Chapter 8: The Enemy Behind the Enemy
Victoria stared at the image.
Richard Cole.
Standing beside a woman.
A woman she recognized.
Her blood ran cold.
“Victoria?””
Daniel noticed her expression.
“What is it?””
She slowly turned the phone around.
Daniel looked at the photograph.
Then he went completely still.
Thomas stepped closer.
“Who is she?””
Daniel didn’t answer.
Victoria whispered:
“Margaret Williams.””
Daniel’s mother.
The woman everyone believed disappeared decades ago.
The room erupted with questions.
But Daniel said nothing.
He only stared at the image.
“She’s alive.””
Victoria looked at him.
“You didn’t know?””
He shook his head slowly.
“No.””
For years, Daniel had believed his mother abandoned him.
Now she had appeared beside the man who nearly destroyed everything.
Richard Cole.
The person who had manipulated Victoria.
The person who had hidden behind her success.
Daniel’s voice was quiet.
“Why would she be with him?””
Thomas looked troubled.
“Because Richard found the same weakness I once had.””
“What weakness?””
Thomas answered:
“Regret.””
That evening, Daniel requested a private meeting with Richard.
Victoria insisted on coming.
“You don’t have to do this alone.””
Daniel looked at her.
Months ago, he would have walked into that room by himself.
Now he nodded.
“Thank you.””
They found Richard in an abandoned office building downtown.
A place that once belonged to a company that had failed years earlier.
Victoria immediately noticed something.
Richard looked different.
Not confident.
Not arrogant.
Desperate.
Daniel stepped forward.
“Where is my mother?””
Richard smiled.
“So you finally found out.””
Victoria’s anger rose.
“You used me.””
Richard looked at her.
“I gave you everything.””
“No. You gave me ambition. You never gave me truth.””
Richard ignored her.
His eyes stayed on Daniel.
“You have no idea what happened.””
Daniel’s voice was cold.
“Then explain.””
Richard sighed.
“Your mother was never your enemy.””
Daniel froze.
“What?””
“She tried to protect you.””
Victoria watched carefully.
“From who?””
Richard looked at Thomas.
“From him.””
Everyone became silent.
Thomas stepped forward.
“That’s a lie.””
Richard laughed.
“Is it?””
He looked at Daniel.
“Your father wanted control. Your mother wanted you safe.””
Daniel shook his head.
“I don’t believe you.””
Richard reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a small recorder.
“She left this before she disappeared.””
Daniel stared.
“Why do you have it?””
Richard smiled.
“Because I found it before anyone else.””
He pressed play.
A woman’s voice filled the room.
A voice Daniel had not heard in decades.
“Daniel, if you hear this, please understand…”
Daniel stopped breathing.
His mother.
The recording continued.
“I didn’t leave because I wanted to. I left because someone threatened your future.””
Victoria looked at Thomas.
The older man looked away.
The recording continued.
“Eleanor promised she would protect you. She told me to disappear until you were safe.””
Daniel closed his eyes.
A lifetime of pain shifted in a single moment.
His mother had not abandoned him.
She had sacrificed herself.
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then Daniel whispered:
“Where is she?””
Richard looked toward the window.
“She’s waiting.””
“Where?””
Richard hesitated.
Then said:
“At the place where your company began.””
The old building.
The first office.
The place Eleanor Hayes had helped him build.
Daniel turned to leave.
But Victoria stopped him.
“Wait.””
Everyone looked at her.
She held the photograph again.
“Richard wasn’t acting alone.””
Daniel frowned.
“What do you mean?””
Victoria pointed at the image.
“Look closer.””
Daniel stepped forward.
Behind Richard and Margaret, reflected in the glass window, was another person.
Someone watching them.
Someone who had been involved from the beginning.
Thomas looked at the reflection.
His face changed.
“No…”
Victoria looked at him.
“You know who that is?””
Thomas whispered the name.
A name nobody expected.
“The person who started all of this.””
Daniel stared.
“Who?””
Thomas looked at the reflection.
May you like
And answered:
“My brother.””
