Chapter 8 - THE FATHER WHO NEVER DIED
For eleven years, Valyrian had believed his father died from a heart attack.
Now his mother was telling him that Victor Darks survived his own funeral.
Valyrian stared at Evelyn.
"Why would Dad fake his death?"
"Because he discovered someone was preparing to destroy the family."
"Who?"
Evelyn shook her head.
"I never saw all the documents. Victor believed one of his business partners had been manipulating the accounts for years."
Valyrian felt a surge of frustration.
"Then why leave me to inherit everything?"
"Because the people watching him believed you'd be easier to control."
A terrible understanding began forming.
Caleum.
The forged accounts.
The intercepted messages.
The attempt to isolate Alicia.
Someone had spent years surrounding Valyrian with carefully manufactured information.
"Where is Dad now?"
Evelyn lowered her eyes.
"I don't know."
"Mom."
"The visits stopped seven years ago."
Valyrian looked toward Rebecca.
"Can we get the visitor records?"
"With the authorization we have, investigators can preserve the relevant records and seek further court orders if needed."
Marco examined the documents already provided by the clinic.
Victor Darks had signed in under the name James Ward.
Every visit had been authorized by the same administrator.
Caleum Mercer.
But the final entry carried a handwritten notation.
Patient transfer requested by family.
Valyrian frowned.
"Patient?"
Rebecca leaned closer.
"That's strange. It suggests Victor may have been admitted as a patient himself."
Evelyn pressed a hand against her chest.
"Please tell me he wasn't hurt."
Valyrian took her hand.
"We'll find out."
Before leaving, the investigators obtained security records showing who had arranged Evelyn's long-term confinement.
Alicia's name appeared in the files.
Not as a patient.
As a visitor.
Valyrian stared at the date.
Four months earlier.
His wife had been here.
And she had seen his mother.
He called Alicia immediately.
She answered from her hospital bed.
"Val?"
"I found her."
Alicia began crying.
"She's alive?"
"Yes."
He could hear her trying to catch her breath.
"Thank God."
Valyrian closed his eyes.
"You came here four months ago."
A long pause.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I tried."
Again, the same answer.
But this time, he believed her completely.
"Caleum threatened to have your mother moved somewhere I couldn't find her. He said if I told you, she'd disappear."
Valyrian looked through the glass at Evelyn.
"Did you see my father?"
Alicia hesitated.
"No."
"But you found something?"
"Yes."
"What?"
"A payment ledger. I photographed it before one of the nurses took it away."
Valyrian waited.
"The payments didn't just cover your mother's care."
"What else?"
"They included charges for someone identified only as Patient Seven."
Marco turned toward him.
The same number appeared on the last visitor record.
Alicia continued.
"I traced the payments to an old property belonging to your family."
"Where?"
"An abandoned hunting lodge in Vermont."
Valyrian's expression hardened.
Then Alicia whispered something that made him grip the phone.
"Val, there's another reason Caleum wanted us divorced."
"What reason?"
"The documents I found show he couldn't access your father's final trust unless you were legally separated from me."
Valyrian frowned.
"Why?"
"Because Victor named me as a co-trustee."
Valyrian felt his pulse slow.
His father had placed Alicia in control of something neither spouse knew existed.
May you like
And the trust contained one final instruction.
If my son cannot recognize the enemy beside him, his wife must be the one to save him.
