Chapter 10 - THE TRAITOR INSIDE THE HOUSE
Everyone suspected Mercer.
Everyone suspected Peter Vale.
No one suspected Vincent.
That was precisely why Luca began watching him.
The message from Arthur said he still had someone Luca trusted.
Not someone he had captured.
Someone he had.
An asset.
Luca replayed twelve years of memories.
Vincent had been there after the collapse.
Vincent arranged transportation between doctors.
Vincent approved household staff.
Vincent coordinated security around every medical appointment.
Yet Vincent had also found evidence against Arthur.
Too much evidence.
Too efficiently.
Luca hated himself for considering it.
Elena noticed.
“You think it’s him.”
“I don’t know.”
“Then don’t punish him for something you don’t know.”
Luca nodded.
Elena had become the voice that prevented suspicion from turning him into Arthur.
So Luca designed another test.
He told Vincent that Maya’s original DNA sample had been moved to a laboratory in Evanston.
He told no one else.
Six hours later, someone attempted to access that laboratory.
The sample was fake.
The security alert was real.
Luca called Vincent into the study.
Vincent entered calmly.
“You tested me.”
“Yes.”
Vincent closed the door.
“I wondered when you would.”
Elena’s heart sank.
Maya was upstairs.
Guards surrounded the house.
But suddenly none of that meant anything.
“How long?”
Luca’s voice was almost a whisper.
Vincent removed his phone and placed it on the desk.
“Twelve years.”
Elena stepped backward.
Vincent raised both hands.
“I never poisoned you.”
“You protected the men who did.”
“At first.”
Luca’s face hardened.
Vincent explained that Arthur had recruited him when Luca collapsed.
His job was simple.
Keep Luca isolated.
Make sure the approved doctors remained in place.
Report any attempt to investigate the diagnosis.
But something changed over the years.
Vincent watched Luca rebuild himself from the wheelchair.
He watched him refuse to surrender control.
And when Maya arrived, Vincent finally understood the full scope of Arthur’s plan.
“So why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because Arthur has my son.”
Silence filled the room.
Vincent’s son, Daniel, had supposedly been studying in Europe.
In reality, Arthur had controlled his movements for years.
Every time Vincent considered confessing, Arthur sent a photograph.
A reminder.
Vincent’s eyes filled with shame.
“I gave Arthur information.”
“But I also gave you the evidence that could destroy him.”
Luca stared at the man who had protected and betrayed him for twelve years.
May you like
Then Vincent said the sentence that changed everything.
“I know where Arthur is.”
