Chapter 7 - The First Battle
Arthur knew one thing.
He could not wait anymore.
Waiting was how the truth disappeared the first time.
Waiting was how people controlled his life.
Waiting was how his children became victims.
Not again.
This time, he would move first.
Marcus helped Arthur create a plan.
The first step was protecting Ethan and Maya.
The second step was finding Eleanor.
The third step was exposing everyone involved.
But there was one problem.
The people behind the conspiracy knew Arthur was searching.
And they were already moving.
That morning, Arthur received a phone call.
A private number.
He answered.
Silence.
Then a voice.
“You should stop looking.”
Arthur immediately recognized the tone.
Calm.
Confident.
Threatening.
“Who is this?”
The person laughed softly.
“You already know.”
The call ended.
Arthur stared at the phone.
Because the voice belonged to someone he trusted.
At the same time, Ethan discovered something important.
He was searching through the storage room with Arthur when he noticed a loose floorboard.
“Dad.”
Arthur turned.
“What?”
“There’s something here.”
Together, they lifted the board.
Underneath was another hidden compartment.
Inside was a small notebook.
Arthur opened it.
The first page contained one sentence:
“For Ethan and Maya, when they are old enough to understand.”
Arthur stopped.
The notebook was written for his children.
By Eleanor.
The pages revealed a story Arthur never knew.
Eleanor had discovered that someone inside the family was using the children as leverage.
She had tried to warn Arthur.
She had tried to expose the truth.
But before she could, she was removed from their lives.
The final page contained a warning:
“The person closest to Arthur is not protecting him. They are protecting themselves.”
Arthur looked at Victoria.
Then at Daniel.
Then at the empty hallway.
Because the question remained.
Who was the closest person?
That evening, Arthur made his first public move.
He announced an internal investigation into the Hale family business.
The announcement shocked everyone.
Employees.
Investors.
The media.
People wondered why Arthur was attacking his own company.
But Arthur knew the truth.
The company had been used as a weapon.
Now he would use it to expose the people who abused it.
Victoria watched the announcement from her apartment.
She knew the battle had started.
She called Daniel.
“He knows too much.”
Daniel was silent.
“What do we do?”
A long pause.
Then Daniel answered:
“We reveal the truth before he finds the rest.”
Victoria frowned.
“What truth?”
Daniel looked at the document in front of him.
“The truth about Arthur’s first marriage.”
Victoria froze.
“Arthur was married before?”
Daniel nodded.
“And that woman knew everything.”
Meanwhile, Arthur received one final piece of evidence.
A photograph.
Recent.
Not old.
Not damaged.
A photograph taken only days earlier.
The picture showed a woman standing outside a small town house.
A woman Arthur thought he would never see again.
His mother.
Eleanor Hale.
Alive.
Arthur stared at the image.
His hands trembled.
Because after years of believing she was gone…
He finally had proof.
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His mother was alive.
And she was waiting for him.
