Chapter 4 - Reckoning in the Dark
Down in the subterranean boardroom of Vale Global, the air was thick with tension. Uncle Victor, a stern man with silver hair and gold-rimmed glasses, sat at the head of the polished oak table beside Harrison, the family's chief financial trustee.
"Sebastian, what is the meaning of this?" Victor demanded, slamming a hand on the table as I entered the room. "You canceled the quarterly board meeting and locked down the building! The investors are panicking!"
I walked to the head of the table, tossing the leather-bound journal and the black envelope onto the center of the wood.
Harrison glanced at the envelope, his jaw tightening for a fraction of a second—a subtle tell that didn't escape my notice.
"Thirteen years ago," I began, my voice quiet, cutting through the room like a blade, "my brother Luca disappeared. The council claimed he was ambushed by rivals. But the truth is much darker, isn't it, Victor?"
Victor scoffed. "We're opening old wounds now? Luca was reckless! He got himself killed!"
"Luca survived that night," I countered, leaning forward over the table. "He lived long enough to leave behind a daughter. A child with my brother's gray eyes. A child who carries the second half of the tattoo I got thirteen years ago."
Harrison's face drained of all color. Victor froze, his fingers twitching toward his pocket.
Before Victor's hand could move an inch, Mateo stepped out from the shadows, pressing the cold barrel of a suppressed sidearm against the back of Victor's neck.
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"Do not move, Uncle," I warned coldly. "I ran the digital signature on the surveillance photograph left in Clara's apartment. The image was printed three days ago using a secure thermal printer registered directly to Harrison's private office on the 40th floor."
Harrison collapsed backward into his chair, sweating profusely. "Sebastian... please! It wasn't my idea! Victor ordered it! When Luca died six years ago, we thought the bloodline threat was finished! But then we discovered Luca had an illegitimate heir who would automatically inherit forty percent of the Vale trust upon turning eighteen! Victor wanted her eliminated before you ever found out!"
