CHAPTER 13 — WHAT NATHAN REALLY WANTED
CHAPTER 13 — WHAT NATHAN REALLY WANTED
The words would not leave Evelyn's mind.
HE WAS YOUR FATHER.
She stood in the entrance of Blackthorn Manor, staring at the blood-stained black-stone ring in her hand.
Her mother was behind her.
Nathan was beside her.
And somewhere in the darkness beneath the mansion, someone was waiting.
Evelyn turned slowly.
“Which father?”
Isabelle said nothing.
“Mom.”
“I told you not to ask.”
“I don't care.”
Evelyn held up the ring.
“I need to know.”
Isabelle looked at it.
Her face changed.
“That ring belonged to Gabriel.”
“Gabriel Cross?”
“Yes.”
“The man who started the fire?”
Isabelle hesitated.
“The man who carried out the order.”
Evelyn's eyes narrowed.
“Whose order?”
Isabelle looked toward Marcus.
He had just entered the hall.
His face went pale when he saw the ring.
“Where did you get that?”
“Under the train station.”
Marcus stared at it.
Then at Isabelle.
“You brought her back.”
Isabelle nodded.
“I had to.”
Marcus shook his head.
“It's too early.”
“No.”
Isabelle's voice was firm.
“It is seventeen years too late.”
Evelyn looked between them.
“You both keep talking like I'm a child.”
“You're not,” Marcus said.
“Then stop protecting me from the truth.”
Marcus looked at Isabelle.
She gave him a tired nod.
He finally spoke.
“Gabriel Cross was not your father.”
Evelyn exhaled.
For a moment, relief.
Then Marcus continued.
“But he knew who your father was.”
Evelyn froze.
“My biological father?”
Marcus looked away.
“Yes.”
She felt the room tilt.
“Who?”
Marcus couldn't answer.
Nathan did.
“You.”
Evelyn turned toward him.
“What?”
Nathan's eyes met hers.
“Your mother was talking about you.”
Silence.
Isabelle closed her eyes.
Nathan continued.
“The man who started the fire wasn't your father.”
“He was trying to kill me?”
“No.”
“Then why did he start it?”
“Because someone ordered him to destroy the archive.”
Evelyn stared at Nathan.
“And the message?”
Nathan looked at the ring.
“It was meant to make you believe the wrong person.”
“Who?”
Nathan stepped closer.
“Me.”
Evelyn's expression hardened.
“Why would Gabriel want me to think you're my father?”
“Because he knew you would trust me.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It does if you understand what I really wanted.”
Evelyn folded her arms.
“Then tell me.”
Nathan looked at Isabelle.
She nodded.
He took a breath.
“I wanted you alive.”
Evelyn laughed bitterly.
“You have a strange way of showing it.”
“I know.”
“You humiliated me.”
“Yes.”
“You controlled my finances.”
“Yes.”
“You isolated me.”
“Yes.”
“You made me believe I had nobody.”
Nathan's jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He looked at her.
“Because I needed everyone else to believe it too.”
Evelyn stared.
Nathan continued.
“If Victor believed you were isolated, he wouldn't send someone to protect you.”
“If the Ashfords believed you had no allies, they would stop looking for them.”
“If the people watching you believed you were emotionally dependent on me, they wouldn't suspect that you were gathering evidence.”
Evelyn's eyes narrowed.
“You're saying all of that was an act?”
“No.”
Nathan's answer came immediately.
“That is the part you need to understand.”
He swallowed.
“Some of it was an act.”
“And the rest?”
“Me.”
Evelyn looked away.
Nathan's voice became quieter.
“I was sent to protect you.”
“You said that before.”
“I was also sent to manipulate you.”
“I know.”
“But I wasn't supposed to fall in love with you.”
Evelyn said nothing.
Nathan continued.
“Your mother gave me one instruction.”
“What?”
“Stay close to Evelyn.”
“And?”
“Never let Victor reach her.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“Then why did you become exactly like him?”
Nathan looked down.
“Because I learned from the wrong man.”
They moved into the library.
Isabelle sat near the fireplace.
Marcus remained standing.
Nathan stood across from Evelyn.
Celeste and Amelia watched silently.
For the first time, nobody interrupted.
Evelyn wanted answers.
Nathan knew it.
He reached into his jacket.
He removed a small envelope.
He placed it on the table.
“Your mother gave me this three years ago.”
Evelyn looked at Isabelle.
“You gave him that?”
“Yes.”
“What was inside?”
“A photograph.”
Nathan opened the envelope.
He removed it.
It showed Evelyn standing outside a coffee shop.
Three years earlier.
She was laughing.
Completely unaware that someone had been watching her.
Evelyn turned the photograph over.
A handwritten note appeared.
THIS IS THE WOMAN YOU MUST PROTECT.
Evelyn stared.
Nathan took another photograph from the envelope.
Then another.
Then another.
Her apartment.
Her office.
Her car.
The restaurant where she used to meet friends.
A hospital.
A grocery store.
A park.
Evelyn's face went cold.
“How long were you watching me?”
“Eighteen months.”
“Before we met?”
“Yes.”
“You knew everything about me.”
“Not everything.”
“You knew enough.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn looked at Isabelle.
“You sent him.”
“I did.”
“Why didn't you come yourself?”
“Because I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor had people watching every person connected to me.”
Nathan added:
“And because there was another problem.”
“What?”
“Your father.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Be careful.”
Nathan turned.
“It's time.”
Marcus's face hardened.
“Don't.”
Evelyn stepped between them.
“No.”
She looked at Marcus.
“Let him speak.”
Nathan continued.
“Three years before I met you, Marcus reopened V-17 Holdings.”
Evelyn's eyes narrowed.
“The family account.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he needed somewhere to move the restitution money.”
Marcus said:
“I was trying to protect it.”
Nathan nodded.
“You were.”
Evelyn looked at Marcus.
“Then why was Nathan moving money through it?”
“Because I asked him to.”
Silence.
Evelyn looked at Nathan.
“You?”
Nathan nodded.
“I moved the money.”
“How much?”
“Twenty-two million dollars.”
Evelyn's eyes widened.
“Where?”
“Different accounts.”
“Why?”
“To hide it from Victor.”
Marcus added:
“And to identify who was watching it.”
Evelyn slowly understood.
“The transfers were bait.”
“Yes.”
“The money wasn't being stolen.”
“No.”
“It was being tracked.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn looked at Nathan.
“You were trying to find Victor's people.”
“Yes.”
“And Celeste's mother?”
“She was one of the people they were watching.”
Evelyn remembered the old key.
The hidden room.
The letters.
The photographs.
Everything suddenly connected.
Nathan had not simply been stealing.
He had been moving pieces.
But then Evelyn's expression hardened.
“That still doesn't explain what you did to me.”
Nathan looked at her.
“No.”
“Why did you hurt me?”
He had no answer.
At least not one that could excuse it.
Finally he said:
“Because I lost control.”
Evelyn stared.
Nathan continued.
“I spent years pretending to be a man who could control everything.”
“Victor taught you.”
“Yes.”
“And then you realized you couldn't control me.”
“Yes.”
“So you became cruel.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn's voice was cold.
“That wasn't protection.”
“No.”
“That was abuse.”
Nathan lowered his head.
“Yes.”
“And you expect me to forgive you because you were secretly protecting me?”
“No.”
He looked directly at her.
“I don't expect forgiveness.”
The room went silent.
“I only wanted you to know that the worst things I did were not part of the plan.”
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
“That doesn't make them disappear.”
“I know.”
“You don't get to rewrite what happened.”
“I know.”
“Then what do you want from me?”
Nathan looked at her.
“Nothing.”
She stared.
“For the first time in my life…”
He took a breath.
“…I want nothing from you.”
Evelyn didn't know what to say.
Nathan continued.
“I don't want your money.”
“I don't want the company.”
“I don't want the house.”
“I don't want the archive.”
“I don't want your forgiveness.”
“Then why stay?”
Nathan looked at Isabelle.
“Because your mother asked me to finish one last thing.”
“What?”
“Find Sophia.”
Evelyn's heart tightened.
“Where is she?”
Nathan's expression changed.
“Gabriel has her.”
Amelia stepped forward.
“Then why didn't you say that before?”
“Because Gabriel wanted me to.”
Everyone went silent.
Evelyn stared.
“What?”
Nathan looked at her.
“He wanted me to chase him.”
“Why?”
“Because Gabriel needs the archive.”
Evelyn understood.
“He needs me.”
“Yes.”
“And Sophia.”
“Yes.”
“And Amelia.”
“Yes.”
Nathan's voice lowered.
“He needs all three of you.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother divided the archive into three parts.”
Evelyn looked at Isabelle.
“Why?”
“To make sure no single person could control everything.”
Nathan nodded.
“Evelyn has the financial key.”
“Amelia has the second pendant.”
“Sophia remembers the fire.”
Evelyn's eyes narrowed.
“And what does Gabriel have?”
Nathan answered:
“The fourth piece.”
“What fourth piece?”
Nathan reached into his pocket.
He placed another object on the table.
A small brass key.
Stamped with one letter.
V.
Evelyn stared.
“What does that open?”
Nathan looked toward Marcus.
Marcus whispered:
“The original vault.”
Evelyn's heart pounded.
“Where?”
Marcus didn't answer.
Nathan did.
“Under the old Vale cemetery.”
Evelyn froze.
“My family cemetery?”
“Yes.”
“Why would there be a vault there?”
“Because your grandfather built it.”
Marcus added:
“And your mother used it.”
Evelyn stared at Isabelle.
“What is inside?”
Isabelle looked at her daughters.
“The original ledger.”
Evelyn's breath caught.
“The ledger?”
“The one Victor spent seventeen years trying to find.”
Nathan nodded.
“The one that contains the names behind everything.”
“Politicians?”
“Yes.”
“Judges?”
“Yes.”
“Bankers?”
“Yes.”
“Police?”
“Yes.”
Evelyn's voice lowered.
“Family?”
Isabelle looked at her.
“Yes.”
Evelyn swallowed.
“Who is the worst name in it?”
Isabelle didn't answer.
Nathan did.
“Victor.”
“No.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“Victor was never the worst.”
Nathan looked at her.
“You already know that.”
She thought of Gabriel.
Adrian.
Marcus.
The ring.
The fire.
Her mother's disappearance.
Then she remembered the mysterious message.
HE WAS YOUR FATHER.
Evelyn suddenly understood.
“The person behind the network…”
Nathan nodded.
“Wasn't Victor.”
“Who?”
Nathan stared at her.
“Your grandfather.”
Silence.
Evelyn felt sick.
“My grandfather died before I was born.”
“His body did.”
“What does that mean?”
Nathan's face hardened.
“He was the man who taught Victor how to build the network.”
Marcus looked at Isabelle.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“And you never told her?”
“I was trying to protect her.”
Evelyn laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps using that sentence.”
She turned toward Isabelle.
“What happened to him?”
Isabelle whispered:
“He disappeared.”
“When?”
“Two years before the fire.”
“Where did he go?”
“I don't know.”
Nathan shook his head.
“I do.”
Everyone looked at him.
Nathan pulled another photograph from his pocket.
He placed it on the table.
Evelyn picked it up.
The photograph showed an old man standing beside a younger Victor.
Behind them was a building.
Blackthorn Manor.
Evelyn's fingers trembled.
Written on the back:
THE ORIGINAL OWNER NEVER DIED.
She looked at Nathan.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Since before I met you.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was trying to find him.”
“Why?”
Nathan's expression became deadly serious.
“Because he was the only person who could tell me who ordered your mother's death.”
Evelyn stared.
“My mother isn't dead.”
“I know.”
“Then who did he kill?”
Nathan hesitated.
Evelyn's eyes widened.
“Who?”
Nathan whispered:
“Your grandfather.”
Marcus looked shocked.
“What?”
Nathan turned toward him.
“Your father was murdered seventeen years ago.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“That is impossible.”
Nathan looked at him.
“You were never told because the person who killed him wanted you to believe he disappeared.”
Marcus's face went white.
“Who?”
Nathan pointed at the black-stone ring.
“Gabriel.”
Evelyn stared.
“But Gabriel worked for him.”
“Yes.”
“Why kill his own employer?”
“Because the man who ordered the fire wanted the old network erased.”
Evelyn looked at Isabelle.
“Who ordered him?”
Isabelle's eyes filled with tears.
“I don't know.”
Nathan shook his head.
“You do.”
Isabelle looked at him.
Nathan spoke softly.
“You've known for seventeen years.”
Evelyn stared at her mother.
“Mom.”
Isabelle closed her eyes.
“I was afraid.”
“Of whom?”
“Of the man who came after the fire.”
“Who?”
Isabelle opened her eyes.
Her voice was barely audible.
“The man who came looking for you.”
Evelyn's heart stopped.
“Victor?”
“No.”
“Adrian?”
“No.”
“Gabriel?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Isabelle looked toward the library door.
Everyone turned.
The door was open.
Nobody had heard it move.
A man stood in the hallway.
Older.
Elegant.
Calm.
His hair was silver.
His suit was immaculate.
And on his right hand was a black-stone ring.
Evelyn raised her weapon.
The man smiled.
Isabelle whispered his name.
“Thomas.”
Nathan's face went rigid.
Marcus stepped backward.
Amelia covered her mouth.
Evelyn stared at the stranger.
“Thomas Cross is dead.”
The man smiled.
“No.”
He stepped into the light.
“Thomas Cross died seventeen years ago.”
He looked directly at Evelyn.
“I am his brother.”
Evelyn's blood ran cold.
“Gabriel.”
He smiled.
“Yes.”
Nathan reached for his weapon.
Gabriel shook his head.
“Don't.”
Then he looked at Evelyn.
“Your mother told you the truth about one thing.”
“What?”
“You were never the target.”
Evelyn's eyes narrowed.
“Then what was?”
Gabriel smiled.
“The three of you.”
Before anyone could move, every door in Blackthorn slammed shut.
The lights went out.
And Gabriel whispered into the darkness:
May you like
“Now we finish what your mother started.”
TO BE CONTINUED
