Chapter 14 - "A SECOND SECRET BURIED IN DANIEL'S PAST"
The boardroom went dead silent.
CFO Julian Vance turned as white as a sheet, his hands trembling violently as corporate security officers stepped into the room, blocking the exits.
"You don't understand..." Vance stammered, his eyes darting frantically toward the door. "They promised me... they said if I didn't release the codes, they would destroy everything!"
"Who is 'they', Julian?" Daniel asked, stepping out from the shadows near the window, his physical posture towering over the disgraced executive.
Vance swallowed hard, realization dawning that he was completely trapped. "It wasn't just Vanessa Cole. She’s just the weapon, Daniel. The person pulling her strings... is someone who shares your blood."
The words struck the room like a thunderbolt.
Daniel stared at Vance in disbelief. "My blood? I don't have siblings. My father was an only child."
Margaret Harrison stood up slowly from her seat at the end of the table. Her face was completely devoid of color, her hands shaking as she leaned heavily against her mahogany chair.
"Margaret?" Amy asked gently, sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere. "What does he mean?"
Margaret looked at Daniel with a look of overwhelming grief and guilt. "He’s talking about Julian Harrison. Your father’s secret son."
May you like
Daniel’s world tilted. "My father had another son?"
"Before he met me," Margaret confessed, tears finally breaking through her composed facade. "Your father had an affair with a woman in Chicago. When she got pregnant, he paid her off to keep the boy hidden. That boy grew up under the name Julian Vance... your Chief Financial Officer. He’s been working inside our family company for ten years, waiting for his moment to take revenge."
