Chapter 5: The Truth Victoria Buried
“Your mother should have stayed dead.””
The words were colder than the rain.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Not the officers.
Not the investigators.
Not Jonathan.
Not even me.
I just stared at Victoria Vance standing beside the old black SUV, holding a photograph in her hand like she had walked into a room where she already knew the ending.
The same woman who had thrown my suitcase beside my father’s grave.
The same woman who had tried to buy my silence with an envelope of cash.
Now she was standing beside my mother’s hidden car, looking at me like I was the one who had uncovered something I wasn’t supposed to find.
My hands curled into fists.
“What did you just say?””
Victoria didn’t answer immediately.
Her eyes moved past me toward the damaged vehicle.
Then toward Jonathan.
And something changed.
Not fear.
Recognition.
“You told him.””
Jonathan’s face hardened.
“I had no choice.””
Victoria gave a small, humorless laugh.
“You always say that.””
I stepped between them.
“Stop talking like I’m not standing here.””
Victoria looked at me.
For the first time, I saw something different in her expression.
Not arrogance.
Not confidence.
Concern.
But it disappeared quickly.
“Ethan—”
“No.””
My voice cut through hers.
“I want answers.””
She looked at the photograph in her hand.
Then back at me.
“You think you’re ready for them?””
I stepped closer.
“I spent twenty years believing my mother died.””
The words came out heavier than I expected.
“I buried someone who was alive.””
Victoria’s expression tightened.
“And you think that makes me the villain?””
I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“You came to my father’s grave and tried to throw me away.””
“Yes.””
The honesty shocked me.
She didn’t deny it.
She didn’t apologize.
She simply admitted it.
“Because I knew what would happen if you found out.””
“Found out what?””
Victoria looked at Jonathan.
Then at the investigators.
“Not here.””
I laughed once.
“You don’t get to choose the location anymore.””
Her eyes narrowed.
“You really are your father’s son.””
The sentence bothered me.
Because everyone kept saying it.
Like my entire identity was connected to a man who had left behind a thousand unanswered questions.
“I’m not him.””
Victoria’s expression softened slightly.
“No.””
She looked toward the car.
“You’re not.””
The sadness in her voice surprised me.
Then it vanished.
“I came here because I knew Jonathan would eventually tell you.””
Jonathan stepped forward.
“You have no right.””
Victoria turned toward him.
“Richard gave you the same instructions he gave me.””
The air changed.
I looked between them.
“What instructions?””
Neither answered.
My patience disappeared.
“What instructions?””
Victoria slowly raised the photograph.
“Your father knew Elena was alive.””
The words hit me.
I already knew.
But hearing someone else say it made it real.
“He knew?””
“Yes.””
“Before he died?””
“Yes.””
“How long?””
Victoria looked down.
“Twenty years.””
The world felt like it tilted.
My father.
My father knew.
Not suspected.
Not wondered.
Knew.
For twenty years.
I remembered every birthday.
Every holiday.
Every conversation where I asked about my mother.
Every time he looked away and told me, “Some things are too painful to revisit.””
Pain.
That was the excuse.
But the truth was different.
He knew she was alive.
“You lied to me.””
I didn’t realize I was speaking to Victoria until the words left my mouth.
She didn’t argue.
“I did.””
The admission almost hurt more.
“Why?””
Her eyes became distant.
“Because your mother asked me to.””
I froze.
“What?””
Jonathan looked at Victoria.
“You’re not going to do this.””
Victoria ignored him.
“She made me promise.””
I stared at her.
“My mother?””
“Yes.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
“No.””
She looked at me.
“I expect you to hear everything before you decide what you believe.””
The investigators began moving closer.
One of them spoke.
“We need everyone to remain calm.””
Nobody listened.
Because this was no longer an investigation.
It was a family that had been broken for two decades finally bleeding in public.
Victoria walked toward the old car.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like she was approaching a memory.
“Your mother wasn’t supposed to die that night.””
I followed her with my eyes.
“What happened?””
She stopped beside the vehicle.
“She discovered something.””
“About what?””
“Your father’s company.””
My stomach tightened.
The black ledger.
The documents.
The secrets.
Everything connected.
“What did she discover?””
Victoria looked at Jonathan.
Then answered.
“Your father wasn’t the only person controlling Vance International.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
“It means Richard built an empire.””
She looked at me.
“But he didn’t build it alone.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Who helped him?””
Victoria didn’t answer.
Instead, she looked at the photograph she carried.
I noticed something.
The picture wasn’t old.
It was recent.
My mother.
Alive.
Standing somewhere outdoors.
My breath caught.
“You have a photo of her.””
Victoria’s fingers tightened around it.
“Yes.””
“Where did you get that?””
Silence.
“Victoria.””
She looked away.
“I saw her.””
My heart stopped.
“You saw my mother?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
Her face changed.
“Three days ago.””
Three days.
The same day my father signed the documents.
The same day before he died.
My father wasn’t just leaving instructions.
He was preparing for something.
“Where is she?””
Victoria looked at me.
“I don’t know.””
I didn’t believe her.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“I expect you to understand something.””
She stepped closer.
“Your mother disappeared because she was afraid.””
“Of who?””
Victoria’s eyes moved toward the trees.
Then back to me.
“Of the same person your father was afraid of.””
A chill moved through me.
“Who?””
Before she could answer, a loud crash came from behind us.
Everyone turned.
One of the evidence containers beside the car had fallen.
An officer rushed over.
“Someone touched the evidence.””
The investigator looked confused.
“What?””
The officer pointed.
“The documents are gone.””
My heart dropped.
“What documents?””
“The ones from the trunk.””
Silence.
Jonathan immediately looked around.
“Everyone stay where you are.””
But nobody listened.
Because someone had already escaped.
I looked at Victoria.
She looked genuinely shocked.
For the first time, I believed her.
This wasn’t her.
Someone else was here.
Someone who wanted the truth buried again.
The investigator shouted into his radio.
“Lock down the area!””
Officers moved toward the road.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message.
Unknown number.
My blood went cold.
I opened it.
There was only one sentence.
*STOP LOOKING FOR YOUR MOTHER, OR YOU’LL LOSE ANOTHER PARENT.*
I stared at the screen.
My fingers went numb.
Jonathan saw my face.
“What is it?””
I handed him the phone.
The color drained from his face.
Victoria read it over his shoulder.
And for the first time since I met her, the woman who seemed impossible to intimidate looked terrified.
“Ethan…”
I looked at her.
“What?””
Her voice dropped.
“That message wasn’t meant for you.””
A cold silence followed.
“What do you mean?””
Victoria looked at Jonathan.
Then at me.
“It was meant for me.””
The three of us stood there, surrounded by police lights and my mother’s abandoned car.
A warning.
A stolen file.
A secret twenty years old.
And a woman who was supposed to be dead.
Then Victoria said the words that changed everything:
“The person who destroyed your family…”
May you like
She looked toward the dark road.
“…is someone who is still inside Vance International.””
