Chapter 459
Chapter 459:
“I don’t know how this ends,” he admitted. “I don’t know if I can stop. I don’t know if I want to stop.”
His phone rang. Victoria Kane’s name flashed on the screen.
Alexander’s blood turned to ice. He let it ring once, twice, before answering with carefully controlled composure.
“Victoria. Is everything alright?”
“I need to see you.” Her voice was sharp, cutting. “My office. Now.”
“Of course. Is this about the server outage?”
“Among other things. How quickly can you get here?”
Alexander stood, brushing dirt from his knees. “Twenty minutes.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
The line went dead. Alexander stared at his phone, knowing that his world was about to change forever. Victoria had discovered something. The careful facade he had maintained for months was about to crumble.
He looked down at his uncle’s grave one last time. “I think she knows, Uncle Richard. I think the game is almost over.”
Victoria Kane’s office felt like a trap when Alexander entered. She sat behind her massive desk, a thin folder open before her. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the room, making her pale eyes appear almost colorless.
“Sit,” she commanded, not looking up from the folder.
Alexander took the chair across from her, his heart hammering against his ribs. Years of business negotiations had taught him to project calm, but this felt different. More dangerous.
“I’ve been doing some research,” Victoria said, still not meeting his eyes. “About dates. About anniversaries. About family connections.”
She looked up suddenly, pinning him with her stare. “Tell me about Richard Pierce.”
The question hit Alexander like a physical blow. He forced his expression to remain neutral, forced his voice to stay steady. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
L𝖆𝑡𝓮𝓼𝓉 с𝗁𝓪ⲣ𝓉𝓮𝗋𝓈 𝗀αⱠn𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀．ⅽ𝑜𝖒
“Richard Pierce. Founder of Meridian Technologies. Committed suicide fifteen years ago today.” Victoria’s voice was soft, deadly. “Tell me about him.”
Alexander’s mind raced through possible responses, calculating risks, weighing options. Denial would only work if she had no proof. Partial truth might satisfy her curiosity. Or she might already know everything.
“He was my uncle,” Alexander said quietly. “My father’s brother.”
Victoria’s hands stilled on the folder. “Your uncle.”
“Yes. He took me in after my parents… after I left home as a teenager.”
“And you never thought to mention this when you married my daughter? When you started working closely with Kane Industries?”
Alexander met her gaze directly. “It was painful. Personal. I saw no reason to bring up ancient history.”
“Ancient history?” Victoria’s laugh was bitter. “Your uncle’s suicide on the day Meridian Technologies collapsed. My company’s server failure on the fifteenth anniversary of that same date. You call that a coincidence?”
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