CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 10
The Last Game of Lies
The truth was dangerous.
Not because it was powerful.
Because it was permanent.
A lie could be changed.
A lie could be improved.
A lie could be repeated until people accepted it as reality.
But the truth was different.
Once released...
It could never be controlled again.
That was why powerful people feared it.
That was why Nathan Ashford spent years building a false version of himself.
That was why Victor Vale spent twenty-five years hiding.
And that was why my father had spent my entire life protecting one secret.
My mother's death.
The morning Victor Vale went public, the world stopped talking about Nathan Ashford.
That alone proved how dangerous Victor was.
Nathan had spent days fighting for attention.
Days trying to convince people he was the victim.
Days rebuilding his image.
Then Victor appeared.
And within hours...
Nathan disappeared from the headlines.
Not because people forgot him.
Because Victor gave them something bigger.
A mystery.
A conspiracy.
A story about power, betrayal, and a family empire built on secrets.
The public loved stories like that.
Especially when they involved people they believed were untouchable.
The broadcast began at exactly 8:00 p.m.
No warning.
No announcement.
Just a single video appearing across multiple platforms.
The title was simple.
THE TRUTH ABOUT VALE
My father watched it from his office.
I stood beside him.
Neither of us spoke.
Because we both knew.
Whatever Victor revealed...
Would change everything.
The screen turned black.
Then a man appeared.
Older.
Silver-haired.
Cold eyes.
Victor Vale.
"My name is Victor Vale."
His voice was calm.
Controlled.
"I was once the future of Vale Dominion."
A pause.
"Until my brother Elias took everything from me."
My father's expression did not change.
But I saw it.
The pain.
The memory.
The wound that had never healed.
Victor continued.
"He built an empire."
A faint smile.
"An empire the world admires."
The screen changed.
Old photographs.
Financial documents.
Family records.
"However, every empire has a foundation."
A pause.
"And some foundations are built on graves."
The first accusation was simple.
My father had betrayed him.
Victor told a story where Elias was ambitious.
Ruthless.
A younger brother willing to destroy his own family to gain control.
It was convincing.
Because Victor was not completely lying.
That was what made him dangerous.
The best lies always contain pieces of truth.
Yes.
My father had taken control of Vale Dominion.
Yes.
Victor had lost his position.
Yes.
There had been conflict.
But the missing pieces were everything.
And Victor knew that.
Then came the second part.
The part designed to hurt me.
Victor showed photographs of my mother.
A woman I barely remembered.
A woman whose smile existed mostly in old pictures.
He showed private letters.
Messages.
Documents.
And then he said:
"Elias Vale's wife discovered the truth."
My father stood suddenly.
"No."
I looked at him.
"What?"
But he was already watching.
Because he knew where this was going.
Victor continued.
"She discovered that Elias was not protecting his empire."
A pause.
"He was protecting himself."
The internet exploded.
People believed it.
Of course they did.
A powerful man accused of hiding something?
That was a story people wanted to believe.
I turned to my father.
"Tell me the truth."
He looked at me.
"I am."
"No."
My voice shook.
"I mean all of it."
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he walked to the window.
"Your mother discovered Victor was planning to destroy Vale Dominion."
I waited.
"But she also discovered something else."
"What?"
His voice became quieter.
"She discovered I had known."
The room went silent.
I felt like the floor disappeared.
"You knew?"
My father closed his eyes.
"I knew Victor was dangerous."
"And?"
"I underestimated him."
That answer hurt.
Because it sounded like the same mistake he had made with Nathan.
Trusting his ability to control a situation.
Believing preparation was enough.
"What happened to her?"
My father turned around.
"I tried to move her away."
A pause.
"But Victor found out."
My breathing stopped.
"That night wasn't an accident."
"No."
His voice broke slightly.
"It was an attack."
For years, I thought my mother died because life was cruel.
Now I learned someone had chosen it.
Someone had decided she was a problem.
Someone had removed her.
And my father had carried that guilt alone.
I wanted to be angry.
I wanted to blame him.
But I saw something in his eyes.
Something I had never seen before.
A father who had failed to protect the person he loved most.
Meanwhile, Nathan watched Victor's broadcast from his temporary residence.
At first, he enjoyed it.
Because every accusation against Elias helped him.
Every question about Vale Dominion weakened his enemies.
Then Victor mentioned something that changed his expression.
A hidden agreement.
A financial arrangement.
A connection between Victor and Ashford Global Logistics.
Nathan stood.
"No."
He moved closer to the screen.
Because he recognized the document.
His document.
The one Victor had shown him.
The one he thought proved his importance.
It wasn't proof of partnership.
It was proof of manipulation.
Victor had been funding him from the beginning.
Using him.
Creating him.
Preparing him.
Nathan finally understood.
The entire empire he built...
Was a weapon someone else created.
Nathan called Victor immediately.
The phone rang once.
Then answered.
Victor's voice appeared.
"I wondered how long it would take."
Nathan's anger exploded.
"You used me."
A pause.
"No."
"Don't lie to me."
Victor laughed softly.
"You still think this is about you."
Nathan froze.
Victor continued:
"You were useful."
The words were simple.
Cruel.
Honest.
"That's all."
Nathan gripped the phone.
"I will expose you."
Victor smiled.
"You won't."
"Why?"
"Because nobody believes a man who spent years lying."
Silence.
Nathan hated that.
Because it was true.
Victor had created the perfect situation.
Nathan was too damaged to be trusted.
Too guilty to become a hero.
Too arrogant to admit he had been manipulated.
The next morning, Vale Dominion suffered its first major attack.
Investors withdrew.
Partners froze agreements.
Government officials demanded investigations.
The empire my father built began shaking.
Not collapsing.
But shaking.
And that was exactly what Victor wanted.
Because he did not need to destroy Vale Dominion quickly.
He needed people to lose faith.
Then came the betrayal.
Adrian Cross appeared on television.
The man who had stolen Vale Dominion files.
The man my father trusted.
He claimed he was a whistleblower.
"I spent years inside Vale Dominion."
Adrian said.
"I know what they have done."
The media surrounded him.
Questions everywhere.
"Are you saying Elias Vale is corrupt?"
Adrian looked directly at the cameras.
"Yes."
My hands tightened.
Because I understood.
Victor was not attacking us with weapons.
He was attacking us with stories.
That night, my father called an emergency meeting.
Executives.
Legal teams.
Security specialists.
Everyone was gathered.
But before anyone spoke...
The doors opened.
Nathan walked in.
Everyone froze.
"What are you doing here?"
My father asked.
Nathan looked different.
Not powerful.
Not arrogant.
Just exhausted.
"I know who is behind this."
Nobody moved.
I stared at him.
"You expect us to believe you?"
His eyes met mine.
For a moment, something strange appeared.
Regret.
"I know I don't deserve your trust."
A pause.
"But Victor is going to destroy everything."
My father studied him.
"Why should I believe you?"
Nathan looked around the room.
Then said:
"Because he did the same thing to me."
Silence.
It was the first honest thing Nathan had ever said.
And somehow...
That made it more disturbing.
Because I realized something.
For years, Nathan believed he was the king.
Now he finally understood he was only another victim.
But victims could still be dangerous.
Especially when they had nothing left.
Later that night, I stood alone on the balcony.
My phone received a message.
Victor.
I opened it.
A photograph.
Me.
Taken from outside the building.
Watching.
Waiting.
The message below:
"You are finally seeing the board."
Another message followed.
"Good."
Then:
"Now choose your side."
I stared at the screen.
Because I understood the game now.
Victor did not want to defeat me.
He wanted to make me become him.
He wanted me to believe power mattered more than people.
He wanted me to choose revenge over justice.
My phone rang.
My father.
I answered.
"He's making his final move."
I looked toward the city.
"What move?"
Silence.
Then:
"He's coming for the throne."
I closed my eyes.
Because I finally understood.
Nathan tried to break me.
Victor tried to change me.
And the hardest battle was not defeating them.
It was making sure I did not become them.
In a hidden room, Victor looked at a photograph of me.
Beside him stood Adrian.
"Will she choose power?"
Adrian asked.
Victor smiled.
"Everyone chooses power eventually."
"And if she doesn't?"
Victor looked toward the screen.
"Then she will have to learn the price of refusing it."
The screen showed my face.
The final piece.
The heir.
The daughter.
The woman who survived everything.
Victor whispered:
May you like
"Let the last game begin."
END OF CHAPTER 10
