CHAPTER 8 THE MAN WHO WAS NEVER HIS FATHER
Evelyn's scream echoed through the underground vault.
Gavin froze.
Victor Kane stood in the doorway with the pistol lowered at his side.
He looked almost relaxed.
As though he had not just detonated Gavin's entire understanding of his own life.
Gavin pointed his gun at him.
“Say that again.”
Victor smiled.
“Which part?”
“The part about my father.”
Victor glanced toward Daniel.
“Ask him.”
Gavin turned.
Daniel's face had gone gray.
“Daniel?”
The older man didn't answer.
“Are you my uncle?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Gavin's hand trembled.
“Then where is my father?”
Daniel looked at Victor.
“Dead.”
Victor laughed softly.
“No.”
Daniel's expression hardened.
“Don't.”
Victor stepped into the vault.
“Your father isn't dead.”
Gavin's heart stopped.
Victor continued.
“He's been dead for twenty-two years.”
Daniel stared at him.
“Stop playing games.”
“I don't need to.”
Victor looked at Gavin.
“He already knows enough.”
Gavin's voice was barely audible.
“Who was my father?”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“Richard Roberson.”
Gavin shook his head.
“You just said Daniel wasn't Richard.”
“He isn't.”
“Then where is Richard?”
Victor didn't answer.
Gavin raised the gun higher.
“Tell me.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“Put the weapon down.”
“No.”
“You're holding a gun at the man who can tell you everything.”
“Then start talking.”
Victor sighed.
“Richard was my half-brother.”
Gavin stared at him.
“Your grandfather had two sons.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Victor…”
“Let him hear it.”
Victor's voice became colder.
“Richard was the legitimate heir. Daniel was the obedient son. And I…”
He smiled.
“…was the son nobody wanted.”
Gavin's mind raced.
His grandfather.
Three sons.
Richard.
Daniel.
Victor.
And somewhere in that family war was his mother.
Evelyn.
And Taylor.
Victor continued.
“Your grandfather built Roberson Holdings by stealing from people who trusted him. Richard discovered it. Daniel helped him. I helped your grandfather.”
Gavin looked at Daniel.
“You knew?”
Daniel nodded.
“I was young.”
“You helped them?”
“I thought I was protecting the family.”
“You helped murder my father?”
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
“No.”
Victor laughed.
“That's the problem with Daniel. He always wanted to be the hero after the blood was already on the floor.”
Gavin turned toward Victor.
“You killed my father?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Victor's face changed.
“Your grandfather.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard tried to expose him.”
Gavin stared at the documents.
“And my mother?”
“Evelyn discovered what happened.”
“So he tried to silence her.”
“Yes.”
“And Taylor?”
Victor's eyes moved toward the little girl.
“She was the final piece.”
Gavin stepped in front of Taylor.
“You will not touch her.”
Victor smiled.
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
“I'm not here for her.”
Gavin's eyes narrowed.
“Then what do you want?”
Victor pointed at the red folder.
“That.”
Gavin glanced down.
The folder containing his DNA records.
His entire history.
His identity.
“You already knew.”
“Yes.”
“Then why chase me?”
“Because there was one page missing.”
“What page?”
“The one your father hid.”
Gavin looked at Daniel.
Daniel slowly shook his head.
“Don't give it to him.”
Victor raised his weapon.
“Give me the folder.”
Gavin didn't move.
Victor's voice became colder.
“Now.”
Gavin suddenly threw the folder toward the opposite side of the vault.
Victor turned.
Daniel fired.
Victor ducked.
Gavin grabbed Taylor.
“RUN!”
Priscilla followed.
They rushed toward a narrow passage behind the vault.
Daniel stayed behind.
Gavin shouted,
“Daniel!”
“Go!”
A gunshot exploded.
Gavin turned.
Daniel fell against the wall.
“DANIEL!”
“GO!”
Gavin dragged Taylor through the passage.
Priscilla followed.
Behind them, Victor shouted.
“You can't run from your blood, Gavin!”
They disappeared into darkness.
The passage was narrow.
Old pipes lined the walls.
Water dripped from the ceiling.
Taylor clung to Gavin's neck.
“I'm scared.”
“I know.”
“Is that man my grandpa?”
Gavin looked at her.
“No.”
Taylor frowned.
“Then why did he say he was?”
Gavin didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
His entire family tree had become a maze.
Every name had another name behind it.
Every truth had another lie underneath.
Priscilla grabbed his arm.
“Gavin.”
“What?”
“We need to stop.”
“We can't.”
“Daniel is hurt.”
“We can't go back.”
“He saved us.”
“I know.”
“Then we can't leave him.”
Gavin stopped.
For a moment, he considered turning around.
Then they heard footsteps.
Victor's voice echoed through the tunnel.
“Gavin!”
Priscilla pulled him forward.
“Keep moving.”
They reached a metal ladder.
Gavin climbed first.
He pushed open a hatch.
Cold night air rushed in.
They emerged behind an abandoned warehouse.
Gavin set Taylor down.
Priscilla climbed out.
Then she looked back.
“Where are we?”
Gavin looked around.
The harbor.
But not the warehouse they'd been driving toward.
This was an older section.
Abandoned.
Broken.
He pulled out his phone.
No signal.
Priscilla whispered,
“We're trapped.”
“No.”
Gavin looked toward the road.
A single vehicle sat parked in the distance.
An old black sedan.
Its engine was running.
Gavin approached cautiously.
The driver's door opened.
A woman stepped out.
Gavin stopped.
He knew her face.
He had seen her in the photographs.
“Marissa?”
The woman looked at him.
Then at Taylor.
Tears filled her eyes.
“Emily.”
Taylor stared at her.
“Who are you?”
Marissa dropped to her knees.
“I've been looking for you for three years.”
Gavin stepped between them.
“Don't touch her.”
Marissa nodded.
“I understand.”
“Where is my mother?”
Marissa looked at him.
“Which one?”
Gavin's stomach dropped.
“What?”
“Evelyn or Nora?”
Gavin stared.
“Both.”
Marissa's expression changed.
“I can take you to Nora.”
“Where?”
“She has the key.”
“To what?”
“The family vault.”
Gavin shook his head.
“We already found it.”
“No.”
Marissa looked toward the warehouse.
“You found the first vault.”
Gavin went still.
“The first?”
“There are three.”
Priscilla's face went pale.
“Three?”
Marissa nodded.
“The second is under the Roberson estate.”
“And the third?”
Marissa looked directly at Gavin.
“The third is inside the hospital where you were born.”
Gavin's blood ran cold.
“St. Catherine's.”
“Yes.”
“But it was demolished.”
Marissa nodded.
“Officially.”
Gavin stared at her.
“What's inside?”
“The original birth records.”
Priscilla whispered,
“And the truth about Gavin.”
Marissa looked at her.
“You know.”
Priscilla lowered her eyes.
“I know enough.”
Gavin turned toward her.
“Then tell me.”
Priscilla hesitated.
“Not here.”
“Now.”
“Gavin…”
“Now.”
Marissa looked between them.
Then she said,
“She knows who your biological father is.”
Gavin stared at Priscilla.
“You said Victor was my father.”
“I was wrong.”
“Wrong?”
“I was protecting you.”
“From what?”
Priscilla's eyes filled with tears.
“From the truth.”
Gavin stepped closer.
“What truth?”
Priscilla whispered,
“Victor isn't your biological father.”
Gavin's expression hardened.
“Then who is?”
Priscilla looked at Marissa.
Marissa shook her head.
“Tell him.”
Priscilla closed her eyes.
“Your biological father was Richard Bell.”
Gavin stopped breathing.
“My uncle?”
“No.”
Priscilla shook her head.
“The man you've been calling Richard Bell…”
She swallowed.
“…isn't your uncle.”
Gavin stared at her.
“Then who is he?”
Priscilla whispered,
“Your biological father.”
Silence.
Gavin's mind went blank.
“But Richard Bell was Evelyn's brother.”
“No.”
“Daniel said…”
“Daniel was lying.”
“Why?”
“Because he was afraid.”
“Of whom?”
Priscilla looked toward the harbor.
“Of your real grandfather.”
Gavin frowned.
“Victor?”
“No.”
Priscilla's voice became almost inaudible.
“Your grandfather is still alive.”
Gavin felt the cold spread through his body.
“That’s impossible.”
“I saw him.”
“When?”
“Six years ago.”
“Where?”
Priscilla pointed toward the distant city.
“At the Roberson estate.”
Gavin stared.
“My grandfather died fifteen years ago.”
“No.”
“He had a funeral.”
“Yes.”
“A burial.”
“Yes.”
“Then who was buried?”
Priscilla didn't answer.
Marissa did.
“A stranger.”
Gavin stepped backward.
“No.”
Marissa nodded.
“Your grandfather staged his own death.”
“Why?”
“To disappear from the world.”
“And control everything from the shadows.”
“Yes.”
Gavin looked toward the city.
For fifteen years, he had believed the old man was dead.
But if he wasn't…
Then every decision Gavin had made could have been watched.
Every company.
Every account.
Every relationship.
Every step.
He suddenly remembered something.
His grandfather's final letter.
A letter Gavin had received when he was fifteen.
It had only contained one sentence:
Never trust the person who tells you everything is finally over.
Gavin had always thought it was a strange farewell.
Now it sounded like a warning.
His phone suddenly vibrated.
Signal had returned.
One new message.
Unknown number.
Gavin opened it.
A photograph appeared.
His mother's face.
Evelyn.
She was tied to a chair.
Blood on her forehead.
Behind her stood an older man.
White hair.
Sharp eyes.
Gavin recognized him instantly.
His grandfather.
The message beneath the photograph contained only five words:
COME HOME, LITTLE HEIR. ALONE.
Gavin stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
OR YOUR MOTHER DIES.
Taylor suddenly grabbed his hand.
“Mr. Gavin?”
He looked down.
The little girl was crying.
“What's wrong?”
Taylor pointed at the phone.
“That's the man.”
Gavin's heart stopped.
“What man?”
“The man who came to Mommy's room.”
Gavin looked at her.
“Which man?”
Taylor pointed at the photograph.
“Your grandpa.”
Gavin stared at the screen.
Then at Taylor.
She had seen him before.
She recognized him.
Which meant his grandfather had been watching Nora.
Watching Taylor.
Watching Gavin.
For years.
And suddenly Gavin remembered the first thing Taylor had said when she grabbed his hand.
Don't move, sir. Come with me.
She hadn't simply been asking for help.
She had been warning him.
Because someone had told her exactly what would happen if Gavin stayed in that ballroom.
Gavin looked at Marissa.
“Take Taylor.”
Marissa shook her head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because your grandfather isn't asking for you.”
Gavin frowned.
“He wants the heir.”
Marissa looked at Taylor.
“No.”
She pointed at the little girl.
“He wants her.”
Gavin's heart stopped.
Marissa continued.
“Because Taylor is the only person who can unlock the final trust.”
Gavin stared at the child.
And for the first time, he understood why armed men had been ordered to take her alive.
She wasn't just the hidden daughter of Richard Roberson.
She wasn't just the real heir.
She was the key to everything.
Then a black helicopter appeared above the harbor.
Its spotlight swept across the ground.
Marissa grabbed Gavin's shoulder.
“Run.”
The helicopter door opened.
A sniper rifle appeared.
Gavin pulled Taylor against his chest.
A shot rang out.
The bullet struck the ground inches from his feet.
Another shot.
Marissa screamed.
Priscilla fell.
Gavin turned toward her.
Blood spread across her dress.
She looked up at him.
And whispered:
“Don't trust me.”
Then she collapsed.
Gavin stared at her in horror.
Above them, the helicopter descended.
And inside the open doorway stood the old man from the photograph.
Gavin's grandfather.
Alive.
May you like
Watching him.
Smiling.
