CHAPTER 14 — The Man Everyone Suspected
The accusation echoed through the ballroom.
"The person responsible is standing in that ballroom."
Nobody moved.
Nobody even whispered.
Because every person in the room understood what Adrian was saying.
The killer wasn't somewhere far away.
The killer wasn't hidden.
The killer was one of us.
Every eye slowly turned toward my father.
Charles Ashcroft.
The man who had arrived to protect me.
The man who had wrapped his jacket around my torn dress.
The man who had looked at me with tears in his eyes and promised no one would hurt me again.
Now...
Everyone was wondering the same thing.
Was he protecting me?
Or was he protecting himself?
My father stared at the screen.
"Adrian."
His voice was quiet.
Almost broken.
"You don't know what you're doing."
Adrian laughed softly.
"You said that twenty years ago."
"You said I didn't understand."
"You said I was confused."
"But I remembered everything."
The video shook slightly as Adrian moved deeper into the vault.
"I remembered my mother begging you to listen."
"I remembered you telling her she was paranoid."
"I remembered the argument."
A pause.
"Then I remembered the gunshot."
A wave of shock moved through the room.
My heart stopped.
A gunshot?
My mother had died in an accident.
At least...
That was what I had been told.
"That's a lie."
My father's voice suddenly became stronger.
Not angry.
Desperate.
"Adrian, stop."
"Show them the whole file."
"Not the edited version."
Adrian smiled.
"Still trying to control the story."
"No."
My father stepped closer to the screen.
"I'm trying to stop you from destroying yourself."
Detective Harris looked between them.
"Mr. Ashcroft."
"Did Elena die from a gunshot wound?"
Silence.
That silence answered everything.
My father lowered his head.
"Yes."
The ballroom erupted.
I felt like the floor had disappeared.
My mother.
My childhood memories.
The stories I had been told.
All of them suddenly had cracks.
"Dad..."
My voice shook.
"You told me it was an accident."
He looked at me.
Pain filled his eyes.
"I was wrong."
"Wrong?"
I almost couldn't believe the word.
"You let me believe my entire life was something it wasn't."
"I was trying to protect you."
"No."
I shook my head.
"You were protecting the truth."
Dominic moved closer.
"Vivienne..."
I raised my hand.
Not angrily.
Just enough to stop him.
Because I couldn't handle another person telling me they had hidden something for my own good.
Adrian's video continued.
"You see?"
He looked into the camera.
"She doesn't even know who her father really is."
My father closed his eyes.
"You don't know either."
Adrian smiled.
"Then let's find out."
He opened the folder.
The camera focused on the documents inside.
Detective Harris leaned toward the screen.
"Can you enhance that?"
The technician beside him immediately worked.
The image sharpened.
The first page appeared.
PROJECT ORION — ORIGINAL FOUNDING MEMBERS
Names.
Dates.
Signatures.
Then...
A signature everyone recognized.
Charles Ashcroft.
The room became silent.
My father didn't deny it.
Because there was no point.
"Explain."
I whispered.
My father looked at me.
"I was twenty-seven years old."
"When my father created Orion, I believed it was necessary."
"For protection."
"For security."
"I didn't understand what it would become."
"And when I realized..."
"It was already too powerful."
Detective Harris looked serious.
"So you were involved."
"Yes."
"But I tried to dismantle it."
"After your mother discovered it."
My father nodded.
"Yes."
Adrian's voice came from the screen.
"Convenient."
"After she found out."
"After she threatened to expose everything."
"After she discovered what you had done."
My father looked devastated.
"That's not what happened."
Margaret stepped forward.
"Adrian."
The video paused.
For the first time...
Adrian looked surprised.
"You remember me?"
Margaret nodded.
"I remember the night your mother died."
Everyone turned toward her.
"Tell them."
Adrian's voice changed.
Less confident.
More curious.
Margaret took a deep breath.
"Because your mother didn't die because of Charles."
The ballroom went silent.
"What?"
Adrian stared at the screen.
"You're lying."
"No."
Margaret's voice remained calm.
"I was there."
She looked at me.
"Your mother discovered someone had stolen Orion's files."
"Someone inside the family."
"She thought Charles was responsible."
"But when she confronted him..."
"He showed her the truth."
My father looked down.
"They realized someone else was controlling Orion."
Detective Harris asked:
"Who?"
Margaret looked at the screen.
"That's what Elena was trying to find."
"She never got the chance."
The video suddenly glitched.
Adrian's face disappeared.
The screen went black.
Everyone froze.
"What happened?"
Victoria checked her tablet.
"Someone disconnected the feed."
"Adrian?"
"No."
She looked confused.
"Someone else."
A second later...
Every phone in the ballroom received a notification.
A file.
A video.
Not from Adrian.
From an unknown sender.
Detective Harris opened it.
The video played.
A security camera recording.
Old.
Grainy.
But clear enough.
A hallway.
Twenty-eight years ago.
A young Elena Ashcroft walking.
She was carrying a folder.
Behind her...
A man followed.
The room became silent.
Because everyone recognized him.
Even after all these years.
My father's face went pale.
"No..."
I stared at the screen.
Because the man behind my mother...
Was not my father.
It was someone else.
Someone who had been in the ballroom tonight.
Someone who had been standing among us the entire evening.
The video zoomed closer.
The man's face appeared.
Older now.
But unmistakable.
Detective Harris whispered:
"Impossible."
Victoria covered her mouth.
Because she knew him too.
I looked around the ballroom.
Slowly.
Searching.
Then I found him.
Standing near the back entrance.
Watching everything.
A man who had been silent all night.
A man everyone trusted.
A man who had helped organize the wedding.
The best man's father.
Richard Bennett.
Dominic's father.
The man who was supposed to have died eight months ago.
Except...
He was standing there.
Alive.
My entire body went cold.
Dominic turned.
And saw him too.
"Dad..."
The older man smiled.
A calm, terrifying smile.
"Hello, everyone."
May you like
A pause.
"Did you miss me?"
