Chapter 14 - The Betrayal Hidden In The CompanY
The name on the screen stayed there.
I read it again.
Then again.
Because my mind refused to accept it.
Richard Bennett.
Maya’s grandfather.
My father’s closest partner.
The man who supposedly helped build everything.
The man who helped me discover the truth.
Was attacking the company.
“No.”
Maya whispered.
Her face lost all color.
“That can’t be right.”
I looked at her.
“You know him.”
She nodded slowly.
“He raised my father.”
“He protected our family.”
“He loved this company.”
Preston remained silent.
Because sometimes the truth is hardest when it hurts the person you love.
We traveled to Richmond that afternoon.
Richard agreed to meet.
But this time…
He didn’t look like the man who helped us.
He looked older.
Tired.
Broken.
When he saw Maya…
His expression changed.
Pain.
Regret.
“Grandfather?”
Maya stepped forward.
Richard looked away.
That told me everything.
“Why?”
I asked.
He didn’t answer.
“Why attack the company?”
His hands tightened.
“You don’t understand.”
I almost laughed.
“Everyone says that.”
Richard looked at me.
“You think this is about money.”
“Isn’t it?”
“No.”
His voice broke.
“It’s about a promise.”
He explained.
Years ago, before my father died, there was another agreement.
One Victoria never knew about.
A private agreement between James Cole and Richard Bennett.
A plan to protect the company.
But Richard believed my father broke that promise.
“How?”
Richard looked at Maya.
“Your father abandoned the Bennett family.”
Maya froze.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Richard looked at me.
“Your father promised the company would always remain shared.”
“He promised Maya’s family would never be pushed aside.”
“But then he changed everything.”
I looked confused.
Because it didn’t match what I knew.
“My father protected Maya.”
“Yes.”
Richard nodded.
“But he also made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
Richard looked at me.
“Choosing you.”
Silence.
The words hurt.
Not because they were insulting.
Because they came from someone my father respected.
“Richard.”
Maya stepped forward.
“Why would you help Victoria?”
His eyes filled.
“Because she promised to restore what your family lost.”
Maya shook her head.
“She manipulated you.”
“I know.”
The answer surprised us.
“You knew?”
Richard looked down.
“Yes.”
“Then why?”
His voice became quiet.
“Because anger makes people blind.”
That sentence stayed with me.
Because it explained everything.
Victoria.
Julian.
Richard.
Everyone had been hurt.
Everyone had a reason.
But somewhere along the way…
They chose destruction.
Before leaving, Richard stopped me.
“Daniel.”
I turned.
“Your father left one more thing.”
“What?”
“A final recording.”
My heart tightened.
“Where?”
Richard looked at Maya.
“Your grandfather has it.”
A pause.
“Not me.”
Maya frowned.
“Who?”
Richard answered:
“Your mother.”
I froze.
Maya’s mother.
The person nobody had mentioned.
The person who disappeared years ago.
That night, Maya searched through old family records.
And found something shocking.
Her mother wasn’t gone.
She was alive.
And she had been living under another name.
A name connected to Victoria.
Before we could process it…
A message arrived.
From an unknown number.
A photograph.
A woman standing outside a building.
Maya dropped the phone.
“Mom…”
I looked at the image.
The woman beside her…
Was Victoria.
The message contained only one sentence:
Ask your mother why she gave Victoria the key to destroy your family.
Maya started shaking.
Because the war had just changed.
It was no longer about companies.
Not about inheritance.
Not about ownership.
May you like
It was about the secrets people buried before we were born.
And now those secrets were coming back.
