CHAPTER 10 â The Mastermind Behind Nathan
The room froze.
No one had ever seen my father hesitate.
Not in business.
Not in negotiations.
Not even when the evidence against Nathan kept growing by the minute.
But now...
as he stared at the document in his hands...
his expression hardened in a way I had never witnessed before.
I stepped closer.
"Dad..."
"Whose name is on the account?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he handed the document to Detective Laura Bennett.
She read the first line.
Then the second.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Is this verified?"
The financial investigator nodded.
"Three independent confirmations."
"No doubt."
Nathan slowly looked up.
His face had gone pale.
He already knew the answer.
He had known it all along.
The detective turned toward him.
"Mr. Ashford."
"Would you like to explain why four hundred eighty-seven million dollars was transferred to an account controlled by..."
She glanced down once more.
"...Victor Hale?"
The name echoed through the grand hall.
Celeste's champagne glass slipped from her fingers.
It shattered across the marble floor.
"No..."
She whispered.
"That's impossible."
I frowned.
"Who is Victor Hale?"
No one answered.
Until my father quietly said,
"The man who built Nathan."
Nathan shut his eyes.
For several long seconds...
he didn't move.
Then he let out a slow breath.
"I never wanted him involved."
My father looked at him coldly.
"You involved him the day you accepted his money."
I searched my father's face.
"You know him?"
My father nodded once.
"I've known Victor Hale for nearly thirty years."
The room fell silent again.
"He wasn't always a billionaire."
"He started as a shipping broker."
"Brilliant."
"Patient."
"And utterly without conscience."
The investigators listened carefully.
My father continued.
"He never built companies."
"He built people."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"He found ambitious young executives."
"He financed them."
"He opened doors."
"And when they became successful..."
"He owned them."
Nathan whispered,
"That's not true."
My father looked directly at him.
"Then tell everyone."
"How much of Ashford Global does Victor actually control?"
Nathan said nothing.
The forensic accountant stepped forward.
"We've already answered that."
He placed another report on the table.
"Using hidden holding companies..."
"Victor Hale secretly controls fifty-one percent of Ashford Global."
Silence.
Nathan looked up in shock.
"No..."
"That's impossible."
"I own the majority."
The accountant shook his head.
"You think you do."
He turned several pages.
"Every investment round."
"Every emergency loan."
"Every refinancing."
"They all came from companies connected to Victor Hale."
Nathan grabbed the report.
His hands trembled as he read.
One company.
Then another.
Then another.
Different names.
Different countries.
Different directors.
But every ownership trail ended at the same place.
Victor Hale.
Nathan whispered,
"He lied to me..."
Celeste laughed bitterly.
"He lied to all of us."
Everyone looked at her.
She slowly sat down.
"I've met Victor."
My father narrowed his eyes.
"How many times?"
"Three."
She looked exhausted now.
"He never spoke loudly."
"He never threatened anyone."
"He only asked one question."
"What question?"
"'Can you make me more money?'"
"If the answer was yes..."
"He smiled."
"If the answer was no..."
"He replaced you."
Nathan buried his face in his hands.
"I thought we were partners."
Celeste looked at him with pity.
"You were never his partner."
"You were his employee."
My father walked toward the fireplace.
"I warned people about Victor years ago."
"But no one listened."
"He never committed crimes himself."
"He convinced other people to commit them for him."
Then he looked directly at Nathan.
"You weren't the architect."
"You were the weapon."
Nathan's breathing became uneven.
"He said..."
"...if I married Victoria..."
"He could finally reach Sterling."
Every eye in the room turned toward him.
I felt my heart stop.
"What did you say?"
Nathan looked at me.
Tears filled his eyes for the first time.
"He knew who you were."
I stood frozen.
"What?"
"He knew your father."
"He knew your family."
"He knew everything."
The words struck harder than anything else that night.
"You mean..."
"You married me..."
"...because someone hired you to?"
Nathan couldn't answer.
He didn't need to.
His silence said enough.
The detective immediately turned to the investigators.
"Search every communication involving Victor Hale."
"Already underway."
Another officer hurried into the room carrying a secure tablet.
"Detective."
"We recovered deleted voice messages."
"Play them."
The room filled with the sound of a calm, older man's voice.
Nathan...
Marry the girl.
Earn her trust.
One signature from Victoria is worth more than ten shipping companies.
The recording continued.
If she refuses...
A brief pause.
You'll know what to do.
The audio ended.
No one moved.
Even the officers looked shaken.
The detective slowly asked,
"Voice identification?"
The technician answered,
"Ninety-nine point seven percent."
"Victor Hale."
My father closed his eyes.
For years...
he had suspected Victor was searching for a way into the Sterling family.
He had simply never imagined...
the attack would come through his daughter's marriage.
Nathan suddenly looked at me.
"I didn't expect..."
He swallowed hard.
"I didn't expect to actually fall in love with you."
I stared at him.
"Do you really think those words matter now?"
He lowered his head.
"No."
"They don't."
Another investigator entered the hall.
"Sir."
"We have a problem."
My father turned.
"What happened?"
The investigator's face was tense.
"Twenty-three minutes ago..."
"A private jet departed from Blackstone Executive Airport."
"Destination?"
"No flight plan."
"No registered destination."
The investigator paused.
"We believe Victor Hale is on board."
The room became silent.
Detective Bennett immediately issued the order.
"Notify Homeland Security."
"Alert Interpol."
"Freeze every known asset."
The investigator nodded.
"We already did."
Then he looked at my father.
"But there's something worse."
"What?"
The investigator handed him a satellite image.
"The aircraft..."
He paused.
"...isn't flying alone."
My father studied the screen.
Then his expression darkened.
Because surrounding Victor Hale's jet...
were three additional aircraft.
Not civilian planes.
Not private charters.
But heavily modified security jets.
Victor Hale wasn't running.
He had been expecting this night all along.
And somewhere high above the clouds...
May you like
the man who had quietly orchestrated the destruction of my marriage...
was already preparing his next move.
