CHAPTER 10 â THE MAN BEHIND SABRINA
CHAPTER 10 â THE MAN BEHIND SABRINA
The truth was finally beginning to take shape.
But every answer created another question.
That was the curse of the Mercer family.
Nothing was ever simple.
Nothing was ever only what it appeared to be.
For years, Evan believed his enemies were obvious.
Richard Mercer.
Sabrina Cross.
The people who lied.
The people who manipulated.
The people who took away his daughter.
But now he understood something much worse.
They were all pieces on a board.
And someone else had been moving them.
The old Carter estate became their temporary headquarters.
A place filled with forgotten memories and hidden secrets.
Evan sat at the dining table surrounded by documents.
Ownership papers.
Family records.
Financial agreements.
Everything his family had buried for decades.
Leah sat across from him.
Still struggling to accept the truth.
"I was supposed to inherit all of this?"
Daniel nodded.
"Yes."
"Then why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Because the moment you knew, you became a target."
Leah laughed quietly.
"I was already a target."
No one could argue.
Evan looked at the documents again.
"So Richard knew."
Daniel hesitated.
"Yes."
"And Sabrina?"
Daniel looked away.
"She knew some of it."
Evan's expression darkened.
"How?"
"Because she wasn't working alone."
The room went silent.
Evan had suspected it.
But hearing it confirmed made it real.
"Who?"
Daniel placed another file on the table.
Inside was a photograph.
A man.
Early fifties.
Cold eyes.
Expensive suit.
Evan recognized him.
But he couldn't place the name.
"Adrian Vale."
Daniel's voice lowered.
"The man who created the entire plan."
Adrian Vale.
The name carried weight.
A businessman.
A strategist.
A man who built his empire by destroying competitors.
And years agoâŠ
he had been Richard Mercer's closest partner.
"Why would he care about Leah?"
Daniel looked at Evan.
"Because he cared about what Leah represented."
"The inheritance."
"Exactly."
Daniel explained.
The Mercer-Carter Foundation was not just a company.
It controlled assets worth billions.
But there was a condition.
The inheritance could not be claimed by the Mercer or Carter families directly.
It required a descendant of both bloodlines.
Someone who united both families.
Someone like Leah.
And eventuallyâŠ
someone like Ellie.
Evan stared at the documents.
"So Adrian created the war."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Daniel answered:
"Because if the families destroyed each other, he could step in and control everything."
A silence followed.
Because suddenly everything connected.
The hatred.
The lies.
The broken relationships.
All of it.
A carefully designed war.
"Where is he now?"
Evan asked.
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
"Close."
"How close?"
The answer came before Daniel could speak.
A voice from the doorway.
"Close enough to hear you asking."
Everyone turned.
A man stood there.
Calm.
Confident.
Almost amused.
Adrian Vale.
Evan immediately stood.
"You have a lot of nerve coming here."
Adrian smiled.
"Actually, I think I have perfect timing."
Leah moved closer to Evan.
Adrian noticed.
"Interesting."
"What?"
"You protect her."
Evan's eyes narrowed.
"Of course I do."
Adrian smiled.
"That's exactly why I underestimated you."
Evan wanted to attack him.
But he knew better.
Men like Adrian did not survive by being careless.
They survived because they controlled the room.
"Where is Ellie?"
Adrian smiled.
"Safe."
"Where?"
"With Victoria."
Evan's jaw tightened.
"You're working with her."
"Not exactly."
"Then explain."
Adrian walked inside.
"Victoria believes she is saving the Carter family."
A pause.
"I believe I am saving the world from people like Richard Mercer."
Evan laughed.
"By destroying innocent people?"
Adrian looked at him.
"Innocent people?"
He pointed toward the documents.
"Your families built their wealth on lies."
"Your fathers destroyed lives."
"Your grandfathers ruined generations."
Leah's expression hardened.
"So you decided to punish everyone?"
"No."
Adrian smiled.
"I decided to take back what should have been mine."
The words shocked everyone.
"Mine?"
Evan repeated.
Adrian looked at Leah.
"My mother was a Carter."
Silence.
Leah froze.
"What?"
"Your grandfather had another child."
Daniel looked horrified.
"No."
Adrian smiled.
"Yes."
Another secret.
Another hidden family member.
"My mother was erased because she threatened their power."
Adrian's voice became colder.
"Just like everyone else."
Evan stared.
"You're doing all of this because of revenge."
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
"Because of justice."
But Evan saw the truth.
A man who called revenge justice was still dangerous.
Then Adrian pulled out his phone.
He pressed a button.
A video appeared.
Ellie.
Sitting beside Victoria.
Safe.
But scared.
"Daddy?"
Evan stepped forward.
"Ellie!"
The video continued.
Adrian's voice came through.
"You want your daughter back."
Evan stared.
"What do you want?"
"One thing."
"What?"
Adrian looked at Leah.
"Her signature."
Leah froze.
"On what?"
Adrian smiled.
"The document transferring all Carter-Mercer inheritance rights."
Evan immediately understood.
This was never about revenge.
It was about ownership.
"You want Ellie."
Adrian smiled.
"No."
A pause.
"I want what Ellie will inherit."
The screen went black.
Evan looked at Leah.
Fear appeared in her eyes.
Not for herself.
For Ellie.
Then his phone received another message.
From Richard.
Three words.
"I know him."
Evan stared.
A second message followed.
"I created him."
Everything stopped.
Because the man behind SabrinaâŠ
was not the beginning of the nightmare.
He was the result.
A monster created by the same family that Evan had spent his entire life trying to escape.
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And now that monster wanted his daughter.
END OF CHAPTER 10
