The moment Alex plugged in the USB, the entire screen turned black.
For a few tense seconds, nothing happened. Then, letter by letter, a new message appeared.
"You were never meant to know."
Alex's jaw clenched. The words felt like a whisper from the past—something hidden just beyond his reach. Emilia moved closer, staring at the screen as if it might explode.
Julian stood calmly across the room, watching them like a man who had just set off a bomb and was waiting for the smoke to clear.
A video file popped up on the screen, labeled only with a date.
"December 17, 2002."
Alex's stomach twisted. That date—it was the day before his parents had died.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard. A part of him didn't want to press play. A part of him knew that whatever was on this video would change everything.
But hesitation had never been his style.
He clicked the file.
The screen flickered, then came to life with grainy footage from a security camera. A dimly lit room appeared, filled with heavy leather chairs and a long, polished table. At least a dozen men sat around it, dressed in sharp suits. At the head of the table sat a man Alex recognized instantly.
His father.
Richard Carter.
Alive.
Alex's breath caught in his throat. His father looked exactly as he remembered—stern, powerful, unreadable. But the way he sat, the tension in his shoulders… something wasn't right.
Then, another figure entered the frame.
A man in a mask.
The same mask Nathan Blackwood had worn the night he tried to kill Alex.
The voice that came from behind the mask was cold. "You've been warned, Richard. The Syndicate doesn't tolerate defiance."
Richard Carter's jaw tightened. "And I don't tolerate threats."
Julian's voice cut through the silence. "Watch closely, Alex."
On the screen, Richard reached into his jacket and pulled out a small black drive—the same kind Julian had given Alex. He slid it across the table.
"I have proof," Richard said. "Of everything. The Syndicate's real leaders. The money laundering. The assassinations. If anything happens to me, this goes public."
The masked man laughed. "You think you can threaten us? You're a Carter. You were never meant to leave the Syndicate."
Alex's stomach dropped. His father… was part of them?
The video continued.
Richard's hands curled into fists. "I never wanted this life for my son."
The masked man leaned forward. "Then you should have never had a son."
A single gunshot rang out.
Richard Carter jerked back, blood blooming across his chest.
Alex's mother screamed. She tried to run, but another shot cut through the air.
She collapsed beside Richard, her hand reaching for him in the last seconds of her life.
Alex's blood turned to ice.
The video ended.
The room was silent.
Emilia pressed a hand to her mouth. Alex just stared at the screen, his mind unable to process what he had just seen.
His father hadn't just been murdered.
He had been executed.
And worse—his father had been one of them.
Alex turned to Julian, his voice deadly quiet. "Why show me this?"
Julian's smirk had vanished. "Because you need to understand, Alex. You were never just some billionaire who built an empire. You inherited one."
Alex felt like the ground beneath him was crumbling. "No," he said, shaking his head. "That's not true."
Julian tilted his head. "Isn't it? How do you think you got where you are? Do you really believe your success was just… luck? The right deals? The right investors?" He took a step forward. "Your father was one of the Syndicate's most powerful members. When he died, they made sure his son stayed on top."
Alex felt sick.
"Everything you've built," Julian said softly, "was because of them."
Emilia grabbed Alex's hand, trying to ground him. "That's not true," she whispered. "You fought for everything."
Julian's smirk returned. "Did he?"
Alex's mind was spinning. His entire life—every deal, every business decision—had it all been orchestrated? Had he been nothing more than a puppet in a game he never even knew he was playing?
His father had tried to escape the Syndicate. And they had killed him for it.
Now, they were coming for Alex.
Julian's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "So, tell me, Alex…"
He leaned in, his gray eyes gleaming.
"…Are you going to run like your father, or are you going to fight?"
Alex's grip on Emilia's hand tightened.
His father had tried to leave.
Alex?
He was going to burn them to the ground.
To Be Continued...