Part 8: The Final Move
The message remained on every phone screen.
MERCER INTERNATIONAL HAS BEEN COMPROMISED.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Five hundred people stood frozen beneath the golden chandeliers, watching the destruction of a family that had looked untouchable only an hour earlier.
My father took the nearest phone from a security officer.
His eyes scanned the screen.
The color drained from his face.
“What did he do?”
The security officer answered immediately.
“Sir, we’re getting reports from the headquarters.”
“And?”
A pause.
Then:
“Someone accessed the executive systems.”
My father’s jaw tightened.
“Who?”
The officer looked at him.
“Your authorization.”
Silence.
I stared.
“What?”
The officer swallowed.
“The access code came from your personal credentials.”
My father looked confused.
“That’s impossible.”
But then…
He stopped.
Because he knew.
He knew exactly how.
I looked at him.
“Dad?”
He didn’t answer.
“Dad, what happened?”
His eyes slowly moved toward me.
And I saw something I had never seen before.
Regret.
Not fear.
Regret.
Richard Hale stepped forward.
His confidence had returned.
The same arrogance he had shown when he insulted my father.
The same arrogance he had when he thought he controlled the room.
“You should have disappeared when I gave you the chance, Charles.”
My father looked at him.
“You think this is over?”
Richard smiled.
“No.”
“I think this is finally finished.”
I stepped forward.
“You planned my entire wedding for this?”
Richard looked at me.
Almost proudly.
“You were the perfect entry point.”
My hands clenched.
“My daughter?”
Vanessa’s voice cracked.
Everyone turned.
She looked at her father with horror.
“You used me.”
Richard didn’t even look guilty.
“Don’t be dramatic.”
That sentence broke something in her.
“I was your daughter.”
“And you were useful.”
The room went silent.
Even Vanessa looked like she finally understood who her father really was.
My father stepped beside me.
For the first time in my life…
We stood together as equals.
Not father and son.
Not billionaire and ordinary man.
Just two people facing the same enemy.
“Why?” I asked Richard.
He looked at me.
“Why destroy everything?”
He laughed.
“Because your father stole it from me.”
My father shook his head.
“No.”
Richard’s eyes became cold.
“Your father thinks he is different from me.”
“He isn’t.”
“He took everything.”
“He built his empire.”
“He became powerful.”
“And then he judged people like me.”
My father’s voice was calm.
“You tried to destroy innocent people.”
Richard smiled.
“Innocent?”
He looked around the room.
“Everyone here has blood on their hands.”
Nobody spoke.
Because somewhere deep down…
Some of them knew.
The police surrounded Richard.
But he didn’t panic.
That was when I realized something.
He wasn’t afraid.
Because he still had another move.
“You think arresting me fixes anything?”
He looked at my father.
“Your company is already collapsing.”
The security officer checked his phone.
His expression changed.
“Sir…”
My father turned.
“What?”
“The stock transfer.”
“What about it?”
A pause.
“The majority voting rights have been moved.”
My father went still.
“To who?”
The officer looked at Richard.
Richard smiled.
“To me.”
The room exploded.
People started shouting.
My father just stood there.
Silent.
For the first time…
He looked defeated.
I looked at him.
“Is it true?”
He didn’t answer.
Which meant yes.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone looked at me.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A voice spoke.
A woman’s voice.
“Daniel.”
My entire body froze.
Because I knew that voice.
I hadn’t heard it in years.
But some memories live in your bones.
“Mom?”
The room disappeared.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The voice on the other end trembled.
“Daniel…”
My knees nearly gave out.
“No.”
I looked at my father.
He looked just as shocked.
“That’s impossible.”
The voice continued.
“I’m sorry.”
I couldn’t speak.
My mother.
The woman I buried.
The woman I had mourned my entire life.
Alive.
“Where are you?”
Silence.
Then:
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why?”
A pause.
“Because they’re still watching.”
My father stepped closer.
“Who?”
My mother whispered:
“Everyone you trusted.”
The line crackled.
Then she said:
“Daniel, listen carefully.”
“Your father didn’t kill me.”
I looked at him.
My father closed his eyes.
“But someone did try.”
The room went silent.
My mother continued:
“And they are standing in that room with you.”
My blood turned cold.
I looked around.
Five hundred faces.
Friends.
Business partners.
Family.
Everyone.
My mother’s voice became urgent.
“Don’t trust anyone.”
The call suddenly cut.
I stared at the phone.
Then slowly lifted my eyes.
My father looked at me.
“What did she say?”
I whispered:
“She’s alive.”
Everyone froze.
Even Richard.
Because for the first time that night…
He looked afraid.
“No.”
He stepped back.
“That’s impossible.”
My father turned toward him.
And suddenly understood.
“You knew.”
Richard said nothing.
My father’s voice became deadly quiet.
“You knew she survived.”
Richard’s face changed.
And then…
The ballroom doors opened.
Everyone turned.
A woman stood there.
Older.
Different.
But unmistakable.
My mother.
Alive.
She looked at my father.
At me.
At Richard.
Then she said the words that shattered everything:
May you like
“Richard Hale.”
“You should have made sure I was dead.”
