Chapter 8: The Man Who Disappeared

Alexander stared at Vanessa as if he had never seen her before.

“You’re telling me Isabella’s father is alive?”

Vanessa pulled her phone from his hand and placed it on the table. “I’m telling you that your father helped him disappear five years ago.”

“Why would my father help a Laurent?”

“Because they had an agreement.”

Alexander gave a bitter laugh. “What agreement?”

Vanessa hesitated, and that hesitation made his anger rise.

“Don’t start hiding things from me now. You knew about Isabella before I married her. You knew her grandmother was wealthy. You knew about the shares. What else have you been keeping from me?”

Vanessa’s face hardened.

“I knew your father wanted control of Laurent Holdings. I also knew Eleanor had refused to cooperate. But when Isabella’s father discovered what they were planning, everything changed.”

“What exactly did he discover?”

“That someone was using the company to move money illegally.”

Alexander stepped back.

“You’re saying my father was involved in fraud?”

“I’m saying he knew about it. I don’t know how far his involvement went.”

Alexander rubbed his forehead, trying to make sense of what he was hearing. His father had always told him the Laurent family was responsible for the collapse of an important business deal. He had never mentioned that Isabella’s father might have been the reason it failed.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“Because I promised your father I wouldn’t.”

Alexander looked at her sharply.

“You made a promise to my father about Isabella’s family?”

Vanessa looked away.

Before he could demand another explanation, her phone vibrated again.

This time, the message contained a photograph.

It showed a middle-aged man standing outside a small restaurant, his face clearly visible.

Vanessa’s hand began to shake.

Alexander took the phone.

“Who is this?”

She whispered, “Isabella’s father.”

At Sterling Tower, Isabella had barely slept.

The photograph and her grandmother’s message kept returning to her mind. If her father was alive, why had he never contacted her? Why had Eleanor allowed her to grow up believing he was gone?

Michael had promised to investigate the photograph, but Isabella wanted answers sooner.

She arrived at Dominic’s office shortly after nine.

His assistant informed her that he was in a meeting, but Dominic appeared at the doorway before she could leave.

“You’re early.”

“I need your help.”

He stepped aside, allowing her into his office. “Tell me.”

Isabella placed the photograph on his desk.

“My grandmother’s letter says the betrayal began with my father. Alexander’s wife claims he may still be alive.”

Dominic studied her face.

“How did you hear that?”

“Vanessa knows something. I don’t know what, but I believe she’s hiding it.”

Dominic picked up his phone and called someone.

“Send the investigator’s preliminary report to my office. Now.”

He ended the call and turned back to Isabella.

“We’ve been tracing the transactions connected to Vance Capital. There was an account opened under a different name shortly after your father disappeared.”

“Can it be traced?”

“Possibly. But there’s a problem.”

“What problem?”

“The account was funded through a company that still has a connection to Laurent Holdings.”

Isabella frowned. “Someone inside my company?”

“That’s what the records suggest.”

A knock interrupted them.

Dominic’s assistant entered with a sealed envelope and placed it on his desk.

“The report you requested, sir.”

Dominic opened it and scanned the first page. His expression grew serious.

“What is it?” Isabella asked.

He passed her the report.

A photograph was attached to the first page. It showed a man entering a private bank in Switzerland.

Isabella recognized him immediately.

Her father.

Beneath the photograph was a date from just three weeks earlier.

Her fingers tightened around the paper.

“He’s alive.”

Dominic nodded. “And someone has been sending money to him through an account connected to your inheritance.”

Isabella looked up.

“Who?”

Dominic turned to the final page.

“The account was authorized by someone using Eleanor Laurent’s private access code.”

Isabella’s heart sank.

“My grandmother is dead.”

“Yes.”

“Then who has her code?”

Dominic didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he pointed to the authorization record.

The name beside the transaction was unmistakable.

Michael Hayes.

Across the city, Michael sat alone in his office, staring at the same photograph of Isabella’s father.

His phone rang.

He answered without greeting.

“She’s seen the report,” a man’s voice said.

Michael closed his eyes.

“Not all of it.”

“That doesn’t matter anymore. You were supposed to keep her away from the truth.”

“I have protected that family for twenty years.”

“Then protect them for a little longer.”

Michael’s grip tightened around the phone.

“What do you want me to do?”

The voice became colder.

“Make sure Isabella never discovers who her father really is.”

The call ended.

Michael slowly lowered the phone, then opened the bottom drawer of his desk.

Inside was a second envelope, older than Eleanor’s sealed file.

Written across its front were four words:

ISABELLA’S TRUE BIRTH RECORD.

He stared at it for a long moment before locking the drawer.

Because the truth about Isabella’s father was only the beginning.

And the truth about Isabella herself was far more dangerous.