Chapter Ten — The Hidden Truth
732 Words
The rest of the school day felt impossible.
Dira couldn’t focus on anything Vincent had said except his final words.
You are not ready to learn what this family really is.
What did that even mean?
By the time the triplets got home, tension filled the entire house.
Mandy slammed the front door shut angrily.
“I should’ve punched him.”
Radi dropped her backpack onto the couch.
“That man is terrifying.”
Dira stayed quiet.
Vanessa arrived twenty minutes later after Jacob called her about the school incident.
The moment she entered the house, she knew something was wrong.
“He spoke to her directly, didn’t he?”
Dira nodded.
Vanessa closed her eyes briefly like she expected this all along.
“What does he mean by ‘what this family really is’?” Dira asked immediately.
Vanessa hesitated too long.
Mandy pointed accusingly.
“There it is again. That thing you people do where you hide secrets every five minutes.”
Vanessa sighed heavily.
“You deserve answers.”
“Finally,” Mandy muttered.
Everyone gathered in the living room.
Outside, rain tapped softly against the windows while the security guards remained stationed near the driveway.
Vanessa sat across from Dira quietly.
“My father wasn’t just wealthy,” she began carefully. “He was one of the most influential businessmen in the country.”
“Okay…” Radi said slowly.
“But the Monroe empire wasn’t built legally.”
The room went silent.
Dira frowned.
“What are you saying?”
Vanessa looked directly at her.
“The Monroe family has connections to organized crime.”
Emily gasped softly even though she already seemed to know.
Mandy blinked repeatedly.
“Excuse me?”
“For decades, my father controlled politicians, police officers, judges, and major corporations through bribery and blackmail.”
Radi looked horrified.
“You’re serious?”
Vanessa nodded once.
“Vincent became deeply involved in the criminal side of the business after college.”
Dira suddenly understood why Vanessa looked afraid every time Vincent’s name came up.
“He’s dangerous because he runs the family operations now,” Dira whispered.
“Yes.”
Silence filled the room.
Everything suddenly made terrifying sense.
The threats.
The surveillance.
The fear.
Dira rubbed her forehead slowly.
“So my biological family is basically a criminal empire?”
Mandy raised her hand casually.
“I would like to officially request a less stressful family tree.”
Nobody laughed.
Vanessa continued carefully.
“Your grandfather wanted you protected from all of this. That’s one reason he left the inheritance to you secretly.”
Dira looked confused.
“Why me?”
“Because you’re legally the last direct Monroe heir outside Vincent’s control.”
The sentence hit everyone hard.
Radi looked stunned.
“Meaning if Dira takes ownership…”
“Vincent loses power,” Jacob finished quietly.
Vanessa nodded.
“And that’s why he’ll never leave her alone.”
Dira suddenly felt trapped.
She hadn’t asked for any of this.
Not the money.
Not the family.
Not the danger.
“I don’t want it,” she whispered.
Everyone turned toward her.
“The inheritance,” Dira continued shakily. “He can have it.”
Vanessa’s expression changed instantly.
“No.”
Dira frowned.
“What do you mean no?”
“If Vincent gains full control of the Monroe empire again, countless people will get hurt.”
“So this is my responsibility now?”
Vanessa looked emotional.
“I never wanted this life for you.”
“But I have it anyway.”
Tears filled Dira’s eyes again.
For sixteen years, she had wanted answers about who she was.
Now she wished she never asked.
Suddenly, one of the security guards burst through the front door.
Everyone jumped.
“What happened?” Jacob demanded.
The guard looked shaken.
“Someone broke into Vanessa’s penthouse.”
Vanessa stood immediately.
“What?”
The guard swallowed hard.
“It wasn’t robbery.”
A chill filled the room.
“Then what was it?” Emily whispered.
The guard looked directly at Dira.
“They left a message for her.”
Dira’s stomach dropped.
“What message?”
The guard handed Vanessa a folded piece of paper.
Slowly, Vanessa opened it.
Her face lost all color instantly.
Mandy grabbed the note from her hands.
Then read it aloud.
The girl belongs to the Monroes now.
- Writer
