PART 10 — Jasper Disappeared, and the Enemy Revealed Himself
PART 10 — Jasper Disappeared, and the Enemy Revealed Himself
The silence inside the old Robertson estate was unbearable.
Everyone was thinking the same thing.
Jasper was gone.
And whoever took him knew exactly what they were doing.
They didn't leave evidence.
They didn't make demands.
They simply removed the one person who could connect all the pieces.
Victor Kane.
Richard Robertson.
The stolen funds.
The secret investment.
Everything.
My father turned toward Daniel.
"Find him."
Daniel nodded immediately.
"We already started tracking every possible route."
Agent Mitchell stepped closer.
"Mr. Robertson, we need to consider the possibility that Mr. Lawson left voluntarily."
I shook my head.
"No."
Everyone looked at me.
I knew Jasper.
At least...
I knew the version of Jasper I married.
"He would run from embarrassment."
"He would run from responsibility."
"But he wouldn't disappear now."
"Not when his name is being destroyed."
I looked at the abandoned mansion around us.
"Someone made him disappear."
Richard watched me carefully.
"You sound like you care about him."
I turned toward him.
"I care about finding the truth."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Interesting."
"Even after everything he did..."
"You still defend him."
"No."
I looked directly at him.
"I defend facts."
"Something you seem to have forgotten."
For the first time, Richard looked irritated.
"You always were like your mother."
"What does that mean?"
"Too emotional."
"Too trusting."
"Always looking for the good in people."
My expression hardened.
"And you always were like this."
"Always blaming others for what you didn't earn."
Before Richard could respond, Daniel received another update.
His phone buzzed.
He stepped away.
Ten seconds later...
he returned.
"We found his vehicle."
"Where?"
"An abandoned warehouse near the harbor."
Dad immediately ordered the team to move.
The warehouse was located thirty minutes away.
A forgotten industrial building surrounded by empty shipping containers.
Security swept the area first.
Then Daniel entered.
I waited outside.
I hated waiting.
Because waiting meant imagining.
Was Jasper hurt?
Was he alive?
Was he even—
I stopped myself.
I didn't want to think that way.
Then Daniel walked out.
His face told me everything.
"What happened?"
"He was here."
"Was?"
Daniel looked at me.
"He escaped."
I blinked.
"Escaped?"
He nodded.
"We found signs of a struggle."
"Two sets of footprints."
"One belongs to Jasper."
"The other..."
"Belongs to Victor Kane."
Dad's eyes narrowed.
"Victor took him?"
"Looks like it."
"But why?"
Agent Mitchell answered.
"Because Jasper knows too much."
Inside the warehouse, investigators found a hidden room.
A table.
A laptop.
Documents.
And a recording device.
Daniel brought the evidence back.
"We recovered this."
Agent Mitchell played the audio.
A man's voice filled the warehouse.
Victor.
"You should have listened to me, Jasper."
"You were supposed to keep your mouth shut."
Jasper's voice responded.
"You used me."
"You destroyed my company."
Victor laughed.
"Your company?"
"You still don't understand."
"Nothing was ever yours."
The recording continued.
Jasper sounded angry.
"Who are you working for?"
Silence.
Then Victor answered:
"Someone who has been waiting thirty years."
A pause.
"Someone who believes Robertson Global belongs to him."
Everyone looked at Richard.
But the recording continued.
Then Victor said something unexpected.
"Your wife was never the problem."
"Your father-in-law was."
"He protected her too well."
The recording stopped.
Nobody spoke.
Because the implication was clear.
Victor and Richard had worked together.
But Victor's words suggested something else.
Richard wasn't the only mastermind.
Back at the estate...
my father sat alone in his office.
For the first time, he looked tired.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
I entered quietly.
"Dad."
He looked up.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For keeping secrets."
I sat across from him.
"How long have you known Richard was dangerous?"
He looked at the family portrait on the wall.
"Since before you were born."
My heart sank.
"What?"
"Your uncle wasn't always like this."
"He changed."
"After your grandfather died."
Dad opened another drawer.
Inside was a letter.
Old.
Yellowed.
"The last letter your grandfather wrote before he passed."
I looked at the handwriting.
"Why are you showing me this now?"
"Because Richard knows something I hoped you would never have to learn."
"What?"
Dad handed me the letter.
The final paragraph was underlined.
"The greatest threat to a family's fortune will never come from strangers. It will come from those who believe they are owed what they did not earn."
I looked up.
"Grandfather knew."
Dad nodded.
"He knew Richard's heart."
Suddenly, Daniel rushed into the room.
"Sir."
My father stood.
"What now?"
"We found Jasper."
Relief hit me.
"Where?"
Daniel hesitated.
"He contacted us."
"From where?"
Daniel looked at me.
"From Victor Kane's private location."
"He's alive."
"But..."
"What?"
"He says Victor isn't the person we need to fear."
The room went silent.
"Then who?"
Daniel placed a phone on the table.
A message appeared.
From Jasper.
Only six words.
"Hailey, your uncle is being used."
I stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
"The real person behind everything is someone you never suspected."
My hands went cold.
Because I realized something terrifying.
Richard may have been trying to steal my family's empire.
But someone else...
May you like
had been controlling Richard all along.
End of Part 10
