CHAPTER 12 — THE LAST TRAP
CHAPTER 12 — THE LAST TRAP
Vanessa was the first person to move.
She lunged toward the door.
Daniel caught her arm.
"Don't."
She twisted violently.
"Get your hands off me."
"Not this time."
Victor watched them with an expression that was almost amused.
Noah stood between Lily and Elena, trying to understand the impossible confession that had just shattered everything he thought he knew.
Victor was claiming to be his biological father.
Daniel had raised him.
Elena was his mother.
Vanessa had kidnapped Lily.
And somewhere beneath all of it was a secret so carefully protected that an entire family had been destroyed to keep it buried.
Noah looked at Victor.
"Prove it."
Victor smiled.
"I don't need to."
"Then you don't get to call yourself my father."
Something flickered in Victor's eyes.
Anger.
Then it disappeared.
"You've inherited your mother's stubbornness."
Noah stepped forward.
"No. I've inherited something from the man who raised me."
He glanced at Daniel.
"I don't know what yet."
Daniel looked away.
Victor's smile returned.
"Sentiment."
"No."
Noah's voice was cold.
"Judgment."
Sirens sounded outside.
Vanessa's face changed.
"You called the police."
Daniel nodded.
"They're already surrounding the property."
Victor looked toward the window.
"Then we don't have much time."
Noah stared.
"What are you planning?"
Victor looked directly at Lily.
"Nothing involving her."
Noah immediately stepped in front of his sister.
"You don't look at her."
Victor's expression hardened.
"You're misunderstanding."
"I don't care."
"You should."
Victor pointed toward the floor.
"Because the room we're standing in is about to become evidence."
Noah frowned.
"What?"
Victor smiled.
"Look underneath the desk."
Daniel moved first.
He pulled open the drawer.
Inside was a small digital recorder.
Daniel's face went pale.
"No."
Victor nodded.
"Yes."
Noah picked it up.
"What is this?"
Victor answered calmly.
"The reason you're all going to prison."
Noah pressed the button.
A recording began.
His own voice came through the speaker.
"You're not going to kill her."
Then Vanessa's voice.
"Then Lily dies."
Noah froze.
The recording continued.
It captured their entire confrontation.
But something was wrong.
The audio had been edited.
Noah heard himself say:
"I'll kill you before you touch her."
He stared.
"I never said that."
Victor smiled.
"Digital evidence is wonderfully convincing."
Daniel grabbed the recorder.
"This is fabricated."
"Of course."
Victor shrugged.
"But the police won't know that immediately."
Noah looked at him.
"You planted this."
"I prepared it."
"Why?"
"Because you are going to attack Vanessa."
Noah stared.
"What?"
Victor nodded toward the knife on the floor.
"Your fingerprints are on it."
Noah looked down.
He had touched it.
Victor continued.
"Her blood is already on your shirt."
Noah looked at his sleeve.
There was blood.
Vanessa's.
Victor smiled.
"Everything you need to look guilty is already here."
The police stormed the mansion.
"Police! Everyone put your hands where we can see them!"
Daniel immediately raised his hands.
Elena followed.
Noah pulled Lily behind him.
Victor disappeared through a hidden door.
Noah shouted:
"He's escaping!"
Detective Ruiz entered.
He looked around.
"Where's Victor?"
Noah pointed.
"He was right here."
Ruiz's officers searched the room.
Nothing.
Victor was gone.
Then Ruiz saw the knife.
"Nobody move."
Noah stared at him.
"Detective, listen to me."
Ruiz looked at the blood on Noah's shirt.
Then at Vanessa.
Then at the recorder.
Vanessa immediately began crying.
"He attacked me."
Noah's face went cold.
"What?"
"He came after me."
"That's a lie."
Vanessa looked terrified.
"I was trying to protect Lily."
Lily shouted:
"No!"
Everyone turned.
Lily was crying.
"She kidnapped me."
Ruiz crouched beside her.
"Are you sure?"
Lily nodded.
"She had a knife."
Vanessa shook her head.
"She's confused."
"No."
Lily stepped forward.
"She said she would hurt Dad."
Ruiz looked at Vanessa.
"Ma'am, put your hands behind your back."
Vanessa's expression changed.
"You don't understand."
"Turn around."
She suddenly ran.
An officer caught her before she reached the hallway.
Handcuffs clicked shut.
Vanessa screamed.
"You have no idea what you're doing!"
Noah watched her being taken away.
For the first time, he thought it was over.
He was wrong.
Three hours later, Detective Ruiz sat across from Noah.
"The recording is being analyzed."
"Is it fake?"
"Almost certainly."
"Almost?"
Ruiz leaned forward.
"We found evidence of digital manipulation."
Noah exhaled.
"But there's a problem."
"What?"
"The original file exists."
Noah stared.
"Where?"
"On a remote server."
"Who owns it?"
Ruiz looked at him.
"Vale Holdings."
Noah's stomach dropped.
"Victor."
"Most likely."
"So he can still change it."
"Yes."
Noah stood.
"Then we find him."
Ruiz shook his head.
"That's exactly what he wants."
At sunrise, Noah returned to the old mansion.
The police had sealed most of the property.
Lily was staying with a child protection officer.
Elena was being questioned.
Daniel was in another room.
Noah walked through the house alone.
Every room carried a memory.
His mother's piano.
His father's study.
The hallway where Lily used to race him.
The dining room where Vanessa had smiled while lying to them.
He stopped in front of the family portrait.
Four people.
Victor.
His wife.
Daniel.
And a younger Elena.
Noah stared.
Something was wrong.
He stepped closer.
There was another figure in the original frame.
A man had been painted out.
Noah touched the glass.
Behind the painted section, a faint outline remained.
He removed the portrait from the wall.
Behind it was a small compartment.
Inside was an envelope.
His name was written across it.
NOAH.
He opened it.
One sentence.
If you're reading this, Victor has already failed.
Noah's heart raced.
The handwriting was Elena's.
He continued.
The man claiming to be your biological father is telling only half the truth.
Noah froze.
Half the truth.
He read faster.
Your biological father is alive.
But he is not Victor.
Victor wants you to believe that because the real truth would destroy the last protection I have left.
Noah looked toward the door.
He heard footsteps.
Daniel entered.
"Noah."
"Did you know about this?"
Daniel saw the letter.
His face collapsed.
"Where did you find it?"
"Behind the portrait."
Daniel closed the door.
"Your mother wanted to tell you."
"But you stopped her."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Victor was watching."
Noah held up the letter.
"Who is my father?"
Daniel sat down.
"I don't know."
Noah stared.
"How can you not know?"
"Because Elena never told me."
"Then why did Victor claim he was?"
"Because he knows enough about your birth to make the lie believable."
Noah's mind raced.
"Then who was my father?"
Daniel whispered:
"That's what your mother has been trying to find out for twenty-eight years."
The door opened.
Elena stood there.
She looked exhausted.
Noah held out the letter.
"Tell me."
Elena stared at it.
Then she closed her eyes.
"I was afraid this day would come."
"Who is my father?"
"I don't know."
Noah stared at her.
"You don't know?"
"No."
"Then why did everyone lie?"
"Because someone else knew."
"Who?"
Elena whispered:
"Your grandfather."
Noah frowned.
"Victor?"
"No."
She looked toward Daniel.
"The real Victor died before you were born."
Noah's breath stopped.
"What?"
"The man you met last night is not Victor."
Daniel nodded.
"He stole Victor's identity."
Noah looked at both of them.
"Then who is he?"
Elena whispered:
"His name is Adrian Vale."
Daniel added:
"And he was my father's closest friend."
Noah felt dizzy.
"Why would he pretend to be Victor?"
"Because Victor knew about your birth."
"What did he know?"
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
"That your father was killed."
Noah went silent.
"Who killed him?"
Elena didn't answer.
Daniel did.
"Adrian."
The room became silent.
Noah slowly sat down.
"So the man claiming to be my father..."
"Is a murderer," Daniel said.
"And the real Victor?"
"Dead."
"Then why did Adrian raise the family fortune?"
"Because he took control after Victor's death."
Noah looked at the family portrait.
"Why was he obsessed with me?"
Daniel's voice was quiet.
"Because you were the only living evidence that he had failed."
"Failed at what?"
"Controlling your mother."
Suddenly, Noah's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A distorted voice spoke.
"Did they tell you?"
Noah stood.
"Who is this?"
"You've been looking in the wrong direction."
"Where's Victor?"
"He's not Victor."
"I know."
A pause.
"Good."
Noah's heart raced.
"Then tell me who you are."
The voice whispered:
"Someone your mother trusted."
"Where are you?"
"Inside the house."
Noah looked around.
Every door was open.
"Where?"
The voice continued.
"Look behind the library fireplace."
The line went dead.
Noah ran.
Daniel followed.
Elena shouted:
"Noah, wait!"
He reached the fireplace.
There was a hidden panel.
He pulled it open.
Inside was a small metal box.
He opened it.
A photograph.
A birth certificate.
And a DNA report.
Noah's hands shook.
The birth certificate listed:
Mother: Elena Vale
Father: Unknown
The DNA report was attached.
The father's name had been blacked out.
But one line remained visible.
PATERNITY CONFIRMED: 99.98%
Noah stared.
"Who?"
Daniel took the paper.
His eyes widened.
He looked at Elena.
She whispered:
"No."
Noah turned the page over.
There was a photograph.
A young man.
Standing beside Elena.
Noah recognized him.
He had seen that face before.
In the photograph of the family.
The man who had been painted out.
Daniel's older brother.
Thomas.
Noah whispered:
"Thomas was my father."
Elena nodded.
"Yes."
"But he died before I was born."
"No."
She looked at him through tears.
"He disappeared."
Noah's world tilted.
"Where is he?"
Elena shook her head.
"We don't know."
Daniel looked at the DNA report.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
"Because Thomas was reported dead."
Elena looked at him.
"Reported."
Noah understood.
"Another lie."
That evening, the police received a message.
A photograph had been sent anonymously.
It showed a man standing beside the sea.
Older.
Scarred.
But alive.
The caption contained only five words:
Tell Noah his father waits.
Ruiz brought the photograph to Noah.
He stared at it.
Thomas.
Alive.
After twenty-eight years.
Then his phone rang.
This time, the caller ID showed a number Noah knew.
Lily's temporary guardian.
He answered.
"Hello?"
A man's voice spoke.
"Your sister is safe."
Noah froze.
"Who are you?"
"You've been searching for your father."
"Where's Lily?"
"With someone who loves her."
Noah's blood turned cold.
"Give her the phone."
A child's voice whispered:
"Dad?"
"Lily!"
"I'm okay."
"Where are you?"
She began crying.
"I don't know."
The man returned.
"Come to the address I'll send you."
"Why?"
"Because if you want Lily back, you have to bring the DNA report."
Noah looked at the paper in his hand.
"Who are you?"
The answer came softly.
"The man your mother thought died."
The call ended.
A message arrived.
An address.
Noah recognized it immediately.
The old estate.
The place where the first fire had happened.
Daniel grabbed his arm.
"Don't go."
Noah looked at him.
"They have Lily."
"It's a trap."
"I know."
"Then don't walk into it."
Noah picked up his coat.
"I'm going."
Daniel stared at him.
"You're going to walk into a trap knowing it's a trap?"
Noah looked toward the photograph of Lily.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because this time, I'm not going there to uncover the truth."
He picked up the DNA report.
"I'm going there to get my sister back."
Outside, thunder rolled across the sky.
And somewhere inside the abandoned estate, Lily sat alone in the dark.
A man placed a blanket around her shoulders.
She looked up.
"Are you going to hurt me?"
The man shook his head.
"No."
"Then why did you take me?"
He looked toward the locked door.
"Because your brother is the only person who can finish what your mother started."
Lily frowned.
"What did Mom start?"
The man looked at her.
"A war."
And in the darkness behind him, another figure stepped forward.
Vanessa.
Her wrists were still marked by handcuffs.
Her face was bruised.
But she was smiling.
"Let the boy come."
She whispered.
"Tonight, he finally learns why the fire was never meant to kill his mother."
May you like
The lights went out.
And Lily heard the cellar door lock.
