Chapter 4: The Secret Victoria Tried to Hide
Leo read Oliver’s message three times.
Each time, the words looked different.
*She knew exactly who you were before she spoke to you.*
The office around him suddenly felt quieter.
The soft hum of the city outside disappeared.
The expensive furniture.
The glass walls.
The massive painting of his grandfather hanging behind his father’s desk.
None of it mattered.
Because one thought kept repeating in his mind.
She knew.
Leo looked across the room.
Adrian was still working, reading documents on his computer.
His father noticed immediately.
“What happened?””
Leo hesitated.
“Nothing.””
Adrian looked over the top of his glasses.
“Leo.””
It was the tone every child recognized.
The tone that meant: I know you’re hiding something.
Leo looked down at his phone.
“I got a message from Oliver.””
Adrian leaned back.
“What did he say?””
Leo handed him the phone.
Adrian read the message.
His expression did not change.
That worried Leo more than anger would have.
“Dad?””
Adrian placed the phone on the desk.
“Did Oliver say anything else?””
“Not yet.””
Adrian stood and walked toward the window.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Leo watched him.
“Do you know what it means?””
“Yes.””
The answer came too quickly.
Leo stood.
“You do?””
Adrian turned around.
“I know it means we need to find out why.””
“But you already know something.””
A pause.
Adrian looked at his son.
Then sighed.
“There are things about our family that you are still too young to carry.””
Leo frowned.
“I’m not a baby.””
“No.””
Adrian walked back toward him.
“You are not.””
“Then tell me.””
The room became quiet.
Adrian looked at his son.
Not as a businessman.
Not as the president of Castillo Holdings.
As a father deciding how much truth a child could handle.
“Your grandfather built this company from nothing.””
Leo nodded.
“I know.””
“But success creates enemies.””
Leo looked confused.
“Enemies?””
“People who believe they deserve what you have.””
Adrian returned to his desk and opened a drawer.
Inside was an old photograph.
He took it out.
The picture showed a younger version of himself standing beside his father.
And standing beside them was another man.
Leo had never seen him before.
“Who is that?””
Adrian’s expression darkened slightly.
“Daniel Hale.””
Leo looked closer.
“Hale?””
“Yes.””
“The same family as Oliver?””
Adrian nodded.
“Victoria’s father.””
Leo stared at the photograph.
“What happened?””
Adrian placed it on the desk.
“Years ago, Daniel Hale was one of the most important partners of Castillo Holdings.””
“Was?””
“Yes.””
“What changed?””
Adrian looked away.
“Trust.””
That single word carried more weight than a long explanation.
Leo waited.
Finally, Adrian continued.
“Daniel believed he deserved control over the company. When your grandfather refused, Daniel tried to force him out.””
Leo listened carefully.
“How?””
“By damaging his reputation. Spreading rumors. Manipulating investors.””
“Did it work?””
“No.””
Adrian’s voice became colder.
“But it showed us who he really was.””
Leo looked at the picture again.
“And Victoria?””
“She grew up believing the Castillo family took something from hers.””
The pieces began connecting.
“But why would she be nice to me at first?””
Adrian looked at him.
“She wasn’t.””
Leo remembered the courtyard.
The way she immediately looked at his backpack.
The way she questioned him.
The way she wanted everyone to see him as someone who did not belong.
“She recognized me.””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t she say anything?””
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“That is what we need to understand.””
Before Leo could respond, his phone buzzed again.
Oliver.
This time, it was a call.
Leo looked at his father.
Adrian nodded.
“Answer it.””
Leo pressed the button.
“Hello?””
Oliver’s voice came through immediately.
“Leo?””
“Yeah.””
“Are you alone?””
Leo glanced at Adrian.
“No.””
There was silence.
Then Oliver lowered his voice.
“My mom can’t know I’m telling you this.””
Leo sat down.
“Why?””
“Because she’ll get angry.””
“About what?””
Oliver hesitated.
“My mom has been asking questions about you for weeks.””
Leo froze.
“Weeks?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“I don’t know exactly.””
Oliver sounded nervous.
“But I heard her talking to someone on the phone.””
Leo gripped the phone tighter.
“What did she say?””
A pause.
Then Oliver spoke.
“She said, ‘If Adrian Castillo’s son appears at Blackwood Academy, I want to know before anyone else does.’”
Leo felt a chill.
His father’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Leo noticed.
Adrian had heard.
“Who was she talking to?”” Leo asked.
“I don’t know.””
“Oliver, anything else?””
The boy hesitated.
“There was another name.””
“What name?””
“I don’t know if I heard it correctly.””
“Tell me.””
Oliver swallowed.
“Marcus.””
The moment he said it, Adrian went completely still.
Leo noticed.
“Dad?””
Adrian slowly reached for the phone.
“Oliver.””
The boy became quiet.
“This is Adrian Castillo.””
Oliver sounded shocked.
“Mr. Castillo?””
“Yes.””
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause trouble.””
“You did the right thing.””
A small silence followed.
Then Adrian asked:
“Did your mother mention where she was meeting this person?””
Oliver answered quickly.
“No.””
“Did she mention Castillo Holdings?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Yesterday.””
Adrian’s expression became unreadable.
“Thank you, Oliver.””
The call ended.
Leo looked at him.
“Who is Marcus?””
Adrian did not answer immediately.
That alone gave Leo the answer that the name mattered.
Finally, Adrian said:
“Marcus Vale.””
The name meant nothing to Leo.
But it clearly meant something to his father.
“Who is he?””
Adrian sat down.
“He was once one of our executives.””
“Like Vincent?””
“No.””
The difference in Adrian’s voice was immediate.
“Not like Vincent.””
Leo waited.
“Marcus was brilliant.””
“That sounds like a good thing.””
“It was.””
Adrian looked toward the city.
“Until he decided being second-in-command was not enough.””
Leo understood.
“Another person who wanted control?””
“Yes.””
“What happened to him?””
Adrian’s fingers tapped slowly against the desk.
“He disappeared.””
“Disappeared?””
“After he tried to take over the company.””
Leo looked at the photograph again.
Daniel Hale.
Marcus Vale.
Two names connected to the past.
Two people who had tried to challenge Castillo Holdings.
And now Victoria Hale was talking to someone named Marcus.
Leo suddenly felt much younger than ten.
“Dad.””
“Yes?””
“Is this because of me?””
Adrian immediately shook his head.
“No.””
“But they’re talking about me.””
“Because they know you matter.””
Leo looked down.
“I don’t want to matter like this.””
Adrian’s expression softened.
He walked over and sat beside him.
“Leo.””
The boy looked up.
“Power attracts people who want to use it.””
A pause.
“But kindness attracts people who need it.””
Leo thought about Oliver.
The only person who had apologized.
The only person who had admitted what happened was wrong.
“What happens now?””
Adrian looked at the old photograph.
“Now we find out what Victoria Hale and Marcus Vale are planning.””
That night, Leo stayed at the office longer than usual.
He watched his father work.
He watched Vincent speak quietly with security.
He watched people move around with serious expressions.
Everything felt bigger than him.
But something bothered him.
A small detail he could not ignore.
Before Victoria insulted him, she had looked at his backpack.
Not his face.
Not his uniform.
His backpack.
Leo suddenly remembered something.
When he left home that morning, his father had checked the backpack himself.
He had said:
“Keep this with you. No matter what happens.””
At the time, Leo thought it was just because his father worried he would forget something.
Now he wasn’t sure.
He walked back toward Adrian’s desk.
“Dad.””
Adrian looked up.
“Yes?””
“Why did you check my backpack before I left?””
The room became still.
Too still.
Leo noticed.
Vincent stopped typing.
Adrian looked at both of them.
Then slowly reached into his drawer.
And took out a small black device.
Leo recognized it immediately.
It had been hidden inside the lining of his backpack.
His father had never told him.
“What is that?””
Adrian’s face became serious.
“It is the reason Victoria Hale knew who you were.””
Leo stared.
“Why?””
Adrian looked at the device.
“Because someone wanted to track you.””
The lights of the city reflected against the glass walls.
And for the first time that day, Leo understood something.
The attack at the school entrance was not an accident.
It was planned.
Then Vincent’s phone suddenly rang.
He answered.
His face changed after only a few seconds.
“Mr. Castillo.””
Adrian looked up.
“What?””
Vincent slowly lowered the phone.
“The person who placed the tracker has been identified.””
Leo held his breath.
“Who was it?””
Vincent looked directly at Adrian.
May you like
Then at Leo.
“It was someone inside Castillo Holdings.””
