CHAPTER 8 — The Third Bellamy
The safe house was hidden deep in the Catskill Mountains.
No internet.
No cell service.
No public records.
Only trusted Bellamy security knew it existed.
Sarah's shoulder had been treated, but she refused to rest.
"We're running out of time," she said.
Emma sat beside the fireplace, unable to stop staring at the woman she had mourned for nearly two decades.
"I need the truth."
Sarah nodded slowly.
"You deserve all of it."
She took a deep breath.
"Twenty-five years ago, Bellamy Industries wasn't controlled by one family."
"It was controlled by three brothers."
Richard.
Alexander.
And Gabriel.
Tristan frowned.
"My father only had Alexander."
Sarah looked into his eyes.
"That's what everyone was taught."
"Gabriel was erased."
Emma frowned.
"Erased?"
Sarah nodded.
"His name was removed from birth records."
"Photographs were destroyed."
"Every document mentioning him disappeared."
"Because Gabriel became obsessed with power."
"He believed the Bellamy fortune belonged only to him."
Richard refused.
Alexander opposed him.
Gabriel answered with murder.
"He framed Victor Hawthorne."
"He manipulated politicians."
"He bribed investigators."
"And when Richard discovered everything..."
Sarah's voice broke.
"...Gabriel burned our home."
Emma closed her eyes.
The house fire.
It hadn't been an accident.
Sarah continued.
"Richard saved you."
"He carried you through the flames."
"He begged me to disappear."
"He knew Gabriel would never stop searching."
Tristan clenched his fists.
"If Gabriel is alive..."
"Where has he been?"
Sarah answered quietly.
"Standing beside you."
Silence filled the room.
"What?"
"The man you know as James Blackwood..."
"...your father's most loyal attorney..."
"...is actually Gabriel Bellamy."
Tristan's blood ran cold.
James Blackwood had helped raise him after Richard died.
He had attended every birthday.
Every graduation.
Every board meeting.
He was practically family.
"No..."
Tristan whispered.
"Impossible."
Sarah reached into her coat and handed him a faded photograph.
Three young brothers smiled together beside a lake.
Richard.
Alexander.
And James.
Only...
The back of the photograph identified him differently.
Gabriel Bellamy.
At that exact moment, every security monitor inside the safe house suddenly turned black.
One by one.
Then a familiar voice echoed through the speakers.
"Good evening, Tristan."
Emma looked toward the cameras.
"So..."
the voice continued with a calm, almost fatherly tone,
"...you finally remembered my real name."
The front door slowly unlocked by itself.
Security alarms shut down.
The lights flickered.
Then the voice laughed softly.
"I built every safe house your father ever trusted."
"I designed every security system protecting this family."
"There has never been a place..."
"...where I couldn't reach you."
Outside...
Dozens of black SUVs emerged silently from the surrounding forest.
Their headlights illuminated the cabin.
Gabriel Bellamy had finally stopped hiding.
And this time...
May you like
He had come personally.
END OF CHAPTER 8
