CHAPTER 5 — The Father Behind the Empire
Charlotte couldn't breathe.
"My... father?"
Michael nodded without taking his eyes off the road ahead.
"I wanted to tell you years ago."
"But I didn't have proof."
Charlotte shook her head violently.
"No."
"My father built Hayes Global from nothing."
"He loved our family."
Michael gave her a heartbreaking look.
"No..."
"He loved power."
The truck entered an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the city.
Inside, dozens of computer screens flickered to life.
Maps.
Bank transfers.
Surveillance footage.
And hundreds of confidential files marked with the Hayes Global logo.
An elderly woman stepped out from the shadows.
Charlotte immediately recognized her.
"Mrs. Brooks?"
She had been the family's housekeeper for over thirty years.
The woman smiled sadly.
"I've been waiting for this day."
Charlotte stared in disbelief.
"You've been helping Michael?"
Mrs. Brooks nodded.
"Since the night your father ordered his disappearance."
Charlotte's knees weakened.
Michael caught her before she fell.
Mrs. Brooks placed a worn leather journal on the table.
"This belonged to your mother."
Charlotte froze.
"My mother died when I was twelve."
Mrs. Brooks looked down.
"That's what your father wanted you to believe."
Charlotte slowly opened the journal.
The first page contained a handwritten note.
If you're reading this, I failed to stop him.
Her hands began trembling.
Each page revealed horrifying secrets.
Secret offshore accounts.
Bribed politicians.
Judges on payroll.
Disappearances disguised as accidents.
Even charities that existed only to hide billions of dollars.
At the bottom of the final page was one sentence highlighted in red ink.
"If Richard Hayes is ever exposed... he will sacrifice his own children before losing his empire."
Charlotte burst into tears.
"He would never..."
Before she could finish speaking...
Every computer screen inside the warehouse suddenly turned black.
One by one...
A live video appeared.
Richard Hayes.
Charlotte's father.
He was sitting calmly inside his private office, holding a glass of whiskey.
He smiled directly into the camera.
"I wondered how long it would take."
Charlotte whispered,
"Dad..."
Richard raised his glass.
"Hello, sweetheart."
"I see Michael finally found you."
Charlotte stepped toward the screen.
"Why?"
"Why did you destroy our family?"
Richard chuckled.
"You still don't understand."
"Our family..."
"...was never real."
Silence filled the warehouse.
Then Richard snapped his fingers.
Another camera feed appeared.
Everyone gasped.
It showed Ethan.
Bound to a chair.
Bloody.
Terrified.
Charlotte frowned.
"Ethan?"
Richard smiled.
"He served his purpose."
"Now he's no longer useful."
Ethan screamed at the camera.
"Charlotte!"
"I never wanted any of this!"
"Your father forced me—"
A gunshot echoed through the speakers.
The screen went black.
Charlotte screamed.
Mrs. Brooks covered Lucas's eyes.
Michael slowly lowered his head.
Richard's face returned to the screen.
Still smiling.
"I've cleaned up one loose end."
"Now..."
"There are only three left."
He looked straight into the camera.
At Michael.
At Lucas.
Finally...
At Charlotte.
Then he uttered the words that changed everything.
"You think you're my daughter..."
"...but the DNA test I kept hidden for twenty-eight years says otherwise."
May you like
Charlotte's world shattered.
To be continued...
