Chapter 33
The conference room felt oppressive. The weight of the air seemed to thicken with every passing second as Emma sat at the long, polished table, her fingers gripping the edges, her heart racing. Jack stood by the window, his back to the room, staring out over the skyline of New York, his expression dark and distant. He had always been the first to sense when something was off, when the storm clouds were gathering. But today, the storm was no longer on the horizon—it was here, bearing down on them all.
Thomas Hamilton sat across from Emma, his face taut with the gravity of the moment. His eyes, usually sharp and confident, were now veiled with a tension that Emma could read all too well. The room was silent except for the soft hum of the air conditioner, and the weight of what they were about to uncover hung in the air like a living thing, pressing down on them all.
“Emma,” Thomas began, his voice quieter than usual, almost hesitant, “I’ve gathered everything I could for now. But then we find out something else… It is personally related to Alex. It’s about Buenos Aires.”
Emma’s breath caught in her throat. She could already feel the tremor of dread creeping up her spine. For months she tried to get the truth from Alex about the events in Buenos Aires—the truths Alex buried in the past that even he couldn’t bring himself to face. But now, as the pieces started to come together, she feared those truths might destroy everything she had believed in. Everything they had built together.
“Show me,” Emma demanded, her voice firm even as her heart raced. Jack shifted uneasily beside her, but she couldn’t look at him. She needed to see the truth, no matter how much it hurt. She needed to understand the burden Alex had carried—and the secrets he had hidden.
Thomas hesitated, his fingers lingering on the edge of the manila file. “Emma, once you see this, there’s no going back,” he warned, his voice low.
“I’m already past that point,” she said.
With a nod, Thomas slid the file across the table. Emma grabbed it, her hands trembling as she flipped it open. The first image hit her like a punch to the gut. Alex, his shirt soaked in blood, stood amid the chaos of a blazing inferno. His face, shadowed and anguished, was barely visible through the smoke.
Her breath caught. She had seen the photo before, hidden in Alex’s private files, but she had never known its context. Now, the truth loomed in front of her, dark and unrelenting.
“Tell me what happened,” she said, her voice hoarse.
Thomas sighed, leaning back in his chair. “It was five years ago. Buenos Aires. The facility was one of Luka Diaz’s major operations, a high-secret facility. Officially, the fire was ruled an accident caused by faulty equipment. But that’s a lie.”
“Tell me everything,” Emma repeated, her voice steady despite the panic clawing at the edges of her mind. She needed to hear it all. There was no turning back now.
Emma felt her stomach churn. She had always known that Alex’s connection to the Diaz family was complicated—too many secrets, too many dark corners. But to hear it like this, cold and hard, laid out before her, was like watching her world crumble into pieces.
Thomas exchanged a glance with Jack before continuing. “Alex went to the facility that night to meet someone—a whistleblower. The man had evidence of illegal Diaz operations: trafficking, money laundering, weapons deals. He was going to expose it all, and Alex was there to get the documents and secure his safety.”
“Why Alex?” Emma asked, her throat tightening.
“Because at the time, he and Sophia were… involved,” Thomas explained carefully. “Sophia was still aligned with the Diaz family, but she knew what Luka was capable of. She tipped Alex off about the whistleblower. She thought getting him involved would force Luka to back down.”
Emma swallowed hard, the weight of the betrayal sinking in.
“But Luka found out,” Thomas continued. “Instead of pulling back, he retaliated. He ordered the facility torched to eliminate the whistleblower—and anyone inside.”
The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Emma stared at the next photo in the file: charred debris, bodies covered in soot, firefighters struggling to contain the blaze.
“Alex tried to save them,” Thomas said. “When Alex tried to organize a rescue mission, he was exposed. Luka had people on the scene, and when things started to spiral out of control, Alex became the scapegoat. Luka used the incident to leverage control over him. He threatened to expose everything—Alex’s involvement in the fire, the fact that he was caught in the middle of a massive corporate disaster. Alex had no choice but to cover it up, to bury the truth.”
Emma’s heart ached as she imagined Alex in that moment, alone in the flames, not knowing who to trust, only knowing that his life, and the lives of others, were on the line. But Luka had made sure there would be no heroes in this story—only victims.
Tears blurred Emma’s vision as she read the witness statements. Alex’s actions were heroic, but they had come at a cost.
“Luka didn’t just let it go,” Thomas said grimly. “He twisted the narrative. Bribed officials. Falsified reports. He made it look like Alex’s interference caused the chaos. Luka ensured Alex bore the blame—not just legally, but morally.”
“And Alex let him?” Emma’s voice cracked with disbelief.
“He didn’t have a choice,” Jack interjected. “Luka threatened to destroy him completely. He promised to bury Barrett Industries and use his connections to implicate his family. Alex thought silence was the only way to protect everything he cares about.”
Emma’s chest tightened as she flipped to the final pages of the file: Luka’s bribes, fabricated witness statements, and evidence that Alex had been coerced into signing a non-disclosure agreement. The truth was buried under layers of lies.
“And the photograph?” Emma asked, her voice thick. She needed to understand the significance of the image. The one that had always haunted her—of Alex, covered in blood, standing in front of a burning house.
“Luka used that photograph as leverage,” Thomas said, his voice cold. “He knew that Alex would never want the truth to come out, never want anyone to know what really happened. So he kept that photo. And every time Alex tried to break free, every time he tried to step outside the Diaz family’s grip, Luka used it to remind him of his guilt. His failure.”
“That bastard,” Jack muttered under his breath, his fists clenched. “He’s been holding Alex hostage with those photos and information for years.”
Emma felt a wave of disgust flood over her. How many times had she tried to understand Alex’s coldness, his need to control everything, his reluctance to let anyone in? How many times had she wondered why he never opened up to her, why he never trusted her fully?
And now she realized—he hadn’t been shutting her out. He had been protecting his family. And then from some point even her. All that time. From a past so dark, so riddled with guilt and manipulation, that it had consumed him in ways she could never have imagined.
Emma’s mind was racing. “We need to make sure that Luka can never use this to control Alex again. And we need to make sure that no one else gets their hands on this information.”
“I want you to help me.” She turned to Thomas, her voice firm. “We’re going to find every shred of evidence that links the Diaz family to this—every original document, every piece of blackmail. And we’re going to make sure they never have access to it again. If they think they can destroy Alex, they’re wrong. I won’t let them.”
Thomas looked at her with an unreadable expression, his gaze intense.
“Are you sure about this, Emma? Once we take this step, there’s no turning back. Luka won’t take this lying down. He’ll come after us. After you.”
“I don’t care,” Emma said, her voice resolute. “I’ve spent too long hiding in the shadows. It’s time to take control.”
“We do this right, and we’ll expose them for good.” Jack stepped forward, his eyes hard with determination. “We’ll take everything they’ve built and turn it against them.”
“Let’s make sure we’re ready.” Emma looked at her brother, then back at Thomas. “We can’t let anything slip. This is our chance to end this.”
The room seemed to close in on them as the weight of their plan settled in. There was no going back now. They had the truth. And with it, they would tear the Diaz family’s world apart.
For Alex. For the man she loved. For the father of her children. She would do whatever it took.
“Let’s get to work,” Emma said, her voice unyielding.
As they left the conference room, Emma’s mind was spinning. The pieces were falling into place, and she could feel the rush of adrenaline in her veins. But in the back of her mind, there was a lingering doubt—a fear that the truth might not set Alex free the way she hoped.
Because even if they exposed everything, even if they brought Luka and the Diaz family to their knees, the question still remained: would Alex ever truly be able to forgive himself?
The answer to that, Emma knew, would come later. For now, she had to make sure that Alex’s past no longer had power over him. She would protect him, no matter the cost.
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