Chapter 222: A revenge

Victor’s expression changed all of a sudden. Fury returned.

"If Arthur had helped me back then, I would have never gone against the Rowan family." Bitter memories resurfaced.

"I begged him to save my mother. I went to him when I had nothing. I asked him for money, but he refused to help me. And it wasn’t just that. His son humiliated me and threw me out."

His entire body shook with anger as the old wound reopened.

"If Arthur had helped me, maybe she would have survived. Maybe I could have taken her to a better hospital. Maybe I could have bought the treatment she needed."

His eyes reddened.

"But he refused." Victor clenched his fists. "She died, and I couldn’t accept it. I blamed the Rowan family. I hated Arthur. I wanted him to suffer the same pain I had suffered."

"So you let Cedric kill my parents?" Elias roared. "Your mother died because of her ill health. She was already in the final stage of liver cancer. She was dying. You can’t blame my family for something they didn’t cause."

Victor stared at him in stunned silence, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

Deep down, he knew Elias was right.

He had known that his mother’s condition had been critical. The doctors had already warned him that her cancer was advanced and that treatment might not save her.

But when she died, Victor couldn’t accept it. He had needed someone to blame. And the Rowan family had become the perfect target.

He had convinced himself that if Arthur had given him money, his mother would have survived. Even though, deep down, he knew there had never been any guarantee.

For years, anger had allowed him to avoid facing that truth. Now Elias had forced him to confront it.

Victor lowered his eyes. "I know what happened in the past shouldn’t have happened," he said quietly. "I made choices because I was angry. I let that anger consume me."

He looked up again. "But we can end our hostility here, Elias. I can help you bring Cedric down."

Elias’s eyes flickered. "Victor, you should face the consequences of your actions."

Victor’s expression fell. He realized Elias wouldn’t listen to him.

"But as for ending this enmity..." Elias paused. "I’ll save your company."

Victor looked at him in surprise.

"I won’t take my anger out on your family. Your children will be safe."

Elias turned to leave.

"Wait a moment." Victor stopped him again.

Elias paused, but he didn’t turn to look back at him.

Victor let out a deep sigh. "Thank you for not taking action against my family."

"I’m not doing this for your thank-you," Elias replied coldly. "I don’t need it."

"I know." Victor’s voice was quiet, filled with regret. "But I still want to thank you."

He looked at Elias’s broad back. "In my cloud storage, I saved all the evidence I collected against Cedric."

Elias remained silent. Only his eyes narrowed slightly.

"You’ll find everything there. His financial records, his dealings, and the information I gathered about his crimes. You’ll also find evidence about how he killed Elena’s father."

He paused briefly. "He is a real monster. He shouldn’t be allowed to remain free. If he survives, he will come after you and your family again."

Elias’s eyes flashed. He didn’t thank Victor. He didn’t turn to look back at him. Without a word, he walked out of the detention room.

Victor watched him leave. His shoulders slowly slumped.

For the first time, he allowed himself to acknowledge what he had spent years refusing to face.

He had destroyed his own life chasing revenge.

"I thought revenge would heal me," he muttered bitterly. "I thought it would bring me peace. But I was wrong. Hatred can never bring peace."

Elias returned to the monitor room. "Check his phone."

The officer accessed the cloud storage Victor had mentioned.

They were both stunned.

Folder after folder contained information about Cedric.

Payment records, names of intermediaries, copies of documents, photographs, recorded conversations, and video recordings.

Victor had spent years secretly collecting evidence against his own partner.

The officer stared at the screen in disbelief. "This bastard..." He shook his head. "He was investigating his own partner."

"They were never true allies," Elias said coldly. "They were together because they needed each other. Neither of them trusted the other."

The officer opened another file.

A video appeared on the screen. The moment it started playing, Elias’s expression changed.

The footage showed Cedric arguing with a man, standing on a roadside.

Elias stared at the screen. His heart suddenly stopped.

He recognized the man beside Cedric immediately.

It was Thomas Hart, Elena’s father.

Elias stepped closer to the screen. "Pause it."

The officer immediately stopped the video. "What happened, Mr. Rowan?" he asked. "Is there anything special in this footage?"

Elias didn’t answer. He stared at Thomas’s frozen image.

Then he nodded toward the screen. "Play it again."

The officer restarted the footage.

Cedric and Thomas were arguing. Their expressions were tense, and their voices were raised, although the recording had no clear audio.

Thomas pointed angrily at Cedric.

Cedric stepped closer. The argument became more heated.

Then, suddenly, Cedric struck Thomas.

Thomas stumbled backward. His shoe slipped on the wet pavement. Before he could regain his balance, Cedric shoved him hard.

Thomas staggered toward the road. At that exact moment, a car came speeding around the corner and struck him.

Thomas was thrown onto the road.

The video ended.

Elias froze in his spot. His eyes widened. His heart pounded violently against his chest.

’He killed my father-in-law.’

His mind went back to everything Elena had told him.

Amber Sterling had married Thomas because she wanted to take a revenge on Cedric. And Thomas had become Cedric’s love rival.

Now Elias finally understood why Cedric had hated Thomas so deeply.

"It was not an accident," he mumbled in a daze. "It was a murder."

The officer frowned. "Do you know that guy?"

Elias turned to the officer. "He was my father-in-law," he replied. "He died more than a decade ago. Everyone believed he died in an accident. But it wasn’t an accident. He was murdered."

The officer stared at him.

Then Elias suddenly remembered something.

Elena had once told him that the driver who hit Thomas had confessed to the accident and had been punished for it.

If Cedric had deliberately pushed Thomas into the path of the vehicle, then the driver might have known nothing about the plan.

He could have genuinely believed he had caused an accident.

"There should be a record of that accident," Elias said. "Can I check the file?"

"It’s an old case," the officer said. "I don’t know which police station handled it. Give me some time, and I’ll find out the details."

"Thank you, officer."

~~~~~~~~~~~

It was already late when Elias arrived home.

Elena was fast asleep.

Elias stood beside the bed and watched her for a long time. He didn’t move. His mind was still occupied by everything he had learned that night.

Finally, he let out a quiet sigh, discarded his clothes into the laundry bag, and went into the bathroom.

He stood beneath the shower, letting the warm water run over him. It soothed his tense muscles, but it did nothing to calm the chaos in his mind.

’Thomas Hart was murdered.’ The words kept echoing inside his head.

Elias ran his fingers through his wet hair.

’Elena doesn’t know anything about it. She thinks her father died in an accident.’

He lowered his head and pressed both hands against the glass wall. His injured arm throbbed. Blood seeped out. But he didn’t care.

His mind was on Elena.

’She should know the truth.’

But another thought immediately followed. ’She is pregnant. She can’t handle more stress right now.’

Elias leaned his head back and closed his eyes as the water poured over his face.

"I promised her I would never keep a secret from her," he murmured. "I can’t hide something this big from her forever. I need to tell her the truth, no matter how painful it is."

He turned off the shower and stepped out, wrapping a towel around his waist. Just as he was about to walk toward the bed, something caught his attention.

He stopped.

Elena’s face was covered in sweat. Her hand was tightly gripping the blanket against her chest.

"No," she whispered. "Stay away... Stay away from me."

Elias frowned. He immediately moved closer to her.

"Help..." Her voice trembled. "Help me..."

"Elena, wake up."

She suddenly opened her eyes and gasped.

"Get away from me," she cried, pushing him away.

"Elena, come to your senses. It’s me. I’m Elias, your husband."

She stared at him, her eyes wide with fear. For a few seconds, she seemed lost between the nightmare and reality. Then the haze finally cleared.

"Elias..." She instantly threw her arms around his neck. "I thought..." She started sobbing. "I thought I was still trapped with the kidnappers."

Elias’s heart tightened. He wrapped his arms around her and held her firmly.

"You are safe now," he whispered. "Don’t be scared."

Elena buried her face against his chest. Her sobs slowly grew quieter.

Elias gently stroked her hair. "Sleep. I’m right here with you."

Elena nodded weakly. Still holding onto him, she slowly drifted back to sleep.

Elias remained beside her, watching her sleeping face. His gaze was filled with worry. He remembered how terrified she had been only moments ago.

’I can’t tell her about her father’s death yet.’ His fingers gently brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead.

’This is not the right time.’

He knew Elena deserved to know the truth. But after everything she had just endured, he couldn’t bring himself to put another burden on her.

’I’ll tell her later.’