Chapter 10 - Elena’s Last Secret
Eli heard the call.
“What did he say?”
Victor did not want to ask.
He had already watched too many adults turn children into evidence.
But Eli was staring at him.
“Tell me.”
Victor sighed.
“He told me to ask who your father is.”
Eli’s face closed.
“I don’t have one.”
“You had one.”
“My mom said he was dead.”
Nora, sitting by the window, whispered, “She stopped saying that last year.”
Eli turned on her. “Stop.”
“No.” Nora’s voice shook. “You always tell me to stop when you’re scared.”
Victor remembered the corrupted end of Elena’s video.
Dana sent the microSD card to a forensic lab.
Hours later, technicians recovered twelve seconds of damaged footage.
Elena appeared again.
“There’s one more thing Victor needs to know.”
She took a breath.
“Grant Hale is Eli’s biological father.”
The room went silent.
Eli stood so fast his chair fell backward.
“No.”
Elena continued on-screen.
“He assaulted me after a company event eleven years ago. I never told Victor because Grant threatened my job, then my family. When Eli was born, Grant demanded silence.”
Eli backed toward the door.
“No.”
Victor stopped the video.
Eli ran.
Victor tried to follow, forgetting his body was still weak. He pushed too hard, caught one wheel on the rug, and tipped sideways.
Eli froze at the doorway.
Victor hit the floor.
For a second neither moved.
Then Eli came back.
He grabbed Victor’s arm.
“Why do grown-ups ruin everything?”
Victor looked at the boy’s furious, shattered face.
“Because some of us spend our whole lives confusing power with permission.”
Eli cried without sound.
Victor pulled him close.
Later that night, Grant called from federal custody.
Victor almost refused the call.
Then he answered.
Grant said, “Simon is going after the kids.”
Victor’s blood turned cold.
“Why would you warn me?”
“Because he has nothing left to lose.”
May you like
Victor tightened his grip on the phone.
Grant added, “And because Rosie isn’t Elena’s daughter.”
