CHAPTER THIRTEEN
1211 Words
Elena’s POV
My name didn’t feel like mine anymore.
“You’re the daughter of the man who built half of Ethan Carter’s empire.”
Vanessa’s voice echoed in my head like a curse.
I stared at the screen, at the man, and at the stranger who somehow felt like a memory I had buried too deep to reach.
My father.
“No…” I whispered.
“This doesn’t make sense.”
Ethan stood beside me, silent but I could feel the shift in him, not doubt or rejection but something else which is realization.
“Ethan…” I said softly.
“Did you know?”
His jaw tightened.
“Not like this.”
That answer chilled me.
Vanessa smiled slowly.
“Oh, he knew enough.”
My head snapped toward her.
“What does that mean?”
Vanessa walked closer, her heels echoing across the floor like a countdown.
“It means,” she said lightly, “that your precious husband built his empire on the foundation your father created.”
My heart dropped.
I turned to Ethan.
“Is that true?”
There was silence.
That was all the answer I needed and something inside me cracked.
Ethan’s POV
This was the one truth I had hoped would stay buried longer.
“Elena….”
“You knew,” she said.
Her voice wasn’t loud, but it hit harder than any accusation.
“I knew your father was involved in the early structure of my company,” I said carefully.
“But I didn’t know you were his daughter.”
Her eyes searched mine.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t know.”
Vanessa clapped slowly.
“Beautiful,” she mocked.
“Truly beautiful.”
Marcus stepped forward suddenly.
“Enough.”
His voice cut through the room like a blade. Vanessa’s gaze flicked toward him.
“You’re getting emotional, Marcus.”
He didn’t respond.
But I saw it.
The tension in his posture.
The anger.
Marcus Hale wasn’t as neutral as he pretended to be.
Vanessa’s POV
They still didn’t understand, none of them, not even Elena.
“You want to know why I hate you?” I asked softly.
Her eyes locked onto mine.
“Yes.”
Good.
It was time she finally understood.
“You don’t remember your childhood, do you?”
She hesitated.
“…not much.”
Of course not, because people like her never remember the parts that don’t serve them.
“You were always the chosen one,” I continued.
“The genius child.”
“The one your father trained.”
“The one everyone protected.”
Elena’s brows furrowed.
“I don’t remember that.”
I smiled bitterly.
“I know.”
“Because when everything fell apart, you were the one they saved.”
The room went quiet.
Daniel’s voice came low behind me.
“Vanessa…”
“Don’t,” I snapped.
My gaze stayed on Elena.
“You want the truth?”
My voice dropped.
“Your father had two daughters in his life.”
Her breathing slowed.
“…two?”
“Yes.”
I stepped closer.
“You…”
“And me.”
Elena’s POV
“No.”
Vanessa’s smile was sharp.
“Yes.”
My mind struggled to process it.
“That’s not possible.”
“It is.”
She folded her arms.
“Your father took me in.”
“Raised me.”
“Trained me.”
My chest tightened.
“Then why…….”
“Why do I hate you?” she finished.
Her laugh was hollow.
“Because when everything collapsed…”
“…he chose you.”
The words hit like a knife.
“I don’t understand.”
Vanessa’s eyes darkened.
“The night your father disappeared…”
“…he had one chance to save someone.”
My breath caught.
“And he chose you.”
The silence was heavy and crushing.
“And I?” she continued softly.
“I was left behind.”
My heart broke a little at the sound of her voice, not just anger but Pain, deeply buried.
“I thought you died,” she said.
“But instead…”
Her eyes burned into mine.
“You forgot.”
Marcus Hale
This had gone too far. Vanessa wasn’t just revealing truths; she was destabilizing Elena, making her unpredictable and dangerous.
Which meant I had to intervene.
“Vanessa,” I said calmly.
“That’s enough.”
She turned toward me slowly.
“Or what?”
I stepped closer.
“Or I stop you.”
Victor Kane laughed softly from the side.
“Now this is interesting.”
Ethan’s gaze snapped toward me.
“You’re not just her observer.”
I met his eyes.
“No.”
“Then what are you?”
The silence in the room stretched. This was the moment and the line I had been walking was finally breaking.
“I was assigned to protect Elena.”
The room froze.
Vanessa’s smile vanished.
“What?”
Ethan’s voice turned sharp.
“By who?”
I didn’t answer immediately, because the truth was bigger than all of them. But before I could speak, Davis Whitmore stepped forward with his gun raised aiming directly at Ethan.
Davis Whitmore’s POV
I didn’t want it to end like this but some truths don’t stay buried forever.
“Drop your weapons,” I said calmly.
Ethan turned slowly.
His eyes locked onto mine.
“Davis?”
Elena looked between us, confused.
“What’s happening?”
Marcus swore under his breath.
Vanessa smiled, of course she did, because she already knew.
“I was wondering when you’d finally reveal yourself,” she said.
Ethan’s voice was dangerously quiet.
“You’re working with her.”
I shook my head slightly.
“Not exactly.”
“Then explain.”
I exhaled slowly.
“I was never just your advisor, Ethan.”
My grip tightened on the gun.
“I was placed in your circle years ago.”
“To watch.”
“To report.”
Elena whispered,
“To whom?”
I met her eyes.
“To the man on that screen.”
Elena’s POV
My breath stopped.
“My… father?”
Davis nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
The room felt like it was collapsing around me.
“So everything…”
My voice shook.
“…everything was planned?”
Marcus stepped in sharply.
“No.”
But Davis cut him off.
“Not everything.”
“Just enough.”
Ethan looked like he was seconds away from violence.
“You betrayed me.”
Davis didn’t deny it.
“I protected something bigger.”
“What?” Ethan demanded.
Davis’s voice dropped.
“Her.”
He nodded toward me.
There was silence. Then everything clicked into place. Marcus, Davis, my father, the hidden identity, the protection, and the lies.
My entire life had been controlled.
And I hadn’t even known.
Suddenly, the screen behind Vanessa flickered again, the image of my father disappeared, and was replaced with a live feed of the hospital room.
Where he was no longer lying still, but rather he was standing, watching, and alive.
If my father has been alive all along and secretly controlling people inside Ethan’s empire.
Is he my greatest protector or the mastermind behind everything?
- Writer
