Chapter 7: The Sibling in the Shadows
The message disappeared from my screen.
But the words stayed.
*I’m the sibling your father erased.*
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
The mansion that had once felt like my sanctuary now felt like a trap.
Every wall held a secret.
Every person in the room had lied.
And the person who knew the most was the one person I had spent my entire life believing was gone.
My father.
I looked at Alexander.
“Tell me this is fake.””
He didn’t answer.
That silence hurt more than any confession.
“Dad.””
His eyes lowered.
“I wanted to protect you.””
I shook my head.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
My voice cracked.
“But nobody explains why protecting me meant destroying my trust.””
Victoria stood near the doorway, staring at the message on her phone.
Her face had changed.
She was no longer angry.
She was scared.
“Who sent this?”” Daniel asked.
Alexander looked at him coldly.
“Someone who knows more than they should.””
Daniel laughed.
“You mean someone who knows your secrets?””
My father looked at him.
“And yours.””
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“I didn’t know about any of this.””
“Maybe not,” Alexander replied.
“But you still opened the door.””
Daniel looked confused.
“What?””
My father stepped closer.
“You let someone use your ambition against my daughter.””
Daniel looked at me.
“I loved you.””
The words sounded strange now.
Not because they were impossible.
Because I no longer knew what they meant.
“Did you love me,” I asked quietly, “or did you love the life you thought I could give you?””
Daniel looked away.
That was all the answer I needed.
Thomas moved toward the table.
“We need to identify the sender before they make another move.””
Alexander nodded.
“No.””
Everyone looked at him.
“We need to let them come.””
I stared at my father.
“You’re suggesting we do nothing?””
“I’m suggesting we stop reacting.””
He looked at me.
“For years, someone has been controlling the game. They want you angry. They want you distracted. They want you fighting Daniel, Victoria, and everyone else while they stay hidden.””
I looked at the message again.
The unknown person wanted me afraid.
But fear was something I had already survived.
“Then we bring them into the light.””
Alexander studied me.
For a moment, I saw the daughter he remembered.
Not the woman who needed protection.
The woman who could fight.
The next morning, we moved into the private office at the mansion.
The same office Daniel had always called his command center.
Now he sat quietly while lawyers reviewed his entire company history.
The irony was almost painful.
Daniel noticed me looking at him.
“I know what you’re thinking.””
I raised an eyebrow.
“What am I thinking?””
“That I deserve this.””
I didn’t answer.
Because I wasn’t sure.
I wanted him to suffer.
But I also wanted answers.
“You betrayed me,” I said.
His eyes dropped.
“Yes.””
“No excuses.””
“I know.””
The honesty surprised me.
Daniel looked older overnight.
“I thought Victoria was the future.””
“And now?””
He swallowed.
“Now I realize I threw away the only person who ever believed in me before I had anything.””
I looked away.
Apologies were easy when everything was gone.
Outside the office, Victoria stood alone in the hallway.
I found her staring at an old family portrait.
A picture of my father and me.
She touched the frame.
“You hate me.””
I stopped.
“I don’t know what I feel.””
She nodded.
“That’s fair.””
For the first time, her voice held no arrogance.
Only exhaustion.
“Did you really know me all those years?””
I asked.
She looked at me.
“Yes.””
“Then why did you hurt me?””
Victoria looked at the portrait.
“Because every time I saw you, I saw the life I lost.””
“You didn’t lose it.””
She smiled sadly.
“You don’t understand.””
“Then explain.””
She was silent for a long moment.
“My mother died believing Alexander abandoned us.””
I frowned.
“What?””
Victoria turned.
“She believed your father chose you and left us behind.””
I looked toward my father’s office.
“That’s not what happened.””
“I know that now.””
Her eyes filled.
“But I spent years believing it.””
A sound interrupted us.
A phone ringing.
Thomas’s.
He answered immediately.
His expression changed.
“What?””
Everyone turned.
After a few seconds, he slowly lowered the phone.
“What happened?”” Alexander asked.
Thomas looked at me.
“The person who sent the messages just accessed the company servers.””
My stomach tightened.
“How?””
Thomas hesitated.
“Because they still have administrative access.””
Alexander went pale.
“That’s impossible.””
Thomas looked at him.
“Not if they were given access years ago.””
Silence.
Then Thomas whispered:
“Someone inside Vale Holdings has been helping them.””
I felt the air leave my lungs.
“Who?””
Thomas looked at the computer screen.
A name appeared.
May you like
A name none of us expected.
A name that belonged to someone who had stood beside my family for decades.
