Chapter 4: The Man Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
Chapter 4: The Man Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
The message remained on the screen.
“You should have left the past buried.”
Five words.
But they carried the weight of a threat.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody laughed.
Nobody moved.
The rooftop that had once been filled with music and celebration had become something else entirely.
A battlefield without weapons.
A room full of powerful people suddenly realizing that power did not always mean safety.
Isabella stared at the screen.
Her mind struggled to process everything happening around her.
An unfaithful fiancé.
A missing friend who had returned with secrets.
A corrupt family member.
A hidden investigation from her dead father.
And now...
someone from the past.
Someone who was supposed to be gone forever.
She looked at the old photograph in Victoria’s hands.
Her eyes moved from face to face.
Her father.
Her uncle.
And the mysterious person standing beside them.
The image was old, slightly damaged.
But the face was still clear.
Isabella knew that face.
She had seen it once before.
In childhood photographs.
In stories her father told her.
In memories she thought belonged to another lifetime.
Her lips parted.
“No…”
Victoria looked at her.
“You recognize him.”
Isabella slowly shook her head.
“That’s impossible.”
Elena stepped closer.
“Who is he?”
Isabella looked at the photograph.
Her voice became quieter.
“That’s…”
She swallowed.
“My grandfather.”
The entire room froze.
Richard Laurent’s father.
The founder of the original Laurent empire.
A man who had supposedly died twenty years ago.
A man whose funeral Isabella had attended as a child.
A man whose name had disappeared from company records after his death.
Victor immediately stepped forward.
“That’s not him.”
Everyone looked at him.
Victor’s reaction was too fast.
Too emotional.
Elena noticed.
And so did Isabella.
“Uncle Victor.”
Her voice was cold.
“Why are you so certain?”
Victor stopped.
For the first time, he had no answer.
Victoria looked at him.
“Because you were there.”
Victor’s face changed.
“What?”
“You were there the night he disappeared.”
The guests looked confused.
Elena turned toward Victoria.
“Explain.”
Victoria took a deep breath.
“The official story was that Alexander Laurent died from a heart attack while traveling.”
She looked at the photograph.
“But that wasn’t the truth.”
Isabella stared.
“What happened?”
Victoria looked at Adrian.
“He knows.”
Everyone turned.
Adrian’s expression became dark.
“You’re lying.”
Victoria shook her head.
“No.”
She reached into the folder.
She removed a small recording device.
“I found this in your private office.”
Adrian’s face lost color.
Victoria pressed play.
A voice filled the rooftop.
Adrian’s voice.
Everyone heard it.
“I don’t care what happens to the old man. Once the documents are signed, everything belongs to us.”
Isabella covered her mouth.
“No…”
Adrian immediately stepped forward.
“That recording is fake.”
Elena looked at him.
“Then why do you look terrified?”
Adrian said nothing.
The recording continued.
Another voice appeared.
An older voice.
A voice Isabella had not heard in years.
Her grandfather.
Alexander Laurent.
“Richard was right about you.”
The entire room went silent.
Alexander’s voice continued.
“You thought power was inherited.”
A pause.
“But power is earned.”
Adrian’s voice became angry.
“You’re already finished.”
Alexander answered calmly.
“No.”
The recording ended.
The rooftop remained silent.
Isabella looked broken.
“My grandfather was alive?”
Elena slowly nodded.
“That appears to be the case.”
“But why?”
Nobody answered.
Then a sound came from behind them.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Controlled.
Everyone turned.
A man stood near the entrance.
Older.
Silver hair.
A dark coat.
A face marked by years of hidden battles.
The room went completely still.
Because everyone recognized him.
Even those who had never met him knew exactly who he was.
Alexander Laurent.
The man who had supposedly died twenty years ago.
The man who had been erased from history.
The man standing there alive.
Isabella stepped back.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“No…”
The man looked at her.
And for the first time that night, someone looked genuinely emotional.
“My granddaughter.”
The words broke something inside Isabella.
She had spent years believing she lost him.
Believing her father was the last connection to that generation.
Now he was standing in front of her.
Alive.
But the joy lasted only a moment.
Because she remembered something.
“You knew?”
Her voice trembled.
“You knew everything?”
Alexander lowered his eyes.
“Yes.”
The answer hurt more than anything else.
Isabella looked away.
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“Yes.”
“You let my father carry everything alone.”
Alexander said nothing.
“You let our family fall apart.”
His silence became the answer.
Elena watched carefully.
Because this was not the reaction of a man returning as a hero.
It was the reaction of someone carrying guilt.
Alexander finally spoke.
“I disappeared because I discovered the truth.”
He looked toward Victor.
“And because I knew someone would kill me if I stayed.”
Victor immediately shouted:
“This is insane!”
Alexander looked at him.
“You were always impatient, Victor.”
The room went silent.
“You wanted everything immediately.”
Victor’s face became pale.
Alexander continued.
“You were willing to destroy your own family for power.”
Victor stepped forward.
“You have no proof.”
Alexander smiled sadly.
“I spent twenty years collecting it.”
He looked at Elena.
That surprised everyone.
Because Elena and Alexander clearly knew each other.
“You helped me hide.”
Elena nodded.
“Yes.”
Isabella looked between them.
“You knew each other?”
“Yes.”
Elena answered.
“Your grandfather was the reason I entered the Laurent family’s business.”
Isabella stared.
“What?”
Alexander looked at her.
“Your father trusted Elena because I trusted her first.”
The pieces slowly connected.
But one question remained.
Why had Alexander returned tonight?
Why now?
Why at Isabella’s wedding?
Before anyone could ask, the lights suddenly went out.
Complete darkness.
Guests screamed.
Security rushed forward.
Then a loud crash echoed from the stage.
When the emergency lights turned on...
everyone froze.
Because Alexander Laurent was gone.
And on the floor where he had been standing...
was a single black envelope.
Elena picked it up.
Her expression changed as soon as she read the message inside.
Isabella noticed.
“What does it say?”
Elena looked at her.
For the first time...
there was fear in her eyes.
She handed Isabella the paper.
Three words were written.
“Your father lied.”
The rooftop fell silent again.
Because if Richard Laurent had lied...
then everything they believed was wrong.
And the biggest secret of the Laurent family...
had not been revealed yet.
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It had only begun.
End of Chapter 4
