Chapter 9 - The Gala Where Everyone Learned the Truth
The Omaly Foundation gala had been planned for six months.
Canceling it would warn Victor.
So Jason did the opposite.
He expanded it.
More journalists were invited.
More donors.
More cameras.
Rachel thought he was taking a risk.
Jason agreed.
That was the point.
Victor believed fear had changed Jason’s behavior.
Jason wanted him to continue believing that.
By seven o’clock, the ballroom glittered.
Crystal chandeliers.
Champagne.
Black ties.
Evening gowns.
Jason entered in his wheelchair wearing a tailored black tuxedo.
Benita walked beside him.
Stephanie remained hidden upstairs.
Lucas attended too.
The whispers began immediately.
Everyone knew something had happened inside the Omaly empire.
Rumors of financial misconduct were already circulating.
Jason ignored them.
At 8:17 p.m., Victor arrived.
Rachel spotted him first.
“He actually came.”
Jason smiled faintly.
“I knew he would.”
Victor entered like a man attending his own victory celebration.
Perfect tuxedo.
Calm smile.
No visible fear.
He approached Jason.
“Quite a party.”
Jason looked up.
“I’m surprised you came.”
Victor smiled.
“No, you aren’t.”
They understood each other now.
Victor leaned closer.
“Where is the ledger?”
Jason didn’t react.
Victor continued.
“I know Stephanie had it.”
“You seem very interested in a dead woman’s paperwork.”
Victor smiled.
“Old habits.”
Jason’s eyes hardened.
Then music stopped.
The foundation director approached the stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Jason Omaly would like to say a few words.”
Victor looked at Jason.
Jason rolled toward the stage.
A ramp had been installed beside it.
He reached the microphone.
Hundreds of faces turned toward him.
“Thank you for coming.”
The ballroom quieted.
“This foundation was created because I once believed wealth was measured by what a person could keep.”
Jason paused.
“I was wrong.”
Victor watched from the crowd.
Jason continued.
“Wealth is measured by what survives when money disappears.”
People listened closely.
“Reputation.”
“Family.”
“Truth.”
Victor’s expression changed slightly.
Jason looked directly at him.
“And tonight, I learned something else.”
The ballroom doors opened.
Stephanie walked in.
Gasps spread through the room.
Victor froze.
Cameras turned.
Lucas closed his eyes.
Stephanie walked slowly toward the stage.
Jason watched Victor.
For the first time, the man lost control of his face.
Stephanie reached Jason.
She took the microphone.
“My name is Stephanie.”
Silence.
“Several people were told I was dead.”
Victor began moving toward an exit.
Two investigators appeared near the doors.
He stopped.
Stephanie continued.
“I disappeared because I discovered financial crimes involving companies connected to the Omaly empire.”
Whispers erupted.
Jason remained beside her.
“And Jason Omaly did not authorize them.”
Victor looked around.
Trapped.
Stephanie held up a folder.
“This contains authenticated records linking Victor Dane to those transactions.”
Victor shouted from the floor.
“This is theater!”
Every camera turned toward him.
Stephanie looked at him.
“Yes.”
She smiled slightly.
“You always liked performing.”
Victor’s face darkened.
Investigators approached.
He didn’t resist.
Not physically.
Instead, he laughed.
“You think this proves anything?”
Rachel stepped onto the stage.
“The documents you signed yesterday corroborate beneficial ownership.”
Victor stopped laughing.
Jason watched him.
That was the moment.
The exact second Victor understood.
He had authenticated Stephanie’s evidence himself.
Lucas approached from the crowd.
Victor looked at him.
“You.”
Lucas stood still.
“You ruined everything.”
Lucas shook his head.
“No.”
He looked toward Jason.
“I ruined my family.”
Then back at Victor.
“You just taught me how expensive cowardice could become.”
Investigators escorted Victor away.
The ballroom erupted.
Journalists shouted questions.
Cameras flashed.
Jason ignored all of them.
He looked at Stephanie.
“Is it over?”
She nodded.
“The financial part?”
“Yes.”
Jason noticed the qualification.
“And the rest?”
Stephanie looked toward Lucas.
“No.”
Lucas knew what she meant.
Accountability.
The following morning, Lucas voluntarily met investigators.
Jason didn’t stop him.
He didn’t hire lawyers to make everything disappear.
Lucas had participated.
He would answer for it.
Before leaving, Lucas approached Jason.
“I don’t know what happens next.”
Jason looked at him.
“Neither do I.”
“Do you hate me?”
Jason thought carefully.
“No.”
Lucas’s eyes filled.
“But I don’t trust you.”
Lucas nodded.
“That’s fair.”
“Trust isn’t inherited because we share blood.”
Jason held his gaze.
“You’ll have to rebuild it.”
Lucas left.
Stephanie stood behind Jason.
“That was hard.”
“Yes.”
“You did the right thing.”
Jason looked toward her.
“I’m tired of people telling me that after something hurts.”
Stephanie laughed softly.
“So am I.”
For the first time in months, Jason laughed too.
But their relief lasted only until Paulie entered.
He was carrying a sealed package.
“No return address.”
Jason frowned.
“Who delivered it?”
“Courier.”
Inside was an old photograph.
Jason, Lucas and Evelyn as children.
On the back was a handwritten message:
VICTOR WASN’T THE BEGINNING. ASK EVELYN WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FATHER.
Jason stared at it.
Evelyn walked into the room.
She saw the photograph.
And dropped her coffee cup.
It shattered across the floor.
Jason slowly looked at her.
“Aunt Evelyn?”
She covered her mouth.
Jason held up the photograph.
“What happened to my father?”
Evelyn began to cry.
May you like
And Jason realized the secret destroying his family had started decades before Victor Dane ever entered their lives.
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