CHAPTER 7 — THE TRUTH JONATHAN CAME TO TELL
The warehouse went completely dark.
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
Then another gunshot cracked through the building.
My father pulled me behind a concrete pillar.
Victor crouched beside us.
“Stay down,” he whispered.
My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it.
“Where's Detective Reed?”
“Outside,” I whispered.
Victor looked at me.
“If he's still alive.”
Those words made my stomach drop.
I reached for the radio.
“Detective Reed?”
Static.
I tried again.
“Reed, answer me.”
Nothing.
My father grabbed my shoulder.
“Don't transmit again.”
“Why?”
“They can track the signal.”
“Who?”
“Jonathan's people.”
I looked toward the staircase.
Shadows moved below.
At least four.
Maybe more.
Then the warehouse lights suddenly flickered.
Once.
Twice.
They came back on.
A man stood at the bottom of the stairs.
Dark suit.
Silver hair.
Calm expression.
Jonathan Cross.
He looked exactly like the man from the television.
Except now he was standing thirty feet away.
And he wasn't alone.
Four armed men stood behind him.
Jonathan slowly raised his eyes toward me.
“Connor.”
I stepped out from behind the pillar.
My father grabbed my arm.
“Don't.”
But I pulled away.
“You wanted me here.”
Jonathan smiled.
“Yes.”
“Then talk.”
He looked at Daniel.
“Your father always did have a talent for making complicated things simple.”
My father stared at him.
“You killed innocent people.”
Jonathan shook his head.
“No.”
“You destroyed lives.”
“I built an empire.”
“You stole billions.”
“I moved billions.”
My father laughed bitterly.
“And that's supposed to make it better?”
Jonathan ignored him.
He looked at me.
“Your father told you I was the villain.”
I said nothing.
“He probably told you about the money.”
“Yes.”
“The fake companies.”
“Yes.”
“The missing people.”
“Yes.”
Jonathan sighed.
“Then he told you only half the story.”
I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
Everyone kept saying that.
Half the story.
Never the whole truth.
“What happened twelve years ago?”
Jonathan's expression hardened.
“Your father betrayed me.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“You were trafficking people.”
Jonathan's smile disappeared.
“That is what he told you.”
“Isn't it true?”
“No.”
“Then explain the missing people.”
“They were witnesses.”
“Witnesses to what?”
Jonathan looked at me.
“To a financial operation your father was running.”
My father shook his head.
“Don't listen to him.”
Jonathan continued.
“Daniel wasn't an innocent whistleblower.”
I stared at my father.
“What does he mean?”
My father said nothing.
Jonathan smiled.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“That hesitation.”
He stepped closer.
“Ask him about the first account.”
I looked at Daniel.
“Dad?”
He looked away.
“What first account?”
Jonathan answered for him.
“The one containing eighteen million dollars.”
I felt dizzy.
“Dad?”
Daniel finally spoke.
“It wasn't mine.”
“Then whose was it?”
“Jonathan's.”
Jonathan laughed.
“You see?”
My father snapped.
“You know exactly what happened.”
“Tell him.”
Daniel remained silent.
Jonathan looked at me.
“Your father wasn't working against me.”
He paused.
“He was working with me.”
My entire body went cold.
“No.”
Daniel looked at me.
“Connor…”
“You were partners?”
“For a time.”
My mind raced.
The photograph.
The contracts.
The company.
The millions.
Everything suddenly looked different.
My father had not merely discovered the conspiracy.
He had helped build it.
“How long?”
“Eight years,” Jonathan said.
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Seven.”
Jonathan smiled.
“Eight.”
My father looked at me.
“I was trying to get out.”
“But you didn't.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of Jonathan?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you leave?”
My father's eyes filled with regret.
“Because of you.”
I stared at him.
“You knew about me?”
“Every day.”
“Then why didn't you come back?”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because the moment Jonathan discovered you were my son, you would have become leverage.”
I looked at Victor.
“And him?”
Jonathan suddenly laughed.
“Victor?”
Victor's expression remained cold.
“He betrayed me too.”
My head spun.
Everyone had betrayed everyone.
There were no heroes anymore.
Only people with secrets.
Jonathan raised a hand.
“Victor was supposed to bring me the evidence.”
Victor said nothing.
“But he failed.”
Jonathan looked at me.
“Then Teresa made the same mistake.”
My stomach tightened.
“My mother.”
“Yes.”
“You said she sold me out.”
Jonathan smiled.
“She did.”
“Why?”
“Because she wanted you alive.”
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
Jonathan nodded toward my father.
“Ask Daniel what happens when someone tries to expose me.”
My father whispered,
“Connor, don't believe him.”
Jonathan suddenly pulled out a photograph.
He held it up.
It showed Amy.
Standing outside the hospital.
Holding Frederick.
My blood froze.
Jonathan smiled.
“Your wife is very easy to find.”
I lunged forward.
Victor grabbed me.
“Don't!”
Jonathan laughed.
“You see?”
He lowered the photograph.
“That's why Teresa cooperated.”
My voice shook.
“What did she do?”
“She gave us information.”
“What information?”
“Your schedule.”
My stomach dropped.
“Your bank accounts.”
My fists clenched.
“Your son's medical records.”
I stared at him.
“And your wife's movements.”
I wanted to attack him.
But my father grabbed my shoulder.
“Connor.”
Jonathan continued.
“She thought if she gave us enough information, we'd leave your family alone.”
I looked at my father.
“Is that true?”
He nodded slowly.
“She was trying to protect you.”
I closed my eyes.
My mother had humiliated Amy.
She had controlled our money.
She had invaded our home.
She had lied to me.
But perhaps, beneath all of it, she had been trying to keep Jonathan away from us.
That didn't excuse what she had done.
But it changed the picture.
Jonathan suddenly pulled out another document.
“You want the truth about your birth?”
I looked up.
“Yes.”
He held it toward me.
“Come here.”
Victor stepped in front of me.
“No.”
Jonathan smiled.
“Then your father dies.”
He pointed at Daniel.
One of the armed men raised his weapon.
I stepped forward.
“Stop.”
Victor grabbed my arm.
“Connor, don't.”
I walked toward Jonathan.
He handed me the document.
I looked down.
It was a hospital record.
My name was listed as:
Connor Hale.
Father:
Victor Hale.
Mother:
Evelyn Hale.
Everything Teresa had told me was true.
But then I saw another page.
A second birth record.
Same date.
Same hospital.
Same child.
Different parents.
Connor James Bradley.
I looked at Jonathan.
“There are two birth certificates.”
“Yes.”
“Which one is real?”
“Both.”
I frowned.
“That isn't possible.”
Jonathan leaned closer.
“It is when a child is born into a family that needs to disappear.”
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
He smiled.
“You were never supposed to exist.”
The room seemed to go silent.
“What?”
Jonathan looked toward Daniel.
“Your father was supposed to die twelve years ago.”
Then Victor.
“Victor was supposed to disappear.”
Then me.
“And you were supposed to inherit everything.”
I felt a chill.
“Inherit what?”
Jonathan's expression became serious.
“The company.”
I shook my head.
“I don't want it.”
“That doesn't matter.”
He pointed at me.
“Your blood gives you control.”
“Control of what?”
“The accounts.”
“The properties?”
“The evidence.”
My heart raced.
Then I understood.
The house.
The trust.
The company.
The safe.
My father's disappearance.
It had all been designed around me.
I wasn't just the heir.
I was the key.
Jonathan smiled.
“Your father built the entire system around your identity.”
My father shouted,
“Don't listen to him!”
Jonathan turned toward Daniel.
“You know I'm right.”
Daniel looked at me.
Then slowly nodded.
“I am.”
I felt betrayed all over again.
“You used me?”
“No.”
“You built everything around me!”
“To protect you.”
Jonathan laughed.
“Protection?”
He looked at Daniel.
“You created a financial empire in your son's name and then pretended he was an ordinary construction engineer.”
Daniel said nothing.
Jonathan stepped closer.
“Do you know what happens if Connor takes control of Bradley Property Holdings?”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“He gets access to every account.”
“Every account?”
“Every secret.”
I suddenly understood why they were hunting me.
Why the safe mattered.
Why my signature mattered.
Why my birth records mattered.
Why my mother had been controlling my money.
They didn't just want my house.
They wanted me to unlock everything.
Jonathan leaned close.
“Your father didn't hide the evidence in the safe.”
He smiled.
“He hid it inside you.”
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
Jonathan reached into his jacket.
Pulled out a small black device.
Then he pressed a button.
My phone vibrated.
A notification appeared.
BRADLEY PROPERTY HOLDINGS: IDENTITY VERIFICATION REQUIRED.
Below it was one option.
CONFIRM IDENTITY.
I stared at the screen.
Jonathan smiled.
“Press it.”
I didn't move.
“Press it, Connor.”
“No.”
His smile vanished.
“Then Amy dies.”
I looked up.
“What?”
Jonathan turned toward one of his men.
The man lifted his phone.
A live video appeared.
Amy was inside a room.
Frederick was in her arms.
Two armed men stood behind her.
My blood turned to ice.
“Amy!”
She looked toward the camera.
“Connor!”
Jonathan whispered:
“Choose.”
My thumb hovered over the screen.
One button.
One decision.
My family on one side.
The truth on the other.
Then my father suddenly whispered:
“Connor…”
I looked at him.
He said four words that changed my decision.
“Press it. Trust me.”
I pressed the button.
The screen went black.
Jonathan smiled.
Then his expression suddenly changed.
Because another notification appeared.
IDENTITY ACCEPTED.
SECONDARY OWNER DETECTED.
Jonathan stared at the screen.
“What?”
My father smiled for the first time.
May you like
And said:
“Now you know why I let them think I was dead.”
