The Billionaire Heir's Revenge

Chapter 15: Truth or Deception

The auditorium was deathly silent.

Thousands of people stared at the stranger.

Nobody dared speak.

Nobody dared breathe too loudly.

The man stood calmly before the stage.

As though he had not just dropped a bomb capable of shaking Ethan's entire world.

"I am your real father."

The words echoed endlessly in Ethan's mind.

Impossible.

His father's letter.

The family photographs.

The Phoenix File.

Everything pointed toward Alexander Blackwell.

Yet the photograph in the stranger's hand was real.

Ethan could tell.

It wasn't fabricated.

It wasn't edited.

It was old.

Very old.

The baby in the picture was undoubtedly him.

And standing beside that baby...

Was the man before him.

For the first time in years, Ethan felt completely lost.

The shareholders meeting was immediately suspended.

Security evacuated the auditorium.

Reporters were blocked.

Phones confiscated.

Within thirty minutes, Ethan, Sebastian, Ava, Isabella, Leonard, and the stranger sat inside a secure conference room.

The atmosphere was tense.

Very tense.

Nobody trusted the newcomer.

Especially Sebastian.

The old steward's eyes never left him.

"You shouldn't have come."

The stranger smiled faintly.

"And yet here I am."

Sebastian's expression darkened.

Ethan immediately noticed.

"You know him."

The room froze.

Sebastian remained silent.

Too silent.

The stranger laughed softly.

"I was wondering how long it would take."

Ethan slowly stood.

"Enough."

His voice was cold.

"Someone explain."

The stranger leaned back.

Then calmly answered.

"My name is Victor Ashford."

The name meant nothing to Ethan.

But the reaction of everyone else told a different story.

Leonard's face turned pale.

Ava's eyes widened.

Even Isabella looked shocked.

Only Ethan remained confused.

"What does that name mean?"

Isabella swallowed.

"Victor Ashford disappeared fifteen years ago."

The room became silent.

"He was one of the founders of Project Phoenix."

Boom.

Ethan's heartbeat accelerated.

One of the founders?

Victor nodded.

"Correct."

Ethan's eyes narrowed.

"Then tell me the truth."

Victor sighed.

"I intend to."

Several minutes later.

The room remained completely silent as Victor spoke.

"Alexander Blackwell was your father."

Ethan frowned.

"Then why claim otherwise?"

Victor's expression became complicated.

"Because blood and fatherhood are not always the same thing."

Nobody interrupted.

Victor continued.

"Before you were born, your parents knew they were being hunted."

"They needed protection."

"Someone they trusted."

Ethan already knew where this was going.

Victor smiled sadly.

"That person was me."

The room became quiet.

"When your parents went into hiding..."

"I protected you."

"I carried you."

"I fed you."

"I raised you during your earliest years."

His eyes softened slightly.

"You called me father before you ever learned to say Alexander."

Ethan froze.

Something stirred deep inside his mind.

A memory.

Small.

Broken.

Fragmented.

A tall man lifting him into the air.

Laughter.

A warm hand.

A voice.

A familiar voice.

Victor's voice.

Pain suddenly shot through Ethan's head.

He grabbed the table.

"Ethan!"

Isabella rushed forward.

"I'm fine."

But he wasn't.

Because more memories were surfacing.

Tiny pieces.

Tiny fragments.

Things he had forgotten long ago.

At that moment—

A loud alarm suddenly erupted throughout headquarters.

Red lights flashed.

Everyone jumped.

A security officer burst into the room.

"Chairman!"

"What happened?"

The officer looked terrified.

"The detention unit was breached."

The room froze.

"The captured attackers escaped."

Boom.

Silence.

Every prisoner captured during the previous assault had vanished.

Leonard's face darkened.

"How?"

The officer swallowed.

"We don't know."

"The internal security system was overridden."

Everyone exchanged serious looks.

Only one conclusion made sense.

The traitor had acted.

Again.

Elsewhere.

Deep beneath Blackwell Global Headquarters.

A hidden elevator descended.

Inside stood Richard Kane.

His expression remained calm.

The escape operation had succeeded perfectly.

Before him stood three surviving Black Phoenix operatives.

One of them bowed.

"Director Kane."

Richard smiled.

"You've done well."

The operative hesitated.

"The heir suspects someone."

Richard laughed.

"Good."

The operative looked confused.

Richard's smile widened.

"Suspicion creates fear."

"Fear creates mistakes."

He turned toward a large monitor.

On it appeared Ethan's image.

For a brief moment, Richard's polite executive mask disappeared.

What remained was something darker.

Something dangerous.

Something hateful.

"I've waited fifteen years for this."

Back upstairs.

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

The traitor had acted again.

And this time, it happened inside Blackwell Global's most secure facility.

Victor suddenly spoke.

"The traitor isn't your biggest problem."

Ethan frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Victor's expression became serious.

"The Black Phoenix has already started moving."

"We know that."

"No."

Victor shook his head.

"You don't."

The room became silent.

Victor slowly removed a small file from his coat.

Then placed it on the table.

Everyone stared.

Across the cover were three words.

SUBJECT ZERO FILE

Ethan immediately recognized the name.

The same mysterious name mentioned by the attackers.

The same name hidden inside intelligence reports.

His pulse quickened.

Victor looked directly into his eyes.

Then quietly said:

"Subject Zero isn't a project."

The room fell silent.

"It isn't a weapon."

"It isn't an archive."

Ethan felt a chill run down his spine.

Because something about Victor's expression frightened him.

Finally, Victor delivered the truth.

"Subject Zero is a person."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Then Victor pointed directly at Ethan.

And said the words that changed everything.

"Subject Zero is you."

The world seemed to stop.

Every sound vanished.

Every thought disappeared.

Because after fifteen years of secrets...

Ethan had finally discovered what the Black Phoenix truly wanted.

And it wasn't the Phoenix Archive.

It was him.