PART 8 — The Person Behind Victor Kane Was Someone I Trusted
PART 8 — The Person Behind Victor Kane Was Someone I Trusted
The photograph sat on the table between us.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Because sometimes the truth doesn't arrive like an explosion.
Sometimes it arrives quietly...
and leaves you unable to breathe.
I stared at the image again.
Victor Kane stood beside a private jet.
Next to him...
was a familiar face.
A face I had seen countless times at family dinners.
A face that had hugged me after my wedding.
A face that had told me everything would be okay.
My father's expression changed.
"That can't be right."
Daniel remained silent.
"It was confirmed through multiple sources."
Dad picked up the photograph.
His jaw tightened.
"Who took this?"
"Our investigators tracked Victor's final movements."
Daniel paused.
"The person with him is..."
He looked at me.
"Your uncle."
My fingers tightened around Toby's blanket.
"No."
The word escaped before I could stop it.
"Uncle Richard?"
Dad didn't answer immediately.
That silence hurt more than any confirmation.
Because my father always had an answer.
Except now.
He didn't.
Richard Robertson.
My father's younger brother.
The man who attended every family celebration.
The man who gave me advice when I was a teenager.
The man who told me I reminded him of my mother.
Could he really be involved?
Agent Mitchell looked at my father.
"Mr. Robertson, we understand this is difficult."
Dad slowly placed the photograph down.
"No."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"It's not difficult."
"It's betrayal."
The investigation immediately changed direction.
Daniel explained everything they had discovered.
"Victor Kane didn't randomly target Lawson Technologies."
"He was searching for a weak point."
"And he found one."
"Jasper."
I looked down.
Because that part was true.
Jasper's arrogance made him easy to manipulate.
His obsession with success made him careless.
Victor gave him exactly what he wanted.
Fame.
Money.
Recognition.
And while Jasper was celebrating...
Victor was stealing from him.
Agent Reed opened another file.
"There's more."
Inside were bank transfers.
Emails.
Encrypted communications.
Then one document caught my attention.
A transfer agreement.
My uncle's company name appeared at the bottom.
Robertson Family Holdings.
My stomach turned.
"Why would Richard do this?"
Nobody answered.
Until my father finally spoke.
"Because he always believed everything I built should have been his."
I looked at him.
"You never told me."
Dad looked away.
"Because I wanted you to see family as something safe."
A sad smile crossed his face.
"I spent my life protecting you from enemies outside these walls."
"I never imagined I needed to protect you from someone inside them."
Meanwhile...
Jasper was sitting in a temporary interview room with federal agents.
For hours, he answered questions.
Every contract.
Every meeting.
Every decision.
Then Agent Mitchell placed one document in front of him.
"Do you recognize this signature?"
Jasper looked down.
His face changed.
"That's..."
"Your uncle-in-law?"
"No."
"Richard Robertson?"
Jasper swallowed.
"Yes."
The agent watched him carefully.
"Did you know he was involved?"
"Absolutely not."
She studied his reaction.
"You understand this evidence connects him to your company."
Jasper nodded slowly.
Then whispered:
"Hailey."
Agent Mitchell looked up.
"What about her?"
"He knew."
"He knew who she was."
"He knew she was Finnley Robertson's daughter."
The room became silent.
"What makes you say that?"
Jasper looked devastated.
"Because Richard was the first person who encouraged me to pursue Hailey."
That sentence changed everything.
Back at the estate, I sat in my old bedroom.
The same room I had grown up in.
Photos covered the walls.
My childhood.
My mother.
My father.
Family memories.
A life where I believed everyone loved me.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
Again.
This time...
I answered.
"Hello?"
No one spoke.
Only silence.
Then a man's voice.
Cold.
Familiar.
"Hailey."
My blood froze.
"Uncle Richard?"
A quiet laugh.
"So you finally know."
I stood immediately.
"Where are you?"
"Does it matter?"
"You betrayed Dad."
"No."
His voice hardened.
"Your father betrayed me."
I walked toward the window.
"Explain."
"You think Finnley built everything alone?"
"You think he deserves all of it?"
"He had me."
"He had my ideas."
"He had my work."
"And what did I get?"
I closed my eyes.
"Richard..."
"I spent thirty years watching him become a legend."
"While I stayed invisible."
"You destroyed Jasper."
"No."
"I showed him what he truly was."
"You made him believe he was powerful."
"You let him humiliate me."
Richard laughed.
"He was useful."
"Nothing more."
My heart sank.
"You never cared about him."
"Of course not."
"He was just a doorway."
"A doorway to Robertson Global."
The line went silent.
Then he said something that made my blood run cold.
"But you made one mistake, Hailey."
"What?"
"You told your father you were leaving Jasper."
"You thought that was the end."
"It wasn't."
"You forgot one thing."
"What?"
Richard's voice lowered.
"Your son carries Robertson blood."
I froze.
"What does that mean?"
The call ended.
I immediately called Daniel.
"Trace the number."
"We need to know where he is."
Within seconds, Daniel responded.
"Miss Robertson..."
His voice sounded different.
"What's wrong?"
"We traced it."
"Richard wasn't calling from a hidden location."
"He wanted us to find him."
"Where?"
A pause.
Then:
"The old Robertson family property."
My father's abandoned estate.
The place nobody had visited in twenty years.
Except...
someone had recently entered.
Someone who knew exactly where everything was hidden.
Dad walked into the room moments later.
He saw my face.
"What happened?"
I looked at him.
"Richard called me."
His expression changed instantly.
"What did he say?"
I swallowed.
"He said Toby carries Robertson blood."
My father's face went pale.
Then I saw something I had never seen before.
Fear.
Not anger.
Not disappointment.
Fear.
"Hailey..."
"What?"
He looked toward the window.
"Your uncle knows about the inheritance."
I frowned.
"What inheritance?"
My father didn't answer.
Because suddenly...
I realized there was a secret my family had hidden from me.
A secret so important...
May you like
someone was willing to destroy marriages, companies, and lives to get it.
End of Part 8
