Victor’s Version of Mercy
Chapter 12 - Victor’s Version of Mercy
Victor appeared on national television from an undisclosed location.
He called Evelyn’s confinement a medical decision approved by doctors and Malcolm Vale. He denied causing the crash and accused Gabriel of exploiting two vulnerable women.
Then he released Gabriel’s old detention records.
The files described violent outbursts, escape attempts, and paranoid claims about the Vale family. They were written by guards paid through Horizon accounts.
Public opinion split.
Some saw Gabriel as a victim.
Others saw a dangerous man returning for revenge.
Vale International’s board scheduled the merger vote despite the investigation. Victor still controlled enough proxies to win if Owen’s shares were diluted.
Nora obtained a warrant report showing Dean had removed a hard drive from the west wing before surrendering. Without it, the recordings did not include the night of the crash.
Dean requested immunity.
He offered the drive in exchange.
Prosecutors agreed to consider reduced charges but refused full protection.
Dean confessed that Victor ordered road barriers moved and a security vehicle to force Evelyn toward the broken section of Blackwater Bridge. The plan was to frighten her into surrendering the ledgers.
The impact was supposed to be minor.
When her car went through the rail, Dean pulled her from the water. Victor wanted to call an ambulance.
Malcolm stopped him.
“A public rescue would expose everything,” Dean said. “Malcolm chose the company.”
They moved Evelyn to Vale House.
A deceased woman from an unrelated accident was identified using altered dental records.
Gabriel arrived at the bridge, saw the security vehicle, and began asking questions. Dean’s men abducted him before dawn.
“Why keep him alive?” Nora asked.
Dean looked toward the camera.
“Victor wanted him dead. Malcolm said a dead man creates investigations. A disgraced fugitive creates closure.”
The hard drive contained a video of the conversation.
It also showed something Dean had not mentioned.
A seventeen-year-old Victor stood beside Malcolm after the crash. He was young enough to look frightened and old enough to understand.
Malcolm said, “From tonight, you carry this family.”
Victor answered, “I will.”
The sentence became the foundation of everything he later called duty.
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Victor had inherited not only a company.
He had inherited permission to treat people as luggage.
