Chapter 9 - THE MAN BETWEEN TWO FAMILIES
I stared at the photograph.
“No.”
My voice was barely audible.
My father looked at me.
“You know him?”
I nodded slowly.
“His name is Richard Hale.”
The room became colder.
Richard Hale.
My father’s closest friend.
The man who betrayed him.
The man who disappeared after millions vanished from Carter Global Holdings.
The man everyone believed had escaped the country.
But now…
there was a photograph.
Richard standing beside Dominic.
Years before I ever met him.
Dominic looked confused.
“I don’t understand.”
I turned toward him.
“How do you know Richard?”
His face changed.
Not fear.
Confusion.
“I don’t.”
My father studied him.
“Then explain this.”
Dominic took the photograph.
His hands shook.
“I was eighteen.”
Everyone looked at him.
“What?”
He swallowed.
“My father knew him.”
I froze.
“Your father?”
Dominic nodded.
“My father worked with Richard.”
The room went silent.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t know.”
His voice cracked.
“He left when I was young. My mother told me he abandoned us.”
I looked at Eleanor.
Her expression was unreadable.
My father stood.
“This changes everything.”
Dominic looked at him.
“Why?”
My father answered:
“Because Richard Hale didn’t just steal money.”
He paused.
“He destroyed lives.”
I looked at Dominic.
“And now he’s connected to you.”
Dominic shook his head.
“I had nothing to do with him.”
I believed him.
But belief wasn’t enough anymore.
Not after everything.
That night, I couldn’t sleep.
Too many questions.
Too many secrets.
My entire life had changed in one evening.
The woman everyone thought had nothing…
was the daughter of one of the most powerful businessmen in America.
The husband I trusted…
had a family connected to my father’s greatest betrayal.
And the woman who humiliated me…
had planned everything.
At midnight, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
No one spoke.
Then a man’s voice whispered:
“Vivienne Carter.”
My body froze.
“Who is this?”
A dark laugh came through the phone.
“You finally found out.”
My heart started racing.
“Richard?”
Silence.
Then:
“You think your father saved you tonight?”
I stood.
“What do you want?”
The voice became colder.
“I want what was taken from me.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“You’re threatening me?”
“No.”
A pause.
“I’m warning you.”
The call ended.
I stared at the screen.
Then I noticed something.
A message had arrived.
One photo.
One sentence.
The photo was of Dominic.
Standing outside a building.
Meeting someone.
Someone I recognized.
The message said:
“Ask your husband why he met your enemy yesterday.”
My heart stopped.
May you like
Because suddenly…
I didn’t know who was telling the truth anymore.
