Chapter 25 The Friend Who Knew Too Much
The photograph lay on the table.
Nobody touched it.
Nobody wanted to.
Because sometimes a picture was not just evidence.
Sometimes it was a weapon.
A weapon that destroyed the last bit of trust someone had left.
Adeline stared at the face in the photograph.
The person standing beside her parents on the night they died.
The person who had comforted her afterward.
The person who had spent years helping her search for answers.
The person she never thought to question.
Her voice barely came out.
“It was you.”
Everyone turned.
Damian looked at her.
“Who?”
Adeline slowly raised her eyes.
And the room became colder.
“Marcus.”
The name carried weight.
Damian immediately felt something inside him shift.
Marcus.
His most trusted employee.
His closest adviser.
The person who had known his schedule.
His business.
His family.
His weaknesses.
The person who always seemed to have the right answer.
The person who had helped them uncover secrets.
And now…
The person who had been standing beside the accident all along.
“No.”
The word left Damian before he could stop it.
Not because he refused to believe.
Because accepting it hurt.
Adeline looked at him.
“I know.”
“You’re sure?”
She nodded.
“I saw him.”
Damian looked back at the photograph.
The image was old.
The quality was poor.
But the face was clear.
Marcus.
Younger.
Standing beside the vehicle.
Elias spoke carefully.
“We need to be certain.”
Damian looked at him.
“You think I don’t know my own employee?”
“No.”
Elias shook his head.
“I think we need proof before we accuse him.”
Damian understood.
Because that was the difference now.
He no longer wanted revenge.
He wanted truth.
“Find everything.”
Elias nodded.
“Already started.”
The search revealed something nobody expected.
Marcus Hale had not appeared in the Vale company records by accident.
He had been placed there.
Years ago.
Before Damian became CEO.
Before Adeline married him.
Before anyone suspected anything.
Someone had carefully positioned Marcus inside Damian’s life.
But the question remained:
Who?
And why?
That evening, Damian confronted Marcus.
Not with anger.
Not with accusations.
With a simple message.
Meet me. Alone.
Marcus agreed.
The meeting took place at an empty office building.
The same place where Marcus had revealed pieces of the truth.
Only this time, Damian knew there were more lies.
Marcus arrived fifteen minutes later.
He looked calm.
Too calm.
“You know.”
Damian stared at him.
“How long?”
Marcus sighed.
“So you found the photograph.”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“How long?”
Marcus looked away.
“Since before you knew my name.”
The answer cut deeper than Damian expected.
“You were placed near me.”
“Yes.”
“By who?”
Marcus remained silent.
Damian stepped closer.
“Who?”
Marcus looked at him.
“You already know.”
Damian froze.
“No.”
Marcus gave a sad smile.
“Your father.”
The answer was impossible.
Again.
Damian shook his head.
“My father is dead.”
“Yes.”
“So how?”
Marcus looked at him.
“Because before he died, he made arrangements.”
“For what?”
“To protect you.”
Damian laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Marcus nodded.
“Because everyone misunderstood what he was doing.”
“What was he doing?”
Marcus looked toward the window.
“Preparing you.”
“For what?”
A pause.
“For the day when the truth would come out.”
Damian’s anger returned.
“You stood beside my family while knowing everything.”
“Yes.”
“You watched Adeline suffer.”
Marcus lowered his eyes.
“Yes.”
“You watched me fail my marriage.”
That one landed.
Marcus looked at him.
“I know.”
Damian stepped closer.
“And you said nothing.”
Marcus swallowed.
“Because your father believed you needed to learn without being forced.”
The answer made Damian angry.
“My father had no right.”
Marcus nodded.
“You’re right.”
That surprised him.
“You’re not going to defend him?”
“No.”
Marcus looked at him.
“He made mistakes.”
A pause.
“He thought he could control the outcome.”
Damian understood.
Because that was exactly what he had done.
“Why were you at the accident?”
The question finally came.
Marcus was silent.
Then:
“Because I was trying to stop it.”
Damian frowned.
“What?”
“Your father sent me.”
The room went quiet.
“You were working for him?”
“Yes.”
“Then why hide?”
Marcus looked down.
“Because I failed.”
The words were filled with guilt.
“I arrived too late.”
Damian stared.
“You saw them?”
“Yes.”
“And you let everyone believe they were dead?”
“No.”
Marcus looked at him.
“I believed they were.”
A pause.
“Until I discovered the truth years later.”
Damian studied him.
There were still missing pieces.
“You helped Richard escape.”
Marcus looked away.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed him to lead me to the person controlling him.”
Damian narrowed his eyes.
“And did you find them?”
Marcus looked at him.
“Yes.”
A long silence.
“Who?”
Marcus’s expression changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
“The person behind everything.”
Damian waited.
Marcus whispered:
“Your grandfather.”
The words were almost impossible.
“My grandfather?”
Marcus nodded.
“Your grandfather knew about the Hawthorne trust.”
Damian stared.
“He was involved?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he believed the trust belonged to the Vale family.”
Adeline’s inheritance.
The companies.
The power.
Everything.
It always came back to control.
Before Damian could ask more, his phone rang.
Adeline.
He answered immediately.
“What happened?”
Her voice was urgent.
“Damian.”
“What?”
“Your grandfather came to the farmhouse.”
His body went still.
“Is everyone safe?”
A pause.
Then:
“He didn’t come alone.”
Damian’s grip tightened.
“Who is with him?”
Another pause.
Then Adeline said the words that made his blood run cold.
“Your father.”
Silence.
Impossible.
“What?”
“I know what I saw.”
Damian could barely breathe.
“My father is alive.”
A pause.
“He is standing in front of me.”
The call remained open.
And Damian realized something terrifying.
The man he had spent years mourning…
might have been alive all along.