Chapter 4: The Name Hidden Inside the File
The name on the folder seemed impossible.
For several seconds, nobody in the library moved.
The storm outside had grown stronger, sending waves crashing against the cliffs beneath Vance Manor. The sound of the ocean filled the silence, but inside the room, every person was focused on the same thing.
The file.
The name written across the front.
Daniel Cross held it tightly in his hands.
His expression had changed completely.
The confidence he carried as head of security was gone.
Because the person listed inside Alexander Vance's final emergency records was not a stranger.
Not an enemy.
Not someone they could easily accuse.
It was someone who had been standing beside them from the beginning.
Margaret Hale.
Victoria noticed the change in Daniel's face.
And slowly...
A smile appeared.
Not a happy smile.
A victorious one.
"Interesting.""
Everyone looked at her.
Victoria stepped closer.
"So now we are finally asking the right questions.""
Margaret's eyes remained fixed on the file.
"Daniel.""
He did not answer.
"Open it.""
Daniel hesitated.
For the first time that night, he looked uncertain.
Victoria crossed her arms.
"What happened?""
No one responded.
Her smile grew.
"Suddenly nobody wants the truth anymore?""
Daniel opened the folder.
Inside were several pages.
Medical records.
Travel documents.
Private communications.
And one handwritten note.
Daniel picked it up.
His eyes moved across the words.
Then stopped.
"What does it say?"" Elena asked.
Daniel slowly looked up.
"Alexander wrote this himself.""
Margaret stepped forward.
"Read it.""
Daniel unfolded the paper.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Alexander Vance.
"If anything happens to me, Margaret Hale is the only person I trust enough to expose the truth.""
Victoria's smile disappeared.
Daniel continued reading.
"But trust does not mean innocence.""
The room became silent.
Margaret closed her eyes.
Because she knew what came next.
"Margaret knows where the bodies are buried. She knows the secrets of this family. She knows every mistake I have ever made.""
Daniel lowered the paper slightly.
"If she is standing beside you when this message is discovered, listen carefully to what she says...""
A pause.
Nobody moved.
"But do not assume she tells the entire truth.""
The words hung in the air.
Victoria looked at Margaret.
"How convenient.""
Margaret remained silent.
Victoria laughed softly.
"So you came here pretending to save us.""
"No.""
"While hiding your own connection to my father.""
"No.""
"While knowing he suspected you.""
Margaret finally looked at her.
"Alexander suspected everyone.""
Victoria stepped closer.
"But not everyone was listed as his emergency contact.""
The lawyer's expression hardened.
"You have no idea what that means.""
"Then explain.""
Margaret looked around the room.
At Daniel.
At Elena.
At the hidden vault.
Then finally at Victoria.
"Your father was preparing for war.""
Victoria frowned.
"Against who?""
Margaret's answer was quiet.
"Everyone.""
Nobody spoke.
She walked toward the desk in the library and placed the file down.
"Alexander Vance spent forty years building an empire.""
Her fingers touched the papers.
"But empires create enemies.""
She looked at the shelves filled with family history.
"Competitors.""
"Partners.""
"Government officials.""
"Even family members.""
Victoria's face tightened.
"You are talking about me.""
Margaret did not deny it.
"I am talking about everyone.""
The answer irritated Victoria.
Because she wanted anger.
She wanted accusation.
She wanted something she could fight.
Instead, Margaret gave her something worse.
The truth.
Uncertainty.
Daniel looked at the documents again.
"There is something else.""
Everyone turned.
He removed another page.
A security report.
"Alexander requested surveillance on three people during his final month.""
Victoria's expression changed.
"Who?""
Daniel read the names.
"Theodore Blackwell.""
A pause.
"Victoria Vance.""
Another pause.
Then:
"Margaret Hale.""
Nobody spoke.
Victoria looked at Margaret.
Margaret looked back.
The alliance between them had completely collapsed.
Because now everyone understood.
Alexander had not trusted anyone.
Not completely.
The billionaire had spent his final days collecting evidence against the people closest to him.
Daniel placed the report on the table.
"There is one more person.""
Victoria looked at him.
"What?""
Daniel turned the page.
"This person wasn't under surveillance.""
"Then why mention them?""
Daniel's voice became lower.
"Because Alexander wrote their name separately.""
Elena slowly approached.
"Who?""
Daniel looked at the paper.
His expression changed.
"No.""
Margaret noticed.
"What is it?""
Daniel handed her the document.
She read the name.
Then froze.
Victoria saw her reaction.
"Who is it?""
Margaret did not answer.
Victoria grabbed the paper.
Everyone expected her to become angry.
But instead...
She became completely still.
Because the name written there was one she knew.
One she had spent years trying to forget.
A name connected to the darkest moment of her childhood.
A name connected to the night her mother died.
A name that was never supposed to appear again.
"Lucas Vance.""
Elena gasped.
"Lucas?""
Daniel looked confused.
"Who is Lucas?""
Nobody answered.
Victoria stared at the paper.
Her fingers trembled.
"That's impossible.""
Margaret looked at her carefully.
"You know him.""
Victoria looked up.
"No.""
The answer came too quickly.
Everyone noticed.
Daniel stepped closer.
"Victoria.""
She threw the paper onto the table.
"My brother is dead.""
The room froze.
Daniel frowned.
"Your brother?""
Victoria turned away.
"There was no brother.""
Elena looked confused.
"But...""
Victoria looked at her.
"What?""
The older woman hesitated.
"I remember.""
Victoria's eyes narrowed.
"Remember what?""
Elena swallowed.
"When I first started working for your family...""
She looked toward the old staircase.
"There was a little boy.""
Victoria said nothing.
Elena continued.
"Everyone told me not to ask questions.""
Daniel listened carefully.
"What happened to him?""
Elena's voice became quiet.
"One day he disappeared.""
Victoria's face became unreadable.
"The family said he died.""
Margaret looked at her.
"But?""
Elena shook her head.
"I never believed it.""
The room grew colder.
Because suddenly the mystery became larger.
Alexander's death.
The hidden company.
The poisoned gown.
The missing brother.
The person who helped Victoria.
Everything seemed connected.
Daniel looked at the documents.
"Why would Alexander investigate a son everyone believed was dead?""
Victoria stared at the floor.
Because deep inside, she knew.
Her father had not been investigating a stranger.
He had been searching for someone who had been erased.
Someone the Vance family had buried.
Someone who knew the truth.
A sudden sound interrupted them.
A sharp crash.
Everyone turned toward the library windows.
One of the security officers ran in.
"Daniel!""
"What happened?""
"The west gate camera just went offline.""
Daniel immediately moved.
"When?""
"Thirty seconds ago.""
Margaret stood.
"Someone is here.""
Victoria looked toward the darkness outside.
The storm covered the cliffs.
The rain made the windows look like mirrors.
Then another sound came.
A notification from the security system.
Daniel checked his tablet.
His face changed.
"What?""
Margaret asked.
Daniel stared at the screen.
"The mansion's main entrance has been unlocked.""
Nobody understood.
"The doors are locked from inside," Elena said.
Daniel shook his head.
"Not anymore.""
Victoria looked around.
"Who has access?""
Daniel did not answer.
Because he already knew.
Only one person had the highest-level access code.
A person Alexander had personally authorized years ago.
A person who should have been impossible to contact.
A person whose name was written in the file.
Lucas Vance.
Then the lights went out.
The entire library disappeared into darkness.
Elena screamed.
A few seconds later, emergency lights turned on.
Dim.
Red.
Almost like the mansion itself was warning them.
Daniel raised his weapon.
Everyone stood frozen.
Then they heard footsteps.
Coming from the hallway.
Slow.
Calm.
Confident.
Someone was walking through Vance Manor like they owned it.
Step.
Step.
Step.
The library doors opened.
A man stood there.
Older than Victoria remembered.
Different than the photographs.
But impossible to mistake.
Victoria's breath disappeared.
"No...""
The man looked at her.
His expression held years of anger.
Years of pain.
Years of waiting.
"Hello, Victoria.""
Nobody spoke.
The man stepped into the room.
"I believe it's time we talked about what our family did to me.""
Victoria stared at her brother.
The brother she was told had died.
The brother her family erased.
The brother her father spent his final days searching for.
Lucas Vance looked around the hidden vault.
Then smiled bitterly.
"Looks like father finally decided to tell the truth.""
The room remained silent.
Then Lucas looked directly at Victoria.
"And now...""
His voice lowered.
"You are going to tell me why you tried to kill him before I reveal what he knew about you.""
Victoria felt the world shift beneath her feet.
May you like
Because the past she buried had just walked back into her life.
And it had brought evidence.
