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My heart stopped as Nathaniel’s words hung in the cold Vancouver air. Through my earpiece, I heard Leo’s sharp intake of breath.
“What is he talking about?” Leo’s voice was carefully controlled.
Nathaniel’s smile grew wider. “Oh, this is delicious. She hasn’t told you.” He took another step forward, ignoring the laser sight on his chest. “Tell him, Victoria. Tell him how you were there that night.”
“I wasn’t-” The denial died in my throat as buried memories surfaced. That night had been a blur of grief and shock, but now…
“You see,” Nathaniel continued, his voice carrying the satisfaction of a predator cornering its prey. “Victoria didn’t just discover her father’s body. She was there when I gave him the choice sign over his properties, or watch his precious daughter go to prison for embezzlement.”
“Stop.” My voice shook. “You’re twisting everything.”
“Am I?” He pulled out his phone, tapping the screen. A video began to play security footage from my father’s study. The timestamp showed 11:47 PM, the night he died.
There I was, younger and desperate, pleading with my father. “Please, Dad, just sign the papers. Nathaniel says he can make everything go away.”
“By selling my soul to the devil?” My father’s voice was weary. “No, Victoria. Some prices. are too high.”
The footage jumped forward. Now Nathaniel was there, all smooth charm and veiled threats, My father clutching his chest. Me, frozen in horror as he collapsed.
“You stood there and watched,” Nathaniel’s voice cut through the memory. “Watched as the ‘heart attack‘ took him. You could have called for help, but you didn’t. Because deep down, you knew his death would solve all your problems.”
“That’s not… I didn’t…” But had I? Those moments were a fog of panic and fear. Had I hesitated too long? Had some dark part of me seen the solution in my father’s death?
“Victoria.” Leo’s voice in my ear was tight with tension. “Whatever happened, we’ll- “Oh, it gets better.” Nathaniel interrupted, as if hearing Leo’s words. “Tell him about the paperwork you signed afterward. The documents transferring power of attorney before the body was even cold”
Jessica emerged from the shadows, her smile matching her lover’s cruelty. “Show him the video of you practicing your grief in the mirror before calling 911. That’s my personal favorite.” I felt the protection detail shifting nervously behind me. Even they were wondering now what kind of person was I really?
“Enough” Leo’s voice cut through the night. “Victoria, get in the car. Now,”
“But she hasn’t heard the best part yet.” Nathaniel raised his gun again, but not at me. He
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“But she hasn’t heard the best part yet.” Nathaniel raised his gun again, but not at me. He aimed at my stomach. “About how she’s not the only one with her father’s blood on her hands. Isn’t that right, Leo?”
Through my earpiece, I heard Leo’s breath catch. What did Nathaniel mean?
“Tell her, Leo,” Nathaniel taunted. “Tell Victoria how her father came to you first, asking for protection from me. Tell her what you said when he offered to testify against my organization.”
“Leo?” My voice sounded small, lost.
The silence in my earpiece stretched for an eternity. Finally, Leo spoke, his voice heavy with regret: “Victoria, there’s something you need to know about the night your father died…”
The tension in the air thickened as Leo’s words hung between us. Through my earpiece,
I could hear his measured breathing, the kind of controlled calm that preceded his most dangerous moments,
“Your father came to me three days before his death,” Leo continued. “He had evidence of Nathaniel’s operations, enough to bring down half the city’s corrupt elite.”
“Including you,” Nathaniel interjected, his smile widening. “Tell her the rest, Leo. Tell her how you turned him away.”
My hand pressed against my stomach, our child moving as if sensing my distress. “Leo, please…”
“I told him I couldn’t help.” Leo’s voice cracked with rare emotion. “That getting involved -would start a war neither of us could win. I offered him money, a new identity, a chance to
disappear with you and your mother. But he refused.”
“Because he was a fool,” Nathaniel said softly. “A fool who thought he could change things. Just like his daughter.”
“I didn’t know.” Leo’s words came faster now. “I swear to you, Victoria, I didn’t know what
Nathaniel was planning. When I heard about your father’s death, I started investigating, but by
then-”
“By then I had everything locked down,” Nathaniel finished. “The properties, the evidence, and most importantly, you.” His eyes met mine. “The grieving daughter, so desperate for comfort that she fell right into my arms. Into my bed. Into marriage.”
Bile rose in my throat as memories shifted, realigned. All those nights Nathaniel had held me while I cried over Dad’s death – had he been laughing inside? Celebrating his perfect manipulation?
“You see, Victoria,” Nathaniel continued, “everyone betrays you in the end. Your father chose his principles over your freedom. Leo chose his empire over your father’s life. And you?” His laugh was soft, cruel. “You chose your own survival over everything else.”
“That’s not true.” But even as I said it, doubt crept in. Had I known, somewhere deep inside, that Nathaniel was behind Dad’s death? Had I married him anyway, choosing safety over
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“I didn’t know.” Leo’s words came faster now. “I swear to you, Victoria, I didn’t know what Nathaniel was planning. When I heard about your father’s death, I started investigating, but by
then-”
“By then I had everything locked down,” Nathaniel finished. “The properties, the evidence, and most importantly, you.” His eyes met mine. “The grieving daughter, so desperate for comfort that she fell right into my arms. Into my bed. Into marriage.”
Bile rose in my throat as memories shifted, realigned. All those nights Nathaniel had held me while I cried over Dad’s death – had he been laughing inside? Celebrating his perfect manipulation?
“You see, Victoria,” Nathaniel continued, “everyone betrays you in the end. Your father chose his principles over your freedom. Leo chose his empire over your father’s life. And you?” His laugh was soft, cruel. “You chose your own survival over everything else.”
“That’s not true.” But even as I said it, doubt crept in. Had I known, somewhere deep inside, that Nathaniel was behind Dad’s death? Had I married him anyway, choosing safety over justice?
“Here’s what happens next.” Nathaniel’s gun didn’t waver from my stomach. “You’re going to get in my car. We’re going to that press conference together, where you’ll confess to everything – your mother’s death, your father’s murder, all of it. Leo’s empire stays intact, and our child grows up with both parents.”
“And if I refuse?”
His smile turned predatory. “Then I release the full video of that night. Not just your father’s death, but the aftermath. The deals you made, the papers you signed, the careful way you constructed your alibi. How long do you think Leo’s protection will last?”
Through my earpiece, I heard Sofia’s voice, urgent and low. “Backup team in position. Give the word and-”
“No.” Leo’s command was sharp. “Everyone hold.”
I looked at the gun aimed at my child, at the USB drive burning in my pocket, at the woman I used to be dying in pieces at my feet.
“Time to choose, Victoria,” Nathaniel said softly. “Who are you really? The grieving daughter? The loving wife? Or the survivor who’ll do anything to protect what’s hers?”
My hand slipped into my pocket, fingers closing around the drive that contained both salvation and damnation. One choice left. One chance to prove who I really was.
I took a step forward, then another. “You’re right about one thing, Nathaniel.” My voice was steady now. “I am a survivor.”
The next words I spoke would change everything – would determine if I was truly my father’s daughter, or if Nathaniel had been right about me all along.
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