Chapter 4 - THE SECRET MY FATHER NEVER TOLD ME
My father didn't speak during the flight.
Neither did I.
When we arrived at the estate, security surrounded the property.
A man in his seventies was waiting by the window.
Silver hair.
Sharp eyes.
A face I had seen before.
In old photographs.
"Arthur Blackwood," my father said.
The man smiled.
"Richard Hale."
My heart pounded.
"Ethan's grandfather."
Arthur looked at me.
"So you're the daughter."
I stepped forward.
"Why did you destroy my life?"
He laughed quietly.
"Destroy?"
He gestured toward me.
"You had everything."
I stared at him.
"You wanted my father's company."
"No."
He corrected me.
"I wanted something your father took from me."
My father finally spoke.
"Enough."
Arthur smiled.
"Tell her."
I looked at my father.
"Tell me what?"
My father closed his eyes.
Then he told me.
Thirty years earlier, Hale Global had nearly collapsed.
Arthur Blackwood had offered my father a partnership.
But the partnership was based on stolen technology.
My father refused.
Arthur retaliated.
He tried to destroy Hale Global.
The battle lasted years.
Eventually, Arthur lost.
But he had one remaining strategy.
He had discovered that my mother had secretly created a trust for me.
A trust containing shares in Hale Global.
Shares worth hundreds of millions.
I stared at my father.
"You never told me."
"I wanted you to grow up without knowing."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted someone to love you without seeing your money."
My throat tightened.
Arthur laughed.
"And then she married my grandson."
I turned toward him.
"You planned it."
"I suggested it."
My blood ran cold.
"Ethan knew?"
Arthur shook his head.
"Not initially."
Then he looked toward the window.
"But Vivian knew."
Everything became clear.
Vivian had convinced Ethan that marrying me would save his company.
But Arthur had been manipulating Vivian.
And Vivian had been manipulating Ethan.
The entire family had been built on lies.
But then Arthur said something I didn't expect.
"Ethan wasn't supposed to hurt you."
I looked at him.
"What?"
"The plan was to control you."
"That's not better."
"No."
He admitted it.
"But Ethan became obsessed with control."
For the first time, Arthur's voice sounded tired.
"He became worse than I intended."
My father stepped forward.
"And now?"
Arthur smiled sadly.
"Now the Blackwood name is finished."
But before we could leave, he handed me an envelope.
"Your mother left this for you."
My heart stopped.
"My mother?"
She had died when I was young.
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a letter.
My darling Ava,
If you're reading this, you're old enough to know why your father hid your identity.
I began crying.
The letter explained that my mother had feared Arthur.
She had discovered that the Blackwoods had tried to gain control of my trust.
She had begged my father to protect me.
At the bottom was one sentence:
Never marry a man who needs your power more than he needs your heart.
I folded the letter against my chest.
Then I heard footsteps.
Ethan.
He had followed us.
He stood at the doorway.
"I came to apologize."
I looked at him.
He looked exhausted.
"I know I don't deserve forgiveness."
"No."
"I know I hurt you."
"Yes."
"I know I became someone I hate."
I said nothing.
He looked at my belly.
"Can I at least know if my son is okay?"
I hesitated.
Then I nodded.
"He is."
Ethan closed his eyes.
A tear rolled down his cheek.
"I don't expect you to come back."
"Good."
He nodded.
"But I want to help expose my mother."
I looked at him carefully.
"Why?"
"Because if I stay silent, I'm no better than her."
That was the first honest thing he had said in years.
But I didn't know whether to believe him.
Then he handed Daniel a flash drive.
"Everything is on there."
Daniel examined it.
"What?"
"Bank transfers."
He looked at me.
"Recordings."
Then he whispered:
"And the original plan for what they intended to do after your baby was born."
My heart stopped.
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Because the plan contained one final instruction.
The child must never know who his mother really was.