Chapter 10 — The Father Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
The screen went black.
Arthur didn't move.
Neither did Elena.
For several seconds, the archive room remained completely silent.
Then Jonathan whispered,
“That isn't possible.”
Arthur turned toward him.
“What isn't?”
“Edward Vance died twenty-two years ago.”
Daniel stared at the dead screen.
“We saw the body.”
Arthur looked at him.
“You saw it?”
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Arthur stepped closer.
“Daniel.”
His brother finally looked at him.
“No.”
Arthur's voice hardened.
“You said you saw the body.”
“I said I saw the accident.”
“That isn't the same thing.”
“No.”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“I never saw Father's face.”
Arthur felt something cold settle in his chest.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know.”
“You've known something was wrong for twenty-two years.”
“I knew something was wrong with the accident.”
Daniel's voice cracked.
“But I never knew if Father survived.”
Elena suddenly pointed at the screen.
“Look.”
The monitor had turned on again.
A new image appeared.
An old photograph.
Edward Vance stood beside a black car.
He looked exactly as Arthur remembered him.
Except for one thing.
The photograph was dated—
March 2024.
Arthur stared.
“That was two years ago.”
Jonathan stepped toward the monitor.
“This could be manipulated.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because that's the car Father owned.”
Jonathan frowned.
“So?”
Daniel pointed at the license plate.
“I watched that car burn.”
Arthur turned toward him.
“When?”
“Twenty-two years ago.”
Silence.
Daniel's voice became quieter.
“That's why I believed he was dead.”
Arthur stared at the photograph.
“Then someone kept the car.”
“Maybe.”
“Who?”
Daniel didn't answer.
Elena walked toward the screen.
“Can we find where this was taken?”
Jonathan examined the metadata.
“Nothing.”
“Then the archive has to contain more.”
Arthur looked around the room.
Rows of locked cabinets stretched into darkness.
“Find everything.”
Jonathan nodded.
They separated.
Daniel moved toward the filing cabinets.
Elena began opening boxes.
Arthur searched the central desk.
He found dozens of folders.
Corporate acquisitions.
Private investigations.
Bank statements.
Medical reports.
Photographs.
Then he saw a black folder.
No label.
Arthur opened it.
Inside was a single page.
SUBJECT: ARTHUR VANCE
His blood ran cold.
Below it was a photograph.
Arthur at twenty-three.
Standing outside a hospital.
Beside him—
Daniel.
Alive.
And behind them—
Edward.
Arthur stared.
The date on the photograph was three days after the accident.
He felt the floor shift beneath him.
“Daniel.”
No answer.
“Daniel!”
His brother turned.
Arthur held up the photograph.
Daniel's face changed.
“Where did you find that?”
“Here.”
Daniel approached slowly.
He took the photograph.
His fingers began trembling.
“I don't remember this.”
“You're in it.”
“I know.”
“You're standing beside me.”
“I know.”
Arthur pointed to the background.
“That's Father.”
Daniel stared.
“Yes.”
Arthur's voice dropped.
“Then why did we think he died?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Because he wanted us to.”
The words landed like a blow.
Arthur stepped back.
“What?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I remember now.”
“What?”
“The night of the accident.”
“Tell me.”
Daniel took a long breath.
“I wasn't driving.”
Arthur froze.
“What?”
“I wasn't driving the car.”
“Then who was?”
Daniel looked at the photograph.
“Father.”
Arthur's face went blank.
“Our father was driving?”
“Yes.”
“Then what happened?”
“He deliberately crashed.”
Arthur shook his head.
“No.”
“He wanted the world to believe he was dead.”
“Why?”
Daniel looked at Elena.
“Because someone was coming for our family.”
Elena's expression hardened.
“Who?”
Daniel answered,
“Alexander.”
The name echoed through the archive.
Jonathan stopped searching.
“You mean the firstborn.”
Daniel nodded.
“Alexander Vance.”
Arthur looked at him.
“Why would our brother want Father dead?”
“He didn't.”
Daniel's voice became quiet.
“He wanted control.”
Arthur frowned.
“Control of what?”
“The Vance fortune.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It does if you know what Father discovered.”
Daniel opened another cabinet.
He pulled out a thick file.
Across the front was written:
HALCYON CIRCLE — FOUNDING MEMBERS
Arthur took it.
Inside were photographs.
Nine men.
Nine women.
Politicians.
Bankers.
Judges.
Corporate executives.
International investors.
And at the center—
Alexander Vance.
Arthur stared.
“That's him.”
Daniel nodded.
“He founded it.”
Jonathan flipped through the pages.
“This organization is enormous.”
“It was.”
“What do you mean?”
Daniel pointed to a list of names.
“Most of these people are dead.”
Jonathan looked closer.
“Some died under suspicious circumstances.”
Daniel nodded.
“And some simply disappeared.”
Arthur turned another page.
There was a financial chart.
Billions of dollars.
Assets moved between dozens of companies.
At the bottom was one account.
VANCE FAMILY TRUST — ETHAN VANCE
Arthur's stomach tightened.
“Why is Ethan's trust here?”
Daniel looked at the document.
“Because the trust isn't just an inheritance.”
“What is it?”
Daniel pointed to a handwritten note.
Arthur read it.
THE TRUST IS THE KEY TO THE ORIGINAL VANCE HOLDINGS CONTROL AGREEMENT.
Arthur frowned.
“I don't understand.”
Jonathan did.
His face became pale.
“Arthur…”
“What?”
“Your father didn't leave Ethan money.”
“What?”
“He left Ethan control.”
Arthur stared.
“Control of what?”
“Everything.”
Jonathan pointed to the trust agreement.
“The Vance companies. The private holdings. The voting shares. The offshore assets. The properties.”
Arthur shook his head.
“That's impossible.”
“No.”
Jonathan turned the page.
“Your father structured the inheritance so that when Ethan reaches adulthood, the trust activates a dormant ownership clause.”
Daniel added,
“Which means whoever controls Ethan's trust controls the Vance empire.”
Arthur finally understood.
“That is why they wanted the transfer.”
“Yes.”
“And that's why Gerald threatened Ethan.”
“Yes.”
Arthur looked at the photographs of the Halcyon Circle.
“So they aren't after my son's money.”
Daniel shook his head.
“They're after his future.”
A sound came from the corridor.
Everyone stopped.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
Approaching.
Arthur reached for the gun at his waist.
Daniel moved in front of Elena.
Jonathan killed the lights.
The archive disappeared into darkness.
Footsteps continued.
Closer.
Closer.
Then stopped outside the door.
Nobody breathed.
A man's voice came through the darkness.
“You shouldn't have opened the archive.”
Arthur recognized it.
His blood froze.
“Gerald?”
The door opened.
Gerald stepped inside.
His injured arm was wrapped in a blood-soaked bandage.
Arthur raised his gun.
“Don't move.”
Gerald lifted his hands.
“I came alone.”
“You're lying.”
“Check.”
Daniel moved toward the entrance.
The hallway was empty.
Gerald looked at Arthur.
“You have the file.”
Arthur didn't answer.
“You saw Alexander.”
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
“How do you know?”
“Because I know what happens next.”
“What happens?”
Gerald looked toward the screen.
“Your father contacts you.”
Arthur stared at him.
“He already did.”
Gerald's expression changed.
“Then we're too late.”
“For what?”
Gerald stepped closer.
“Alexander doesn't want the trust.”
Arthur tightened his grip.
“What does he want?”
Gerald looked directly at him.
“He wants Ethan.”
Silence.
Arthur felt his entire body go cold.
“Why?”
“Because Ethan is the only person who can unlock the final agreement.”
“What agreement?”
“The one your father hid twenty-two years ago.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“What agreement?”
Gerald looked at him.
“The succession agreement.”
Daniel's face changed.
“What are you talking about?”
“Edward made a deal.”
“With whom?”
Gerald hesitated.
Then answered:
“Alexander.”
Arthur stared.
“What kind of deal?”
Gerald's voice dropped.
“If Alexander stayed away from the family, Edward would give him control of the international division.”
Daniel frowned.
“That doesn't explain Ethan.”
“No.”
Gerald looked at Arthur.
“The agreement had one additional condition.”
“What?”
“Alexander could never inherit the Vance family trust.”
Arthur waited.
“Why?”
“Because Edward knew Alexander would destroy the company.”
Arthur looked at the documents.
“So he created Ethan's trust instead.”
“Yes.”
“And Alexander has been trying to get around it ever since.”
“Yes.”
Arthur lowered the gun slightly.
“Then why did Gerald help us?”
Gerald looked at Elena.
“Because I failed your father once.”
Elena stared at him.
“What did you do?”
“I believed Alexander.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“And Father paid for it.”
Gerald nodded.
“I spent twenty-two years trying to repair the damage.”
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
“By threatening my wife?”
“I threatened Elena because Alexander was watching her.”
“You forged documents.”
“To make Alexander believe the trust was already under his control.”
“You tried to move Ethan's money.”
“I moved it to a protected account.”
Arthur stared.
“What?”
Gerald looked at Jonathan.
“Check the final destination.”
Jonathan immediately opened the banking records.
He froze.
“The money…”
“What?”
“It never went to Elena's company.”
Arthur stepped closer.
“Where did it go?”
Jonathan turned the screen toward him.
Every transfer had been routed through multiple accounts.
Then—
one final destination.
A private foundation.
THE EDWARD VANCE CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION.
Arthur stared.
“Father's foundation?”
Jonathan nodded.
“But that foundation was closed twenty years ago.”
Gerald shook his head.
“No.”
Arthur looked at him.
“It was never closed.”
Gerald reached into his coat.
He pulled out an old access card.
On it was a photograph of Edward Vance.
And beneath it:
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR — EDWARD VANCE
Arthur's hands went cold.
“Where did you get that?”
Gerald answered,
“He gave it to me.”
“When?”
“Six months ago.”
Arthur stared.
Six months.
The same time the suspicious trust transfers had started.
The same time the first warnings appeared.
The same time Elena received the photograph of her mother.
Arthur looked at the black screen.
“My father has been alive for at least two years.”
Gerald nodded.
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
Gerald didn't answer.
Arthur stepped forward.
“Where is my father?”
Gerald's expression became grim.
“He isn't hiding from you.”
Arthur waited.
“He's hiding you from Alexander.”
Then—
the archive speakers crackled.
Every light turned on simultaneously.
The central screen activated.
Edward Vance appeared.
Older.
Thinner.
His hair completely white.
But unmistakably alive.
Arthur forgot how to breathe.
“Arthur.”
His father's voice filled the room.
Arthur stepped toward the screen.
“Dad?”
Edward looked directly into the camera.
“I know you have questions.”
Arthur's eyes burned.
“Where are you?”
Edward paused.
“Somewhere Alexander cannot reach.”
“Why did you abandon us?”
Edward's face tightened.
“I didn't.”
Arthur's voice broke.
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I had no choice.”
“You had twenty-two years!”
“I know.”
Arthur slammed his fist onto the desk.
“Then come home!”
Edward looked at him.
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because the moment I return…”
Edward glanced away.
“…they will kill Ethan.”
Arthur went still.
Edward continued.
“Listen carefully.”
His voice became urgent.
“Do not trust the people around you.”
Arthur looked at Daniel.
Then Elena.
Then Gerald.
Edward shook his head.
“Not even the ones you love.”
The screen flickered.
Arthur stepped closer.
“Dad!”
Edward's face returned for one final second.
“Arthur…”
“Yes?”
“Your brother Alexander is not the head of the Halcyon Circle.”
Arthur froze.
Edward whispered:
“He answers to someone else.”
The screen went black.
A loud metallic click echoed through the archive.
Daniel looked toward the entrance.
The steel door had locked.
Jonathan rushed to it.
“It's sealed.”
Arthur turned.
“Can you open it?”
“No.”
The archive lights began flickering.
Once.
Twice.
Then every computer screen in the room turned on.
One after another.
Hundreds of screens.
All displaying the same photograph.
A woman.
Elena's mother.
But this time she wasn't alone.
Standing beside her was a young man.
Arthur stared.
He recognized him immediately.
The young man was Alexander Vance.
But there was something else in the photograph.
A child stood between them.
A little boy.
Maybe four years old.
Arthur stepped closer.
The child had dark hair.
The same eyes as Arthur.
The same distinctive birthmark near the left ear.
Arthur's heart stopped.
Daniel whispered,
“No…”
Elena turned toward him.
“What?”
Daniel stared at the screen.
“That child…”
Arthur couldn't look away.
Daniel's voice trembled.
“That is you, Arthur.”
Arthur's world seemed to collapse.
Because the photograph was dated—
THIRTY-TWO YEARS AGO.
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And written beneath it were seven words:
THE FIRST HEIR WAS NEVER EDWARD'S SON.
