Chapter 8

The Secret Nathan Buried

The courtroom had never been that quiet.

Not during the evidence.

Not during the video.

Not even when Nathan Ashford’s reputation collapsed in front of the entire world.

But when those words appeared on the screen…

Everything stopped.

ADRIAN VALE IS THE REAL DEFENDANT.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Then the courtroom exploded.

Reporters shouted.

Lawyers stood.

Security rushed toward the screens.

The judge demanded order.

But Nathan…

Nathan smiled.

And that was the most terrifying part.

Because a desperate man was dangerous.

But a desperate man who believed he had found a weapon…

Was even worse.

“What is happening?”

I looked at my father.

For the first time since this nightmare began…

He looked surprised.

Not afraid.

Not defeated.

Surprised.

That meant something.

Because Adrian Vale knew how to handle attacks.

He expected enemies.

He prepared for betrayal.

But this…

This was something even he did not anticipate.

Evelyn Cross approached us quickly.

“Adrian.”

My father looked at her.

“What do we know?”

“Nothing confirmed.”

She lowered her voice.

“But someone hacked the court system.”

My father’s eyes moved toward Nathan.

“Not someone.”

Evelyn followed his gaze.

“You think Nathan?”

“No.”

My father’s expression hardened.

“Nathan is not intelligent enough to execute something like this.”

The words were cold.

But true.

Nathan was dangerous because of his arrogance.

Not because of his strategy.

Someone else was moving.

Someone smarter.

Someone who had been waiting.

The judge ordered the courtroom evacuated.

The trial was temporarily suspended.

Outside, chaos had already spread.

Within minutes, headlines appeared.

Not about Nathan.

About my father.

ADRIAN VALE ACCUSED OF HIDING CORPORATE CRIMES

VALE EMPIRE FACES NEW INVESTIGATION

ASHFORD CASE TAKES UNEXPECTED TURN

I watched the news on my phone.

My stomach tightened.

Because I understood immediately.

This was not an attack against my father’s reputation.

It was an attack against his credibility.

If they could make people question Adrian Vale…

They could make people question everything.

Including me.

Back at Blackthorn Manor, the atmosphere was different.

The confidence from the previous days was gone.

Not because we were losing.

Because we finally understood the enemy.

The enemy was not trying to defeat us directly.

They were trying to make us doubt ourselves.

My father stood in his office, staring at old documents.

“You knew.”

I stopped at the doorway.

He looked at me.

“What?”

I walked inside.

“There is something you are not telling me.”

Silence.

That was my father’s answer.

And it was enough.

“Dad.”

He closed the file.

“There are things you don’t understand.”

“That is exactly the problem.”

My voice became sharper.

“For years, everyone around me decided what I should know.”

“Nathan lied to me.”

“Celeste lied to me.”

“And now you are doing the same thing.”

Pain flashed across his face.

“I was protecting you.”

“I don’t need protection from the truth.”

The room became silent.

Because that was the first time I had ever said it.

My father looked at me.

And I saw something change.

Not anger.

Acceptance.

“You’re right.”

He walked toward the cabinet.

Then he removed an old file.

Not digital.

Paper.

Old.

The kind of document someone keeps because they cannot forget it.

He placed it on the desk.

“This is the first time Nathan Ashford tried to destroy my family.”

I opened the file.

The date was fifteen years earlier.

Before I met Nathan.

Before my marriage.

Before everything.

Inside was a newspaper article.

A young businessman.

Victor Ashford.

And beside him…

My father.

The headline:

ASHFORD AND VALE PARTNERSHIP COLLAPSES AFTER FINANCIAL BETRAYAL

I looked up.

“What happened?”

My father sat down.

“Victor Ashford and I were partners.”

The sentence surprised me.

“You never told me.”

“Because I wanted you far away from that history.”

I looked back at the article.

“What did he do?”

My father’s expression darkened.

“He betrayed me.”

Fifteen years earlier.

Victor Ashford was considered one of the most brilliant businessmen in the world.

He understood logistics.

Markets.

Human behavior.

He was charming.

Intelligent.

Ambitious.

Too ambitious.

My father and Victor built an international transportation network together.

They trusted each other.

Until Victor tried to take everything.

“He created hidden companies.”

“He moved assets.”

“He manipulated contracts.”

My father spoke quietly.

“Exactly what Nathan later learned to do.”

A cold feeling moved through me.

“From him?”

“Yes.”

Victor Ashford was not just Nathan’s uncle.

He was his teacher.

His example.

His blueprint.

“What happened to Victor?”

My father looked away.

“The world believed he died.”

“But?”

“He disappeared.”

The room felt colder.

“Why?”

My father hesitated.

“Because I exposed him.”

The next document was worse.

A private recording transcript.

Victor’s voice.

“I will destroy everything Adrian Vale loves.”

My hands froze.

The date.

The date was after my birth.

My father continued.

“Victor believed I took his empire from him.”

“Did you?”

“No.”

The answer was immediate.

“He destroyed himself.”

I believed my father.

Because I had spent my entire life watching him.

But then…

Another question appeared.

“If Victor hated you…”

I looked at the documents.

“Why did Nathan marry me?”

My father did not answer.

Because he already knew.

I knew too.

The truth was coming.

And I hated that I wanted to hear it.

My father opened another file.

This one contained photographs.

Nathan.

Celeste.

Victor.

Together.

My breath stopped.

“Celeste knew him?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“Her father worked for Victor.”

I stared.

Everything connected.

The mistress.

The marriage.

The financial attacks.

The manipulation.

It was not random.

It was planned.

“How long?”

My father looked at me.

“From the beginning.”

My heart sank.

“The entire marriage?”

“Yes.”

I stepped backward.

“No.”

My father’s expression softened.

“I’m sorry.”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“No, because that means…”

I could barely say it.

“That means my wedding…”

My father nodded slowly.

“It was a business strategy.”

That night, I could not sleep.

Every memory changed.

Every moment had another meaning.

The proposal.

The wedding.

The honeymoon.

The promises.

Everything.

I thought Nathan chose me.

But maybe…

I was chosen.

There was a difference.

At 2:17 a.m., my phone rang.

Unknown number.

Again.

I answered.

“Who is this?”

A man’s voice responded.

Older.

Calm.

Familiar.

“You sound like your father.”

My body froze.

“Who are you?”

A quiet laugh.

“You already know.”

I stood.

“Victor Ashford.”

Silence.

Then:

“Good.”

The voice became colder.

“Your father finally told you the truth.”

I gripped the phone.

“Why did you use Nathan?”

A pause.

“Use?”

Victor laughed softly.

“No, my dear.”

“He volunteered.”

My blood ran cold.

“What?”

“Nathan wanted power.”

“He wanted your family.”

“He wanted everything Adrian Vale had.”

The voice lowered.

“But he was never the mastermind.”

“Then who was?”

A long silence.

Then Victor answered:

“Your father.”

I froze.

“What?”

“Ask Adrian what happened fifteen years ago.”

The call ended.

I stared at the phone.

Unable to move.

Because now there were two possibilities.

Either Victor Ashford was lying…

Or the man I trusted most in the world…

Had been hiding the biggest secret of all.

I turned toward my father’s office.

The lights were still on.

And for the first time…

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I wondered if I truly knew Adrian Vale.

End of Chapter 8