

“I didn’t need her yet.”

“What changed?”

“The trust.”

Adrian remembered Julian’s explanation.

The inheritance.

The controlling shares.

Thomas smiled.

“My father despised me.”

“He structured the Blackwood trust so Daniel’s biological line inherited control.”

“You knew that.”

“Yes.”

“And you couldn’t change it.”

“Not without triggering an audit.”

Adrian understood.

“So you waited.”

“Until Lily existed.”

“Until she was old enough?”

“Until I had every legal instrument prepared.”

Thomas’s smile returned.

“Your marriage was the final piece.”

“To Victoria.”

“She was supposed to bind the Shaw holdings to Blackwood.”

“And after that?”

“Lily would disappear.”

Adrian’s voice dropped.

“And me?”

“You would remain.”

That surprised him.

“What?”

Thomas stepped closer.

“You were never supposed to die.”

“The poisoning file was fake.”

“I wanted Julian to panic.”

“I wanted Victoria to believe she was helping kill you.”

“I wanted Evelyn desperate enough to obey.”

“Everyone performed exactly as expected.”

Adrian’s jaw tightened.

“Except Anna.”

Thomas’s eyes became colder.

“Yes.”

“The maid.”

“She saw too much.”

“She listened.”

“She remembered.”

“She refused money.”

“She refused fear.”

Thomas almost sounded offended.

“She was inconvenient.”

Adrian laughed once.

“You built a machine controlling judges and politicians.”

“And one housekeeper nearly destroyed it.”

Thomas’s face hardened.

“That is why people like her are dangerous.”

“People like her?”

“Ordinary people.”

“People with nothing to lose.”

“They do not understand consequences.”

Adrian lowered his gun slightly.

Not from trust.

From disgust.

“My brother was right.”

“About what?”

“You’re not powerful.”

Thomas’s eyes narrowed.

“You’re terrified.”

The room became silent.

“You built tunnels.”

“Secret armies.”

“False deaths.”

“Blackmail networks.”

“All because you’re terrified somebody might tell you no.”

Thomas’s calm finally cracked.

“You know nothing about what I sacrificed.”

Adrian stepped closer.

“Daniel sacrificed six years.”

“Anna sacrificed her safety.”

“Lily almost lost her mother.”

“Evelyn lost her life.”

“Victoria lost her childhood.”

“Julian lost his soul.”

“What exactly did you sacrifice?”

Thomas’s face twisted.

Then he drew a gun.

Adrian fired.

Thomas moved.

The bullet struck metal.

Thomas fired back.

Adrian dove behind a pump column.

Gunshots exploded through the chamber.

9:14.

9:13.

Water began dripping from a damaged pipe.

Thomas shouted.

“You could have inherited all of this!”

Adrian fired toward his position.

“I already inherited enough!”

A bullet tore through Adrian’s shoulder.

He slammed against the wall.

Pain exploded down his arm.

Thomas advanced.

“You always needed people.”

“That was your weakness.”

Adrian pressed one hand against the wound.

Thomas raised his gun.

“Daniel.”

“Your mother.”

“Your employees.”

“That child.”

“You attach yourself to people.”

“And people become leverage.”

Adrian looked past him.

The emergency console.

Eight minutes.

He needed Thomas closer.

So Adrian lowered his weapon.

Thomas smiled.

“Finally.”

Adrian said quietly.

“You’re right.”

Thomas paused.

“I care about people.”

He looked directly into his father’s eyes.

“That’s why they come back.”

A gunshot exploded behind Thomas.

He jerked.

Blood appeared across his side.

Thomas turned.

Julian Mercer stood in the doorway.

Pale.

Bandaged.

Barely upright.

Gun trembling in his hand.

Thomas stared.

“You.”

Julian smiled weakly.

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