CHAPTER 9 — “The Man Behind the Mask Finally Revealed His Face”
The video ended.
No one in the room spoke.
Emily was alive...
But barely.
The little girl clung to Adrian's hand.
"Please bring Mommy home."
He knelt in front of her.
"I promise."
It was the first promise he had ever made as her father.
And this time...
He intended to keep it.
The detectives traced the video's location to an abandoned Cross family estate hidden deep in the mountains.
A place that had officially been abandoned for nearly thirty years.
By midnight, dozens of officers surrounded the mansion.
Adrian insisted on going inside.
"This ends tonight."
The front door creaked open.
The house was silent.
Dust covered the furniture, but someone had been living there recently.
Half-empty coffee cups.
Fresh footprints.
Security monitors still glowing.
Then...
A woman's voice echoed from upstairs.
"Adrian..."
He froze.
"Emily?"
He raced toward the sound.
Inside a locked bedroom, Emily was tied to a chair.
Weak.
Bruised.
But alive.
He broke the lock and rushed to her.
"I'm so sorry..."
Emily burst into tears.
"You finally remembered."
Before they could leave...
The lights suddenly went out.
A slow clap echoed through the darkness.
One...
Two...
Three.
Then an elderly man stepped into the emergency light.
Perfectly dressed.
Silver hair.
Calm smile.
Edward Cross was sixty-eight.
This man looked nearly eighty.
Adrian stared in disbelief.
"I've never seen you before."
The stranger smiled.
"No..."
"But I've watched you your entire life."
Marcus quietly walked out from behind him.
Not as a leader.
As a servant.
Then the old man spoke the words that shattered Adrian forever.
"Edward was never in charge."
"I was."
Emily's face turned pale.
"No..."
The old man smiled.
"My name is..."
"William Ashford."
"The founder of the Cross Empire."
"And..."
He slowly looked into Adrian's eyes.
"...your biological father."
Everything Adrian had believed about his life...
May you like
Collapsed in a single heartbeat.
END OF CHAPTER 9...
