Chapter 10 - THE MAN BEHIND THE OLD FAMILY NAME

I spent the entire night thinking about one sentence.

“Your father wasn’t trying to hide Lily from the family.”

Daniel’s voice echoed in my mind.

“He was trying to make sure she never became part of it.”

For years, I believed my father was a man who protected the Moretti name.

A strict man.

A difficult man.

But a man who loved his family.

Now I wasn’t sure.

The next morning, I opened every file connected to my father’s final years.

Business records.

Legal documents.

Private letters.

Everything.

And the more I uncovered, the more I realized something terrifying.

My father didn’t leave behind a legacy.

He left behind a battlefield.

Daniel entered my office carrying another folder.

“I found Arthur Vale.”

I looked up.

“Where?”

“An airport outside the country.”

“Did he leave?”

“Not yet.”

“Why?”

Daniel placed the folder down.

“Because someone warned him.”

I stared at him.

“Who?”

He hesitated.

“That’s the problem.”

I opened the folder.

Inside were phone records.

Thousands of messages.

Payments.

Contacts.

Then I saw the name.

Marcus.

My brother.

Again.

I closed my eyes.

Not because I was surprised.

Because I was tired.

Tired of discovering another betrayal every time I opened a door.

“Call him.”

Daniel looked at me.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Marcus arrived twenty minutes later.

This time, he didn’t walk in with confidence.

He looked exhausted.

Older.

Like the weight of everything had finally caught up with him.

“You know,” he said quietly, “I always hated that you could see through people.”

I didn’t answer.

“You always knew when someone was lying.”

“Except my own family.”

He looked down.

That hurt him.

Good.

It should.

“Why did you help them?”

Marcus sat.

“I thought I was protecting what Dad built.”

I laughed bitterly.

“You mean protecting what he stole.”

He flinched.

“You don’t understand what our family was like.”

“I grew up in the same house.”

“No.”

He looked at me.

“You survived it differently.”

That stopped me.

Because there was truth in it.

Our father was not the same man to both of us.

I was the first son.

The one expected to continue the family.

Marcus was the one expected to obey.

“Dad knew about Lily,” Marcus said.

I stared at him.

“Tell me everything.”

He swallowed.

“When Michael died, Dad found out about the trust.”

“What did he do?”

“He panicked.”

“Why?”

“Because Michael left instructions.”

“Instructions for what?”

Marcus looked at me.

“To expose him.”

The room went silent.

“My father knew Michael had evidence.”

“Yes.”

“And Lily?”

“She was part of the evidence.”

I frowned.

“What does that mean?”

“Michael planned to use the inheritance records to prove Dad was hiding money.”

I understood.

The trust wasn’t just about Lily.

It was proof.

Proof that money had been moved.

Proof that people had been manipulated.

Proof that my father’s empire wasn’t as clean as everyone believed.

Then Marcus said something worse.

“Dad wasn’t the only one involved.”

My eyes narrowed.

“Who else?”

He looked at me.

“Evelyn.”

Of course.

The name I expected.

But hearing it still felt like a knife.

“She worked with him for years.”

“How?”

“She managed the household. She controlled information.”

I thought about the missing complaint.

The deleted records.

The hidden request.

“She buried everything.”

Marcus nodded.

“And she was going to keep doing it.”

I stood.

“Not anymore.”

Before Marcus could respond, my phone rang.

Anna.

I answered immediately.

Her voice was shaking.

“Adrian…”

“What happened?”

“It’s Evelyn.”

My body went still.

“What about her?”

“She came back.”

“Where?”

Anna whispered:

“She’s inside the house.”

I grabbed my jacket.

“Stay with Lily.”

But then I heard something in the background.

A crash.

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Anna screamed.

The call disconnected.