Chapter 6 - THE VANCE SECRETJonathan took me through a hidden tunnel beneath the abandoned house.
I didn't ask how he knew it existed.
At that point, I had stopped being surprised.
He led me into an underground room filled with boxes.
Photographs.
Documents.
Old newspapers.
The entire history of the Vance family.
“You've been planning this for years,” I said.
Jonathan nodded.
“My family lost everything because of them.”
“What happened to Richard?”
“They destroyed him.”
“And your mother?”
“She died believing he'd betrayed her.”
I looked at the files.
“Why bring me into this?”
“Because you're the first person in the Vance family who wasn't born into their lies.”
I thought of Flynn.
“You're wrong.”
“No.”
Jonathan opened another folder.
Inside was a birth certificate.
Flynn Vance.
Mother: Eleanor Cole.
Father: Richard Cole.
I stared at the document.
“So Flynn is Richard's son.”
“Yes.”
“And Selina is his sister.”
“Yes.”
“Then why was she obsessed with him?”
Jonathan's face darkened.
“Because Selina isn't Richard's biological daughter.”
I looked up.
“What?”
“She was adopted.”
My mind raced.
“Then why hide it?”
“Because Richard wasn't her father.”
“Who was?”
Jonathan hesitated.
“Eleanor's second husband.”
“Who?”
“Marcus Vale.”
The name meant nothing.
But Jonathan looked terrified when he said it.
“That man built the Vance fortune.”
I frowned.
“Then why is he not in the records?”
“Because he died before the company existed.”
Jonathan handed me a newspaper clipping.
A factory explosion.
One of the largest industrial accidents in the state's history.
The article said eighteen people died.
Among the dead was Marcus Vale.
But there was a note handwritten on the bottom.
He didn't die there.
I looked at Jonathan.
“You think he's alive?”
“I know he is.”
“Where?”
“Inside Vance Global.”
That sentence made my blood run cold.
“You're saying Marcus Vale is alive?”
“Yes.”
“Then who is he?”
Jonathan looked at me.
“The company's chairman.”
I froze.
Vance Global had a chairman.
He rarely appeared publicly.
His name was Vincent Vance.
Flynn's grandfather.
But Vincent Vance had supposedly died five years earlier.
Jonathan laughed.
“Publicly, yes.”
A sound came from upstairs.
We both froze.
Footsteps.
Someone had entered the house.
Jonathan extinguished the lights.
We waited.
The footsteps came closer.
Then a voice.
“Jonathan.”
A man's voice.
Older.
Calm.
I knew it.
I had heard it once before.
At a Vance family dinner.
Vincent.
Flynn's grandfather.
But he was supposed to be dead.
The basement door opened.
Light flooded in.
An old man stood there.
His hair was white.
His posture straight.
His eyes sharp.
He smiled.
“Mabel.”
I stepped backward.
“How do you know my name?”
“Because I've been watching you since before your wedding.”
Jonathan raised his weapon.
The old man laughed.
“You still believe guns make you powerful.”
Jonathan's hand tightened.
“Marcus.”
The old man smiled.
“So you finally figured it out.”
My breathing stopped.
He was Marcus Vale.
Alive.
And standing in front of us.
He looked at me.
“You were never supposed to survive the hospital.”
“Why?”
“Because your children inherited something.”
“What?”
He smiled.
“A bloodline.”
I frowned.
“That makes no sense.”
“It will.”
He looked at Jonathan.
“Tell her.”
Jonathan refused.
Marcus stepped forward.
“Those twins were not ordinary heirs.”
I felt sick.
“What did you do to my babies?”
Marcus smiled.
“Nothing.”
Then he leaned close.
“Their existence was dangerous.”
A sudden noise echoed upstairs.
Police sirens.
Marcus looked toward the stairs.
“It's time.”
“Time for what?”
He looked at me.
“For Flynn to choose.”
My heart pounded.
“Choose what?”
Marcus smiled.
“You or Selina.”
Then he walked away.
Jonathan stared after him.
I whispered:
“What does that mean?”
Jonathan's answer terrified me.
“It means the game was never about your marriage.”
May you like
He looked at the clock.
“It was about who inherits Vance Global.”
