Chapter 8 - THE LAST BETRAYAL
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Victor found me at the cemetery.
My father's grave.
I was alone.
At least, he thought I was.
Damien and Claire were hidden nearby with federal agents.
Victor stepped from behind a stone monument.
He looked older than his photographs.
But his expression was calm.
“You look like your father.”
I didn't answer.
“You have his stubbornness too.”
“Did you kill him?”
“Yes.”
The honesty surprised me.
“Why?”
“Because he refused to sell me the technology.”
“So you used Blake.”
“Blake was ambitious.”
“You used Seraphina.”
“She was useful.”
I felt my hands tighten.
“Everyone was useful to you.”
He smiled.
“Everyone is useful to someone.”
“Why did you target my family?”
“Because your father wanted independence.”
“And you wanted control.”
“Yes.”
He stepped closer.
“You don't have to continue this.”
“What do you mean?”
“Give me the archive.”
“No.”
“I can make the charges disappear.”
“No.”
“Your sister can go free.”
I looked at him.
“You mean Seraphina?”
“Yes.”
“And Blake?”
Victor shrugged.
“He was expendable.”
Then I understood.
Victor had never cared about Blake or Seraphina.
He cared about the technology.
And now he wanted the archive.
“You killed my father for this.”
“Yes.”
“You destroyed my marriage.”
“Yes.”
“You manipulated my sister.”
“Yes.”
I looked at him.
“You're going to prison.”
He laughed.
“Not if you die first.”
The gun appeared.
Before he could raise it, Damien tackled him.
Agents rushed forward.
Victor was on the ground within seconds.
The cemetery filled with shouting.
I stood frozen.
Then Damien came to me.
“You okay?”
I nodded.
He looked at my hands.
They were trembling.
“I thought I was ready.”
“You don't have to be.”
I looked at him.
“What if I never recover?”
“You will.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you're not the woman who discovered the affair three weeks ago.”
I smiled faintly.
“No.”
He touched my hand.
“You're stronger.”
I looked toward my father's grave.
For the first time, grief didn't feel like a wound.
It felt like closure.
Weeks later, the trial began.
Victor was indicted.
Blake pleaded guilty to fraud.
Seraphina testified.
Claire took back her identity.
AeroSpace Dynamics was restructured under independent governance.
And I became chairwoman.
Not because I wanted power.
Because I wanted to protect the employees my father had spent his life building the company for.
Damien never asked for a share.
Never asked for money.
Never asked me to rush into another relationship.
He simply stayed.
One evening, months after the trial, he brought me dinner.
“Do you ever regret that first meeting?” he asked.
“At the café?”
“Yes.”
I smiled.
“No.”
“Even though it changed everything?”
“Especially because it changed everything.”
He looked down.
“I've been thinking.”
“That's dangerous.”
He laughed.
Then his expression became serious.
“I don't want to be the man who helps you destroy someone.”
I looked at him.
“What do you want to be?”
“The man who helps you build something better.”
My heart skipped.
Before I could answer, the front door opened.
Seraphina walked in.
She held a small box.
“I need to tell you something.”
I looked at her.
She put the box on the table.
Inside was an old photograph.
My mother.
Me.
Seraphina.
Claire.
All together.
All young.
I stared.
“I've seen pictures of us as children.”
Seraphina shook her head.
“You haven't seen the back.”
She turned it over.
A date.
And a name.
Beneath it was one sentence.
Four daughters.
I looked at her.
“Four?”
Seraphina nodded.
“My father had another child.”
Silence.
“Where?”
She whispered:
“She disappeared twenty years ago.”
Damien frowned.
“Does Victor know where she is?”
Seraphina looked terrified.
“No.”
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A woman's voice said:
“I'm Claire's sister.”
I froze.
There was a pause.
Then:
“I think you should meet me before they find me.”
The call ended.
I looked at Damien.
May you like
The past wasn't finished.
But this time, I wouldn't face it alone.
