Chapter 8 — The Man Behind Beatrice
Chapter 8 — The Man Behind Beatrice
The name on the passport was Victor Hale.
The photograph was unmistakable.
The man everyone had declared dead twenty years ago was alive.
And according to the passport, he had been living under another identity in a small mountain town not far from the road where Thomas Sterling supposedly died.
Evelyn stared at the document.
One thought kept repeating in her mind.
If Victor was alive, who had helped him disappear?
The answer was beginning to frighten her.
Because Victor couldn't have done everything alone.
Someone had erased his records.
Someone had protected Beatrice.
Someone had hidden Sebastian.
Someone had kept Evelyn's mother alive and invisible.
Someone had controlled the trust from the shadows.
Evelyn looked at Adrian.
“We're going to the mountain.”
Adrian shook his head.
“It's too dangerous.”
“My father died there.”
“Yes.”
“My mother disappeared because of it.”
“Yes.”
“My brother was taken because of it.”
“Yes.”
“And Helena was murdered because she knew what happened there.”
Adrian stared at her.
“You're still going.”
Evelyn picked up the passport.
“Absolutely.”
They left before sunrise.
The mountain road was almost empty.
Fog rolled across the trees.
Every curve reminded Evelyn of the photographs from her father's accident.
She had spent years imagining this place.
She had imagined her father's final moments.
Now she was finally seeing it.
The guardrail had been replaced.
But the scar on the mountain remained.
A deep section of broken stone where the car had gone over the edge.
Evelyn stepped out.
“This is where they found him?”
“Yes.”
“Where was the car?”
Adrian pointed down the slope.
She walked toward the edge.
Then stopped.
A small metal object lay beneath the bushes.
She crouched.
It was a cufflink.
Silver.
With the Sterling crest.
Her father's.
Evelyn closed her fingers around it.
“He was here.”
Adrian nodded.
“But this isn't from the accident.”
“Why?”
“Because your father wasn't wearing it that night.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“How do you know?”
“I dressed him before the funeral.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Then whose is it?”
Adrian stared at the cufflink.
“I don't know.”
A voice came from behind them.
“I do.”
They turned.
An old man stood near the trees.
He held a walking stick.
His face was weathered.
His eyes were sharp.
Evelyn recognized him from the old family photographs.
“Mr. Cole?”
He nodded.
“I worked security for your father.”
“You're alive.”
“Barely.”
“Did you see what happened?”
The old man looked toward the mountain.
“I saw enough.”
“Tell me.”
He hesitated.
“Your father didn't die here.”
Evelyn froze.
“What?”
“The car did.”
Her breath caught.
“Then where was my father?”
Mr. Cole looked at Adrian.
“You never told her?”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
“Then someone has to.”
Twenty years earlier, Thomas Sterling had arrived at the mountain road with two men.
Victor Hale.
And another man.
A man Mr. Cole had never seen before.
Thomas was carrying a briefcase.
Victor carried a baby.
Sebastian.
“They argued,” Mr. Cole said.
“About what?”
“The trust.”
Evelyn's heart tightened.
“Why would my father give them the trust?”
“He wasn't giving it.”
“Then what?”
“He was threatening to expose them.”
“Who?”
Mr. Cole looked at her.
“The Black Serpent.”
Evelyn already knew the name.
“What happened?”
“Your father demanded his son back.”
“And Victor?”
“He refused.”
“Then?”
“Your father pulled a gun.”
Evelyn's breath caught.
“Did he shoot?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because someone shot him first.”
Evelyn went still.
“Who?”
Mr. Cole looked toward the trees.
“The third man.”
“The man with Victor?”
“Yes.”
“What did he do?”
“He shot your father.”
“Where?”
“In the shoulder.”
Evelyn stared.
“My father wasn't killed immediately.”
“No.”
“Then what happened?”
“They took him.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“But the car?”
“Victor drove it over the cliff.”
Evelyn's face went cold.
“They staged the accident.”
Mr. Cole nodded.
“To make everyone believe Thomas was dead.”
“Then who died in the car?”
Mr. Cole looked at her.
“No one.”
Evelyn stared.
“What?”
“The car was empty.”
For a moment, the mountain seemed completely silent.
Evelyn could barely breathe.
“My father survived.”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
Mr. Cole looked down.
“Three days.”
“Three days?”
“They kept him alive.”
“Why?”
“To make him sign something.”
Evelyn's heart pounded.
“The trust.”
“Yes.”
“Did he sign?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Mr. Cole smiled faintly.
“Because your father was stubborn.”
Evelyn almost laughed through her tears.
That sounded like him.
Then she remembered something.
“If my father survived…”
She turned toward Adrian.
“Why did everyone think he was dead?”
Adrian's face was grim.
“Because Beatrice announced it.”
Evelyn's expression changed.
“Before the police found the car.”
“Yes.”
“She knew.”
“Yes.”
“Because she was there.”
Adrian nodded.
“But she wasn't the one who ordered it.”
Evelyn stared.
“Who did?”
Mr. Cole answered.
“The man behind Beatrice.”
They found the old warehouse that afternoon.
It had been abandoned for years.
The doors were rusted.
Windows broken.
But inside, Evelyn found something impossible.
A room had been recently cleaned.
There was a table.
Two chairs.
A fresh cup of coffee.
And a photograph.
Her father.
Taken three days after the supposed accident.
Evelyn touched it.
He was bruised.
His shirt was torn.
But he was alive.
On the back was a date.
THREE DAYS AFTER THE CRASH.
And one sentence:
He refused again.
Evelyn looked at Adrian.
“Who took this?”
He shook his head.
A sound came from upstairs.
Footsteps.
Adrian immediately drew his weapon.
“Stay here.”
Evelyn ignored him.
They climbed the stairs.
At the end of the hallway was a locked room.
The door opened.
Inside was a wall covered in photographs.
Her father.
Her mother.
Sebastian.
Evelyn.
Beatrice.
Victor.
Helena.
Samuel.
Every person connected to the Sterling family.
Every photograph had dates.
Notes.
Locations.
Some were decades old.
Evelyn stared.
“They've been watching us.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“This isn't surveillance.”
“What is it?”
“A family history.”
Evelyn pointed to one photograph.
Her mother.
Pregnant.
The date was twenty-nine years ago.
Beneath it:
FIRST HEIR — EVELYN.
Another photograph.
Her mother holding baby Sebastian.
SECOND HEIR — CONFIRMED.
Then a photograph of Beatrice.
ASSET — ACTIVE.
Evelyn's blood ran cold.
“Asset.”
Adrian nodded.
“Beatrice was working for someone.”
She moved to the final photograph.
A man.
His face was blurred.
Only his hand was visible.
A black serpent ring.
Underneath:
PRINCIPAL.
Evelyn stared.
“That's him.”
Adrian looked.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
Evelyn pointed to another note.
There was a name beneath the photograph.
Richard Sterling.
Evelyn froze.
“My grandfather?”
Adrian's face went pale.
“No.”
“Then who is Richard Sterling?”
Adrian slowly shook his head.
“Your father's older brother.”
Evelyn stared.
“Adrian.”
He looked at her.
“His name was Richard Sterling.”
“Why have I never heard of him?”
“Because your father erased him.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard was the founder of the Black Serpent.”
The revelation destroyed everything.
Evelyn sat down.
“My family created this?”
“Your great-grandfather built the original financial network.”
“Then my grandfather?”
“Expanded it.”
“And Richard?”
“He wanted control.”
“Over the Sterling Empire?”
“Over everything.”
Evelyn looked at the photograph again.
“So Beatrice worked for my uncle.”
“Yes.”
“Victor worked for my uncle.”
“Yes.”
“Helena?”
Adrian hesitated.
“No.”
“Then why was she involved?”
“Because she tried to stop him.”
Evelyn stared.
“And my mother?”
“She discovered the truth.”
“And my father?”
“He tried to destroy it.”
Evelyn's voice became quiet.
“That's why they killed him.”
Adrian nodded.
But Evelyn wasn't finished.
“Then why did my father hide the trust?”
“Because he knew Richard couldn't control it.”
“Why?”
“Because the trust required both heirs.”
Evelyn froze.
“Me and Sebastian.”
“Yes.”
“If one heir dies?”
“The trust remains locked.”
“And if both heirs are alive?”
“It can be activated.”
Evelyn understood.
“That's why they took Sebastian.”
“Yes.”
“And why they tried to destroy me.”
“Yes.”
A voice came from the doorway.
“No.”
They turned.
Beatrice stood there.
She was pale.
Her hair was disheveled.
For the first time, she looked afraid.
Evelyn rose.
“You.”
Beatrice stared at the photograph.
“Richard found you.”
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
“You worked for him.”
“I had no choice.”
“You destroyed my family.”
Beatrice's eyes filled with tears.
“You think I wanted this?”
Evelyn laughed bitterly.
“You stole my inheritance.”
“Yes.”
“You erased my mother.”
“Yes.”
“You lied about my father.”
“Yes.”
“You helped kidnap my brother.”
Beatrice's voice broke.
“I did not.”
Evelyn stopped.
“What?”
“I never took Sebastian.”
“Then who did?”
Beatrice looked toward Adrian.
Her expression changed.
“He knows.”
Evelyn turned.
Adrian's face had gone white.
“What does she mean?”
Beatrice laughed through her tears.
“You still don't understand.”
She looked at Evelyn.
“The man behind me wasn't Richard.”
Evelyn's heart stopped.
“What?”
“Richard was the man they blamed.”
“Who?”
Beatrice stepped closer.
“The real architect has been beside you all along.”
Evelyn stared at her.
“Who?”
Beatrice looked directly at Adrian.
“Your father's brother didn't build the Black Serpent.”
A pause.
“Your father did.”
Evelyn's blood turned cold.
“No.”
Beatrice whispered:
“Thomas Sterling was the founder.”
Adrian suddenly pulled his gun.
Beatrice screamed.
“Evelyn, run!”
The gunshot exploded through the warehouse.
Beatrice fell.
Evelyn screamed.
Adrian stood motionless.
Smoke curled from the barrel.
Evelyn stared at him.
“You…”
He looked at her.
His expression was not angry.
It was devastated.
“Evelyn, listen to me.”
She backed away.
“You killed her.”
“She was going to kill you.”
“You shot her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Adrian lowered the gun.
“Because she was about to tell you the truth.”
“What truth?”
He looked at the photographs.
Then at Evelyn.
“Your father wasn't the victim.”
Evelyn's breathing stopped.
“He was the one who started it.”
Adrian's voice became almost a whisper.
“And I was the one who helped him.”
Outside, sirens began approaching.
Evelyn stared at Adrian.
The man she had trusted for years.
The man who had helped her reclaim the Sterling Empire.
The man who had guided her through every secret.
Was now telling her that her father had been the architect of the very conspiracy that destroyed their family.
But before Evelyn could speak, Beatrice opened her eyes.
Blood stained her dress.
She reached weakly toward Evelyn.
“Don't…”
Evelyn rushed to her.
Beatrice whispered one final sentence.
“Your father didn't die in that crash.”
Her eyes closed.
“And neither did the man who ordered it.”
Evelyn looked up.
Adrian's face had changed.
“What does that mean?”
He didn't answer.
Then Evelyn noticed something.
The photograph of the mysterious man with the black serpent ring had fallen from the wall.
On its back was a handwritten date.
TODAY.
And beneath it:
MEET ME WHERE THOMAS STERLING IS BURIED.
Evelyn stared at the message.
Her father's grave.
Tomorrow.
Someone was waiting for her there.
Someone who knew the truth.
Someone who had survived twenty years of lies.
May you like
And for the first time, Evelyn wondered whether the man she had spent ten years mourning...
had ever been dead at all.
