Chapter 6 - MY FATHER’S SECRET
San Esteban was not a place my father wanted to discuss.
That alone told me it mattered.
We met in his private office after midnight.
He locked the door himself.
“Twenty-three years ago,” he said, “Escalante Capital almost failed.”
I waited.
“We invested in a shipping project in San Esteban.”
“A port?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“A government minister took bribes.”
“From you?”
“No.”
“Then why are you afraid?”
“Because my partner did.”
I stared at him.
“What partner?”
“Victor Vale.”
Andrew’s father.
My stomach dropped.
Andrew always said his father died before Vale Industries became successful.
That was true.
What he never knew was that Victor had once been my father’s business partner.
Rafael continued.
“Victor diverted money from the project.”
“Did you report him?”
“Eventually.”
“Eventually?”
“I tried to protect the company first.”
I felt anger rise.
“You covered it up.”
“For six months.”
“That is still a cover-up.”
“Yes.”
My father did not defend himself.
That made it harder to stay angry.
“What happened to Victor?”
“He was indicted.”
“He died before trial.”
“And Andrew?”
“He was nineteen.”
“Did he know?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because when you brought him home years later, I thought fate was playing a cruel joke.”
I stood.
“You knew who he was.”
“Immediately.”
“And you said nothing.”
“You loved him.”
“That was my decision.”
“Yes.”
His face tightened.
“I made the same mistake with you that powerful parents always make. I thought information was protection.”
The words hit hard because they sounded like Margaret.
Different family.
Same arrogance.
I turned toward the window.
“Does Andrew know now?”
“Someone told him.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
We found out the next day.
Brenda.
Her legal name was not Brenda Cole.
It was Brenda Vale.
Victor Vale’s daughter from an affair Andrew never knew about.
His half sister.
I read the birth record in disbelief.
“No.”
Gabriel nodded.
“She changed her name at eighteen.”
“Does Andrew know?”
“We don’t think so.”
I felt sick.
“Then why is she sleeping with him?”
Gabriel’s expression was grim.
“We don’t know that she is.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“The penthouse has one bedroom, but building security records show Andrew usually sleeps in the guest suite.”
That did not erase the betrayal.
But it changed the shape of it.
Brenda had entered Andrew’s life eight months earlier as a luxury branding consultant.
She flirted with him.
Fed his ego.
Encouraged his resentment toward me.
Pushed him to move money.
Pushed him to frame me.
Maybe she wanted more than Andrew.
Maybe she wanted revenge on both families.
That evening, Brenda contacted me directly.
One text.
I KNOW WHAT YOUR FATHER DID TO MINE.
Then another.
ANDREW IS ONLY THE FIRST PAYMENT.
A location followed.
An empty church in Queens.
Come alone.
I did not.
Gabriel waited two blocks away.
I entered through a side door.
Brenda sat in the front pew.
No crimson dress.
No diamonds.
Jeans.
Black sweater.
She looked almost ordinary.
“Did Andrew know who you are?” I asked.
“No.”
“You used him.”
“Yes.”
“You let him touch you.”
Her expression hardened.
“I let him believe he could.”
I sat across the aisle.
“What do you want?”
She pulled a flash drive from her pocket.
“Your father destroyed mine.”
“My father reported yours.”
“After helping him hide the money.”
“That part is true.”
She stared at me.
“So you admit it.”
“I admit my father failed.”
She seemed disappointed.
“You’re supposed to defend him.”
“I’m done defending men because I love them.”
For a second, Brenda had no answer.
Then she held up the drive.
“This proves Rafael lied to federal investigators twenty-three years ago.”
“Why give it to me?”
“I’m not.”
She smiled.
“I’m selling it.”
“To Andrew?”
“No.”
“To the one person who hates your family more than I do.”
May you like
The church doors opened behind me.
Margaret walked in.
