Chapter 8: The Betrayal
Vivian descended the stairs slowly.
Her heels clicked against the metal steps.
Daniel stood between her and his father.
“Put the gun down.””
Vivian smiled.
“You sound just like him.””
She nodded toward Daniel's father.
He stared at her.
“You should have stayed gone.””
Vivian's smile disappeared.
“You should have died twenty-three years ago.””
Marcus looked at his father.
“What happened?””
His father answered quietly.
“Vivian arranged the attack.””
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.””
Richard appeared behind them.
“Yes.””
Everyone turned.
Richard walked into the light.
Vivian's expression changed.
“You.””
Richard smiled.
“Miss me?””
Vivian raised the gun.
“You ruined everything.””
Richard shrugged.
“Not everything.””
He looked at Daniel.
“Your nephew found the records.””
Vivian glanced at Daniel.
“So you know.””
Daniel's voice shook with anger.
“You destroyed my family.””
“No.””
Vivian's eyes narrowed.
“Your family destroyed itself.””
She pointed the gun toward Evelyn.
“She knew.””
Evelyn stared.
“Knew what?””
“That your husband was going to expose me.””
Daniel looked at Vivian.
“You stole from Dad?””
Vivian laughed.
“Your uncle did.””
Richard's smile vanished.
Vivian continued.
“He used my husband as a shield. Then when your father discovered the truth, Richard panicked.””
Richard stepped forward.
“Careful.””
Vivian ignored him.
“He arranged the meeting.””
Daniel turned toward Richard.
“Did you?””
Richard said nothing.
Vivian looked at Daniel.
“Your uncle wanted your father's company.””
Richard's face hardened.
“And you wanted his money.””
“I wanted what I was owed.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“What happened that night?””
Vivian's eyes remained fixed on Evelyn.
“Your father confronted Richard.””
Richard interrupted.
“He was going to kill me.””
“I wasn't.””
“You had a knife.””
“I had evidence.””
Daniel looked at his father.
“Then who attacked you?””
His father closed his eyes.
“Thomas.””
Evelyn gasped.
“Thomas?””
Daniel remembered the photograph.
“Dad's attorney?””
His father nodded.
“Thomas was working with Vivian.””
Evelyn shook her head.
“No. Thomas told me he was helping your father.””
“He lied.””
His father looked at her.
“Everyone lied.””
Aaliyah stood on the staircase, trembling.
Daniel turned toward her.
“Why did you help them?””
She looked down.
“Because they threatened my mother.””
Marcus stared.
“Your mother?””
Vivian answered.
“She owed us money.””
Aaliyah shook her head.
“No. Vivian had photographs.””
“What photographs?”” Daniel asked.
Aaliyah's eyes filled with tears.
“Photographs of me with Daniel.””
Marcus looked at his brother.
Daniel went pale.
“What?””
Aaliyah whispered:
“Daniel and I had been working together before I met Marcus.””
Marcus turned toward his brother.
“You knew her?””
Daniel swallowed.
“Yes.””
“You were involved with her?””
“Not like that.””
Aaliyah cried.
“Daniel recruited me.””
Marcus stared at him.
“For what?””
Daniel looked at the floor.
“To get close to you.””
Marcus's face went blank.
Daniel continued.
“I thought you had access to Dad's trust.””
“You used me.””
“I thought the trust contained millions.””
Marcus shook his head.
“And Mom?””
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“I thought she was hiding everything.””
Evelyn's voice cracked.
“You believed Vivian.””
Daniel nodded.
“I was wrong.””
Vivian laughed.
“Too late.””
She raised the gun.
Daniel stepped in front of his father.
“You're not killing anyone.””
Vivian smiled.
“I'm not here to kill you.””
She pointed the gun toward the warehouse entrance.
“I'm here to make sure you see the truth.””
A projector suddenly flickered on.
A video appeared against the far wall.
It showed the night of the attack.
Marcus watched.
Evelyn watched.
Daniel watched.
The footage came from an old security camera outside the warehouse.
Thomas appeared first.
Then Richard.
Then Vivian.
Then Evelyn.
Daniel stared.
“Mom?””
Evelyn whispered:
“I told you. I was there.””
On the video, Evelyn approached Thomas.
They argued.
Then Thomas handed her an envelope.
Daniel's heart sank.
The video continued.
His father emerged from the warehouse.
Richard followed.
Thomas raised something.
A gun.
Marcus whispered:
“No…”
A shot rang out.
Daniel's father collapsed.
Evelyn screamed.
But the footage didn't end.
Vivian stepped into view.
She took the gun from Thomas.
Then she looked directly toward the camera.
Her face was calm.
She pointed at Evelyn.
And said something.
The audio was faint.
Marcus moved closer.
“What did she say?””
Daniel's father whispered:
“She said, ‘Blame Evelyn.’”
Evelyn covered her face.
Daniel stared at her.
“You didn't kill Dad.””
“No.””
“You tried to save him.””
“Yes.””
Daniel turned toward Richard.
“And you?””
Richard lowered his head.
“I moved him.””
“Why?””
“To keep him alive.””
His father spoke.
“Richard saved me from Vivian.””
Vivian screamed.
“Liar!””
She fired.
The bullet struck the metal railing beside Daniel.
Everyone ducked.
Marcus tackled Aaliyah out of the way.
Richard lunged toward Vivian.
The gun fell.
Daniel ran to his father.
“Dad!””
His father looked at him.
“Take the key.””
Daniel remembered the old key.
“What does it open?””
His father pointed toward a locked steel door at the back of the warehouse.
“My real office.””
Daniel stared.
“I thought the office was destroyed.””
“It was.””
He smiled weakly.
“But Vivian never knew about the second one.””
Daniel ran toward the door.
He inserted the key.
The lock clicked.
Inside was a wall of documents.
Bank records.
Contracts.
Photographs.
And one red folder.
Daniel pulled it out.
On the cover was a handwritten name.
*AALIYAH.*
He opened it.
The first page contained a photograph.
Aaliyah was standing beside Vivian.
But the second photograph made Daniel's blood run cold.
It showed Aaliyah meeting someone else.
Someone none of them had mentioned.
Someone who had been manipulating the entire wedding from the beginning.
Daniel whispered:
“Mom…”
Evelyn looked up.
“What?””
Daniel held up the photograph.
“She's not working for Vivian.””
Marcus stared at the image.
“Then who is she working for?””
Daniel turned the photograph over.
There was a handwritten sentence.
*Ask Marcus who paid for the bridal suite.*
Marcus's face went pale.
“I didn't.””
Daniel looked at him.
“Then who did?””
Marcus slowly shook his head.
May you like
“I know exactly who.””
And when he said the name, even Vivian stopped struggling.
