THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAINJason stared at the words glowing on the black card.TRUST NO ONE.Nobody spoke.Then Jason slipped the card into his pocket.“I’m going.”Marcus immediately shook his head.“You’re not going anywhere alone.”“My father specifically said to come alone.”“Exactly,” Marcus replied. “That’s why you shouldn’t.”Alexander leaned against the table.“Marcus is right.”Jason looked at him.“You've spent the last ten minutes telling me that everyone has been lying to me. Now you're both telling me what I should do.”“We're trying to keep you alive,” Marcus said.Jason stepped closer.“No. You're trying to keep me inside a story I didn't write.”Davina moved toward him.“Jason, please.”He looked at her.“You knew our marriage was part of a plan.”“Yes.”“You knew my father was alive?”“No.”“Did you know about Alexander?”Davina hesitated.“That hesitation is an answer.”She looked away.“I knew there was another Blackwell. I didn't know he was Richard's brother.”Jason nod

CHAPTER 14THE BETRAYAL Jason stared at the phone.“He was betrayed.”Those words wouldn't leave his mind,he looked at Daniel.“You knew.”Daniel remained silent.“You knew my father wasn't killed.”“I knew Richard was alive.”“That isn't what I asked.”Jason stepped toward him,“You knew someone betrayed him.”Daniel finally nodded.“Yes.”“Who?”“I don't know.”Jason's expression hardened.“Everyone gives me the same answer.”“Because the truth is dangerous.”“No. Because everyone is afraid of it.”Daniel looked toward the screens,“You should be afraid too.”Jason turned back.“I spent my entire life believing my father abandoned me. I watched my mother struggle. I was humiliated by the Hale family. I worked for three years without being paid.”His voice tightened.“And now you're telling me all of it happened because somebody wanted to control my family?”Daniel said nothing.Jason continued.“I'm done being protected.”he raised the black card,“Show me everything.”Daniel's eyes widened

THE NIGHT HE DISAPPEARED“I was the reason he never came home.”Jason stared at Alexander,For several seconds nobody moved,Then Jason stepped forward,“What does that mean?”Alexander didn't answer.Jason's voice hardened,“I asked you a question.”Alexander looked toward the dark screens,“The night Richard disappeared, I was supposed to die.”Jason frowned,“That doesn't explain anything.”“I know.”“Then explain it.”Alexander took a slow breath,“Your father discovered that someone inside the Blackwell network was selling information.”“Victor Kane?”Alexander shook his head.“Not Victor.”Jason's eyes narrowed,“Then who?”“We never found out.”“You expect me to believe that?”“I expect you to understand what happened next.”Alexander walked toward the central table.“Richard believed the betrayal came from someone close to him. Someone who had access to the Protocol, the family accounts, and the private facilities.”Jason followed.“What did he do?”“He created a trap.”“For the traitor?”

THE NAME HE FEAREDJason stared at Alexander.For several seconds,nobody spoke.The words Alexander had just said seemed to hang in the room.The person who betrayed your father… is the reason your father has stayed hidden for twenty-nine years.Jason took a slow breath.“Then tell me who it is.”Alexander looked away.“Alexander.”“I can't.”Jason stepped closer. “You just told me you know.”“I do.”“Then say the name.”Alexander remained silent.Jason's voice hardened. “My father disappeared when I was six years old. My mother spent twenty-nine years lying to me.I spent years believing my father abandoned us. Now I find out he's alive and that someone betrayed him.”He pointed toward the screen where Richard's recording had disappeared.“And my father himself just told me you know who that person is.”Alexander finally looked at him.“Yes.”“Then why are you still protecting that person?”“I'm not protecting them.”“Then what are you doing?”“Protecting you.”Jason gave a bitter laugh.“Ev

THE WATCH THAT HELD THE SECRETJason stood motionless, his father's silver watch resting in his pocket.His mother had just confirmed what he feared most, the person who betrayed Richard Blackwell might still be searching for the same evidence Richard had hidden.“Mother, I need you to explain something,” he said. “If Father trusted you with this watch, why didn't he tell you what was inside it?”“He said knowing too much could put me in danger.”“Yet you kept it for twenty-nine years without knowing what it contained?”“I kept it because he asked me to. At the time, I believed your father would return before I ever needed to understand why.”Jason pulled a chair closer and sat down.“Did he tell you that Victor Kane was dangerous?”“He told me Victor was involved in something that could destroy the Blackwell family. But he never explained the full situation.”“Did he believe Victor was the person who betrayed him?”His mother shook her head.“Not exactly. Richard suspected Victor kne