Chapter 15 - The Page He Hid
Victor stared at the document until the words blurred. Elias had written
him a personal appeal, asking for one meeting and offering to
demonstrate the flaw himself. Victor had read it in his study, then put
it in a drawer because Julian warned that reopening the case could
destroy the company.
“I knew he might be innocent,” Victor told Mara. “I chose not to find
out.”
“That is what hurt him,” she said. “Not just the accusation. You made
him beg for a chance to prove the truth, and you wouldn’t even look at
him.”
Victor did not defend himself. He signed a statement confirming the date
he received the appeal and gave the investigators the original letter.
It was the first useful thing he had done with it.
Theo stood in the doorway, holding the chess clock. “If you knew, why
did you let me play you?”
“Because I wanted to believe I could fix something.”
“You can’t fix Dad.”
“No,” Victor said. “I can only stop hurting his family.”
Theo studied him for a long moment. “Then don’t ask us to forgive you.
Just do it.”
Victor nodded. That afternoon, he transferred control of his personal
archive to the investigators and agreed to testify under oath, even if
his testimony exposed him to civil penalties. His lawyers warned him
that his confession might cost him more than his title.
“I have spent twenty years paying for my silence,” he said. “I’m done
paying in installments.”
Before leaving, he asked Theo to keep the chess clock safe. Theo tucked
it into his bag, but did not offer his hand.
At the door, Agent Brooks received a call and turned sharply toward
Victor.
“Mr. Whitlock,” she said, “Julian’s attorney has just delivered a new
May you like
claim. He says Elias sold the original code to a third party before the
scandal—and that your own records prove it.”
