Chapter 11 - The Enemy in the Bathroom
Victor Hale wasn't supposed to be alive. Yet he stood ten feet away, holding the truth that could destroy my family.
I raised my phone.
Victor laughed.
“You still record everything?”
“Habit.”
“Good.”
Evan stepped aside.
I didn't move.
Victor looked older than the photograph.
Gray hair.
Thin face.
Calm eyes.
“You look like your father.”
“You knew he'd die.”
“Yes.”
“You were there.”
“Yes.”
“You poisoned him.”
“No.”
I stared at him.
“Then who?”
He looked at Evan.
“Your brother knows.”
I turned.
Evan's face had gone pale.
“Tell her.”
Victor's voice was cold.
Evan nodded.
“Mom did it.”
I felt numb.
“She poisoned Dad?”
“She poisoned him with a medication that interacted with his heart condition.”
“Why?”
“Because he was going to expose everything.”
I looked at Victor.
“What exactly did everything mean?”
Victor smiled.
“Your father and I built the original network together.”
“What network?”
“Money laundering.”
I didn't react.
He continued.
“We used legitimate companies to hide illegal payments.”
“And Nexus?”
“Your father created it as insurance.”
“Against you?”
“Yes.”
“But you funded it.”
“Of course.”
“So you lost control.”
“Yes.”
“And then Dad transferred ownership to me.”
Victor nodded.
“You became the legal owner.”
I looked at Evan.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Dad ordered me to protect you.”
“From Victor?”
“From everyone.”
Victor stepped closer.
“Your father made one mistake.”
“What?”
“He believed your mother loved you more than she loved power.”
Silence.
I thought of my mother.
The phone call.
Her calm voice.
The warnings.
The years she had disappeared.
“What is she planning?”
Victor smiled.
“To take Nexus.”
“How?”
“She already has.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
Victor's phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
Then at me.
“Check your company's public filing.”
I opened it.
My hands went numb.
Nexus had a new interim chairperson.
The appointment had been made overnight.
The name:
Deborah Bennett.
My aunt.
I looked at Victor.
“You're working with my aunt.”
“No.”
“Then who?”
He smiled.
“Your mother.”
I stared at the screen.
“How?”
“She convinced the board that you were mentally unstable.”
I laughed once.
It sounded hollow.
“She can't.”
Victor handed me another document.
A psychological evaluation.
My name.
My photograph.
A diagnosis.
A recommendation that I be removed from executive control.
I looked at Evan.
“Is this fake?”
“Yes.”
“Who signed it?”
He didn't answer.
I already knew.
My old family doctor.
Someone who had attended my father's funeral.
Someone my mother trusted.
Victor looked at his watch.
“You have thirty-six hours.”
“Until what?”
“Nexus is transferred.”
“To whom?”
He smiled.
“To a company your mother already controls.”
I looked at Evan.
“Why are you helping me?”
He swallowed.
“Because Dad made me promise.”
“Promise what?”
“Never let Mom take the company.”
Victor walked toward the door.
I followed.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“You're not afraid?”
“Of your mother?”
He smiled.
“Yes.”
For the first time, Victor Hale looked genuinely afraid.
Then he said the sentence that made my entire body go cold.
“She isn't the most dangerous person in this family.”
He disappeared.
I turned to Evan.
“Who is?”
May you like
He looked directly at me.
“You.”
