Chapter 13 - THE FAMILY THAT BUILT ITSELF ON LIES
The factory doors locked behind them.
The sound echoed through the empty building.
Claire felt it in her chest.
They were trapped.
Adrian Mercer stood perfectly still.
Too still.
She had learned something about him.
The calmer he looked...
the more dangerous the situation was.
His mother stood across from him.
Evelyn Mercer.
The woman Adrian thought had been gone for years.
The woman who apparently knew every secret buried beneath the Mercer name.
"Why?" Adrian finally asked.
One word.
But it carried years of pain.
Evelyn looked at her son.
"I wanted to protect you."
Adrian laughed.
A cold, broken sound.
"Protect me?"
He stepped forward.
"You disappeared."
"I had no choice."
"You left me alone with him."
Silence.
Claire watched Evelyn's expression change.
Regret.
Real regret.
"Your father was dangerous."
Adrian's eyes hardened.
"I know."
"No."
Evelyn shook her head.
"You don't."
A pause.
"He wasn't just controlling the company."
She looked around the factory.
"He was controlling everything."
Victor crossed his arms.
"Tell him."
Evelyn looked at him.
"You don't get to pretend you're innocent."
Victor smiled.
"I never said I was."
Claire felt sick.
Because everyone in this family seemed to carry a different version of the truth.
Adrian looked at his mother.
"What did Rebecca find?"
Evelyn hesitated.
Then:
"Proof."
"Proof of what?"
"That your father built Mercer Holdings using illegal operations."
The words hung in the air.
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
"Adrian—"
"No."
His voice grew louder.
"I spent my entire life cleaning this company."
"I know."
"I turned it legitimate."
"I know."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Evelyn looked away.
"Because I was afraid."
"Of him?"
"No."
She looked at Adrian.
"Of what you would become."
Silence.
Claire saw the pain on his face.
Because that was the one thing Adrian feared most.
Not losing money.
Not losing power.
Becoming the man who hurt him.
Victor stepped closer.
"You still don't understand."
Adrian looked at him.
"You think this is about revenge."
Victor smiled.
"It is."
A pause.
"But not only that."
He looked at Claire.
"You want to know why Rebecca disappeared?"
Adrian froze.
"She wasn't killed."
Claire held her breath.
"Then where is she?"
Victor looked toward the second floor of the factory.
"Close."
Everyone turned.
A door opened.
A woman stepped out.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
Claire covered her mouth.
Adrian couldn't move.
Because the impossible had just happened.
Rebecca Mercer was standing in front of him.
For several seconds...
the world stopped.
Adrian whispered:
"No."
Rebecca's eyes filled with tears.
"Adrian."
He stared at her.
Like his mind refused to accept what his eyes were seeing.
"You died."
Rebecca shook her head.
"I tried to come back."
A tear slipped down her face.
"I tried."
Adrian finally moved.
One step.
Then another.
But he stopped.
Because after twelve years...
after grieving...
after burying her...
he didn't know how to touch a ghost.
"Why?"
The question broke everyone.
Rebecca looked at him.
"Because your father threatened Lily."
Adrian froze.
"What?"
"He said if I exposed the truth, he would take her away."
Claire looked at Lily's picture on Adrian's phone.
Their daughter.
The reason behind everything.
Rebecca continued.
"I thought disappearing would protect her."
Adrian's voice became quiet.
"You let me believe you were dead."
"I know."
"You let Lily grow up without you."
Rebecca closed her eyes.
"I know."
The pain in Adrian's face was unbearable.
Claire had never seen him this vulnerable.
Then Victor interrupted.
"Beautiful reunion."
Everyone looked at him.
"But we're forgetting something."
He pulled a gun.
Claire froze.
Adrian immediately stepped in front of Rebecca.
"Victor."
His brother smiled.
"This family always chooses the same thing."
"What?"
"Love."
A pause.
"And love always makes people weak."
The gun moved.
Not toward Adrian.
Toward Claire.
Adrian's entire expression changed.
"Don't."
Victor smiled.
"There it is."
The fear.
The weakness.
The thing Adrian Mercer couldn't control.
And Claire realized...
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Victor never wanted the company.
He wanted Adrian to suffer.
