CHAPTER 17 The Last Person Eleanor Expected
Eleanor stood completely still.
The person in the doorway did not move.
The office was silent except for the sound of rain tapping against the windows.
A lifetime of memories passed through Eleanor’s mind.
Every conversation.
Every decision.
Every moment of trust.
Because the person standing in front of her was not a stranger.
It was someone who had been there through everything.
Someone who had helped save Vale Estate.
Someone who had watched the family grow.
Someone who knew every corner of the vineyard.
“Thomas…”
The name left her lips like a question.
The old manager looked down.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Vale.”
The apology hurt more than an explanation.
Eleanor slowly stepped backward.
“You.”
Thomas closed the door behind him.
“I never wanted it to come to this.”
“To what?”
Her voice was colder now.
“To me finding out that you lied to me for twenty-two years?”
Thomas swallowed.
“I protected you.”
“No.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“You protected the truth.”
Thomas looked exhausted.
“You don’t understand what I was trying to prevent.”
“Then explain.”
A long silence.
Finally, Thomas walked toward the desk.
“I met Victor Vale when I was twenty-eight.”
Eleanor listened.
“He wasn’t a good man.”
A pause.
“But he was brilliant.”
Thomas looked at the old family photographs.
“He knew how to make people believe they needed him.”
Eleanor stared.
“Like you?”
Thomas flinched.
The answer was obvious.
“I was young.”
“That doesn’t excuse decades of silence.”
“No.”
Thomas nodded.
“It doesn’t.”
Thomas placed an old photograph on the desk.
Eleanor picked it up.
It showed Victor Vale standing beside several people.
Her husband.
Margaret.
A younger Thomas.
And another man.
A man Eleanor had never seen.
“Who is he?”
Thomas looked at the photograph.
“The beginning of everything.”
“His name?”
“Daniel Cross.”
Eleanor frowned.
“Cross?”
“Yes.”
Thomas nodded.
“He was Vanessa and Evelyn’s father.”
The pieces began connecting.
“The Cross family.”
“Victor destroyed them.”
“Why?”
Thomas looked at her.
“Because Daniel discovered something.”
“What?”
Thomas hesitated.
Then whispered:
“He discovered that the Vale fortune was not originally Vale money.”
Eleanor froze.
“What?”
“The first Vale fortune came from a business partnership.”
“With who?”
Thomas looked at the photograph.
“The Cross family.”
The room became silent.
“Victor stole it?”
Thomas nodded.
“He changed records. He rewrote history. He made the world believe the Vale family built everything alone.”
Eleanor stared at the documents surrounding her.
The entire family legacy.
The reputation.
The name.
All built on a lie.
“But why continue this for generations?”
Thomas answered:
“Because once a family builds its power on a secret…”
He paused.
“Everyone becomes afraid of the truth.”
At that moment, a loud crash came from outside.
Both turned toward the window.
The security lights flickered.
Thomas immediately became alert.
“Someone is here.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“You expect me to trust you?”
“No.”
Thomas looked genuinely hurt.
“But I need you alive.”
Before Eleanor could respond, the office door suddenly opened.
Julian stepped inside.
His face was tense.
“What is happening?”
Eleanor looked between them.
“Ask Thomas.”
Julian’s eyes narrowed.
“You told her?”
Thomas remained silent.
Julian looked at him.
“You promised.”
Eleanor froze.
“You promised?”
Julian realized his mistake.
Too late.
“What promise?”
Nobody answered.
Eleanor’s anger grew.
“What promise?”
Julian looked away.
Thomas finally spoke.
“The promise to keep the real heir hidden.”
Eleanor’s eyes moved toward the hallway.
“Alexander.”
Nobody spoke.
Because the answer was obvious.
Five minutes later, they found Alexander missing.
The library window was open.
Rain had entered the room.
The boy was gone.
Clara’s face turned white.
“No…”
Eleanor immediately moved.
“Security cameras.”
Thomas checked his tablet.
Then stopped.
“What?”
His face changed.
“The cameras were disabled.”
“By whom?”
Thomas looked at Julian.
Then at Eleanor.
“I don’t know.”
A message appeared on the screen.
One line.
No sender.
No explanation.
Only:
THE HEIR HAS RETURNED TO HIS RIGHTFUL PLACE.
Clara covered her mouth.
“He’s just a child.”
Eleanor looked at the message.
Her fear turned into determination.
“No.”
Everyone looked at her.
“He is not a piece in someone else’s game.”
She grabbed her coat.
“We’re bringing him back.”
Across the valley, a black car moved through the rain.
Inside, Alexander sat quietly in the back seat.
Beside him was the woman from the vineyard.
Evelyn Cross.
She looked at him through the mirror.
“You’re not scared?”
The boy shook his head.
“My mother said people who tell the truth don’t need to be afraid.”
Evelyn smiled sadly.
“She was right.”
Alexander looked out the window.
“Where are we going?”
Evelyn didn’t answer immediately.
Then:
“To meet the person who started all of this.”
Alexander frowned.
“Who?”
Evelyn looked toward the dark road ahead.
“The last living secret of the Vale family.”
The car continued into the night.
And somewhere ahead…
May you like
Someone was waiting.
Someone everyone believed was dead.
