CHAPTER 13 — THE LAST LIE OF THE VALE FAMILY
The message remained on the wall.
Bright.
Silent.
Cruel.
THE PERSON YOU TRUST MOST IS STILL LYING.
Nobody moved.
Because everyone in the room understood the danger of those words.
The truth had become a weapon.
And whoever controlled it...
Controlled everyone else.
I looked at the faces around me.
Adrian.
The father I never knew.
Alexander.
The man who raised me.
Victoria.
The aunt who appeared from the shadows.
My grandfather.
The man who started a war before I was even born.
Four people.
Four different versions of my life.
Four people who claimed they were protecting me.
And four people who had lied.
I slowly stepped away.
"No."
My voice was quiet.
Everyone looked at me.
"I can't do this anymore."
Adrian stepped forward.
"Elizabeth—"
I raised my hand.
"No."
He stopped.
"I don't want another explanation."
A pause.
"I don't want another secret."
I looked at all of them.
"I want one thing."
"What?"
"The truth."
The old man smiled faintly.
"That is exactly what your mother wanted."
I looked at him.
"Don't pretend you know what she wanted."
For the first time...
The old man's expression changed.
A small crack in his confidence.
Because I was no longer the girl everyone expected.
I wasn't searching for approval.
I was searching for answers.
The message disappeared.
Then another appeared.
A video file.
Created thirty years ago.
The title:
FINAL TESTAMENT — ELENA CROSS
Adrian froze.
"No."
Alexander looked shocked.
"She never showed me this."
Victoria stared at the screen.
"Impossible."
I looked at them.
"Why?"
Nobody answered.
The video started.
My mother's face appeared.
Older than the previous recordings.
Tired.
But calm.
She looked directly into the camera.
"Elizabeth."
My heart stopped.
"If you are watching this..."
She smiled sadly.
"Then you finally know enough to ask the right questions."
I swallowed.
My mother's voice continued.
"I know everyone will tell you their version of what happened."
A pause.
"Adrian will tell you he loved me."
"He did."
"Alexander will tell you he tried to save me."
"He did."
"My father will tell you he was trying to protect our family."
"He was."
Everyone froze.
Because my mother had just admitted all of them were telling pieces of the truth.
Then she continued:
"But they are all wrong about one thing."
The screen changed.
A photograph appeared.
My mother holding a baby.
Me.
Beside her was another person.
A woman.
I recognized her immediately.
Victoria.
My aunt.
My mother continued:
"The person who betrayed me was not Adrian."
"Not Alexander."
"Not my father."
My breathing stopped.
"Victoria."
The room went silent.
Victoria's face changed.
"No."
My mother continued.
"Victoria discovered the Genesis Archive before anyone else."
"She wanted control."
"She believed our family was wasting power by hiding information."
I looked at Victoria.
She said nothing.
"She believed Elizabeth should belong to the family."
A pause.
"Not be allowed to choose her own life."
The screen showed another image.
Victoria meeting with Charles Ashford.
My stomach turned.
"You were working with him."
Victoria remained silent.
The video continued.
"Victoria did not kill me directly."
"She did something worse."
The screen changed.
A document.
A contract.
A transfer agreement.
My eyes widened.
"She sold information about my daughter."
Silence.
Victoria finally spoke.
"Enough."
Everyone turned.
Her calm disappeared.
"Turn it off."
I stared.
"Why?"
She looked at me.
Because for the first time...
She looked afraid.
"Because you don't understand."
I laughed bitterly.
"That is the sentence everyone uses."
She stepped forward.
"Elizabeth."
"No."
I shook my head.
"You don't get to explain."
Her expression hardened.
"You think this makes me the villain?"
I said nothing.
She looked around.
"Look at them."
She pointed at Adrian.
"Your father abandoned you."
She pointed at Alexander.
"Your uncle lied to you."
She pointed at my grandfather.
"He manipulated everyone."
Then she looked back at me.
"I was the only one who understood what you needed."
I stared.
"You tried to control me."
"No."
Her voice became emotional.
"I tried to protect you."
I almost smiled.
"Everyone says that."
The doors suddenly opened.
Security forces entered.
But they weren't Victoria's men.
They weren't the Meridian Circle.
They wore Ashford insignias.
Charles.
Everyone turned.
A voice came from behind them.
"Family reunions are always emotional."
Charles Ashford entered.
Alive.
Confident again.
Impossible.
Nathan followed behind him.
But this time...
Nathan wasn't smiling.
He looked terrified.
"What happened?"
I whispered.
Charles smiled.
"Your husband finally realized who the real enemy was."
I looked at Nathan.
"What did you do?"
Nathan didn't answer.
Charles did.
"He helped me."
My stomach dropped.
Nathan looked at me.
"I had no choice."
I stared.
"There is always a choice."
His eyes filled with shame.
"I know."
Charles walked toward the center.
"Enough family drama."
He looked at the screen.
"Elena left too many messages."
Then at me.
"But she made one mistake."
"What?"
He smiled.
"She underestimated how badly people wanted what you have."
I frowned.
"What do I have?"
Charles stepped closer.
"The Genesis Key."
I looked at my necklace.
"The necklace?"
He laughed.
"No."
A pause.
"The necklace is only the lock."
He pointed at me.
"You are the key."
The room went silent.
Charles continued:
"Your memories."
"Your intelligence."
"Your ability to connect information."
"The reason your mother spent years studying your development."
I stared.
"You are saying my mother created me?"
"No."
Charles smiled.
"Your mother protected you from people who wanted to."
A pause.
"Because before you were born..."
He looked at my grandfather.
"Your grandfather had a plan."
Everyone froze.
Charles continued:
"Elizabeth was never supposed to inherit the Genesis Archive."
"She was supposed to unlock it."
My blood ran cold.
"Unlock what?"
Charles smiled.
"The real archive."
The room became silent.
"Because everything you have seen..."
A pause.
"Every secret."
"Every file."
"Every truth."
"Was only the first layer."
Suddenly, the entire building shook.
An explosion.
The lights flickered.
Marcus checked the system.
His face changed.
"Someone breached the island."
"Who?"
He looked at me.
"I don't know."
A pause.
"But they aren't coming for the archive."
Everyone waited.
Marcus looked at the screen.
"They are coming for Elizabeth."
The doors behind us slowly opened.
A figure stood in the darkness.
Not a soldier.
Not a billionaire.
Not a family member.
A woman.
Older.
Holding a file.
A woman I had never seen before.
She looked directly at me.
And whispered:
"Elizabeth Cross."
A pause.
"You need to know the truth."
Her eyes moved toward Adrian.
"Your father is not the man you think he is."
Adrian went pale.
Because he recognized her.
"No..."
The woman smiled sadly.
"I was there the night your mother died."
Silence.
May you like
Then she said:
"And I know who really killed her."
