Chapter 82: The Dance of Shadows
The silence between them cracked like ice over deep water.
Lucien Vale stood tall, arms behind his back, the ghost of a grin playing across his lips as he regarded his daughter. His presence, alive, breathing, all too real, sent Cambria’s heart into a spiral of chaos. She couldn’t tell if it was anger, grief, or the sheer weight of betrayal that clutched her chest so tightly she forgot how to breathe.
"Say something," Lucien said softly, stepping into the light.
Cambria rose slowly from the armchair, her fingers brushing the edge of the folder still open on the desk. "You’re dead," she whispered. "You died in my arms."
Lucien chuckled a low, resonant sound that made her stomach churn. "No, Cambria. I disappeared. You just weren’t meant to know the difference."
"Why?" The question left her like a prayer lost in a hurricane. "Why lie? Why let me believe you were gone while Evelyn tore everything we had apart?"
"Because Evelyn wasn’t the problem," he replied. "She was a distraction."
Cambria’s fists clenched. "A distraction? She manipulated me. She killed "
"She did what she was told," Lucien interrupted. "And so did I. Everything you think you know is wrong. Everything you believe? Built on sand."
She shook her head. "I don’t believe you."
"Don’t believe me," he said, stepping closer. "Believe the truth. Look around you, Cambria. You’re surrounded by ghosts. Evelyn. Maddox. Even Knox. All of them played their part in my design."