The Heir’s Deception

CHAPTER 1 — THE FALL

Reporters crowded beneath umbrellas, shouting questions that sliced through the downpour like knives. “Marco! Did you know about the falsified accounts?”

“Was it your idea to move the funds offshore?”

“Is it true your father’s collapse was your doing?”

Marco stood in the doorway, drenched, expression unreadable. Inside, through the glass walls, men in suits rifled through boxes, his father’s life’s work reduced to paper and dust.

The air smelled of wet concrete and betrayal. A voice he knew too well cut through the noise. “Step aside, Marco.”

Damian Cruz descended the steps like a king returning from war. Perfect suit. Perfect smile. His arm draped casually around Elena, her gaze fixed on the ground, lips trembling.

Marco’s fists clenched. “You don’t belong here, Damian.”

Damian smirked. “On the contrary, little brother. The board’s already voted. You’re out. Effective immediately.”

“That company was my father’s”

“And you ruined it.” Damian’s tone sharpened. “You moved the funds. You made the deal. You buried his name in debt. It’s all here.” He waved a folder in front of the cameras like a trophy.

Marco’s pulse roared in his ears. “You know that’s a lie.”

“Then prove it.” Damian’s grin widened, a predator scenting blood. “Go on. Tell them how you were tricked by your business partners. Tell them you were too stupid to see it coming.”

A murmur rippled through the crowd. Marco’s jaw tightened, his throat thick with words he couldn’t say. The documents were fake, he knew it, but Damian had sealed every exit, every ally gone, every door closed.

Elena’s voice trembled. “Damian, stop. Not like this”

He didn’t look at her. “It has to be public, love. Actions have consequences.”

Marco met her eyes. She looked away. That hurt more than the accusations. Security approached. “Sir, you’ll have to leave the premises.”

Marco laughed once, low, disbelieving. “My father’s body isn’t even cold, and you’re already throwing me out?”

Damian leaned close, the cameras flashing around them. “This city eats the weak, Marco. You should’ve learned that by now.”

He whispered, just for Marco to hear: “Run. Far away. And don’t come back.”

The rain turned heavier, blurring faces into ghosts. Marco’s last glimpse of his home was Elena clutching Damian’s arm as if to steady herself, tears lost in the storm.

Then he walked away. No car. No umbrella. Just the echo of betrayal chasing him down every street. Three days later.

The city moved on. Headlines screamed SCANDAL ROCKS VELEZ EMPIRE while talk shows dissected his fall like vultures.

Marco sat on a bench at the edge of the pier, the skyline a blur of silver and neon. His phone vibrated, a message from an unknown number. “You don’t deserve this. Meet me tonight. Warehouse 17. Midnight.”

He frowned. No name. Just that. He deleted it, then typed it back into memory anyway. A gull cried overhead. Waves hit the dock. Somewhere behind him, footsteps approached.

“Rough week?” a stranger’s voice said.

Marco turned. A man in a dark coat stood under the pier lights, face hidden by shadow. “Who are you?” Marco asked.

The man smiled faintly. “A messenger. Your father left something behind, something not even Damian knows about.”

Marco’s breath caught. “What do you mean?”

“A legacy,” the man said. “And a choice.” He handed Marco an envelope. “You’ll understand when you open it. But once you do, you can’t go back.”

Marco hesitated. “Why me?”

“Because,” the man replied, stepping back into the darkness, “the city that buried you is about to remember your name.”

Lightning cracked above the skyline. The stranger was gone. Marco tore open the envelope. Inside was a single line written in his father’s hand: “When everything falls, start again from the shadows.”

He stared at the words as the wind tore through the pier, rain slicing across his face.

Behind him, sirens wailed, distant, but drawing closer. He pocketed the note, turned toward the skyline that had exiled him, and whispered, “I’m coming back.”

The storm swallowed his voice, but the city would hear it soon enough.