Chapter 131 THE TRUTH IN JAIL

Chapter 131 THE TRUTH IN JAIL
LUCA’S POV

The metal doors of the prison clanged shut behind me. The sound echoed down the cold hallway. I walked with a guard toward the visiting room. My hands were clenched into fists at my sides. Today I was going to face Richard Hawthorne. The man who had destroyed my family.

I had not slept well since Maya told me about the new apartment. But this visit had been planned for days. I needed answers. Real answers about why my brother Sebastian was dead. 

Hawthorne was embezzling funds, but that was not grounds for murder.  I needed to know why he killed my brother.

The guard led me into a small room with a thick glass window. I sat down on the hard chair. A few minutes later, they brought Hawthorne in. He looked thinner. His hair is balding. His prison uniform hung loose on his body. But his eyes were sunken but they were still sharp and calculating.

He sat down across from me and picked up the phone on his side of the glass. I did the same.

“Luca,” he said with a small, cold smile. “I didn’t expect you to come visit. You miss me?”

I stared at him. The pain and anger I had carried for years rose up fast. “Why did you kill my brother?” I asked. My voice was low but shaking. “Tell me the truth, Richard. No more lies.”

Hawthorne leaned back in his chair. He watched me for a long moment. Then he sighed, like he was tired of pretending.

“You really want to know?” he asked. “Fine. Sebastian found out something he shouldn’t have.”

I gripped the phone tighter. “What?”

“My first wife, Britannia,” Hawthorne said slowly. “She can’t have children. We tried for years. She was the one who helped me rise out of poverty. Her family connections. Her money. Everything I built started with her.”

“How is that an explanation?” I started, but he held out a finger.

“Let me finish.” He said softly, but his face changed. There was real bitterness there.

“But I had an affair. With my second wife. She gave me two boys. Two beautiful sons. They are my real legacy. Sebastian found out about the affair. He knew about the boys. He threatened to tell my first wife everything. He said he would destroy my marriage and my reputation if I didn’t stop taking money from Hale Empire.”

I felt my chest tighten. Pain and anger mixed together. “So you killed him? Over your dirty secret?”

Hawthorne shrugged, completely unbothered. “I couldn’t let him talk. Your brother was charming, but he was also reckless. He liked knowing people’s weaknesses. He was going to use it against me. I had worked too hard to let one golden boy ruin everything.”

Tears burned in my eyes. I thought of Sebastian laughing, full of life, the golden heir everyone loved. He had been killed not in some random accident, but because he knew too much about this man’s lies.

“You took my brother from me,” I said. My voice cracked. “You almost destroyed the company. You threatened Maya. All to protect your second family and your pride. You're a monster.”

Hawthorne looked at me without shame. He looked utterly relaxed, completely different from how I was trying hard to handle my anger. “Business is business, Luca. You of all people should understand that.”

I slammed my hand on the table. The guard outside the room looked in, but I didn’t care.

“No,” I said angrily. “This wasn’t business. This was murder. You killed Sebastian because he knew your secret. Your first wife gave you everything and you betrayed her. Then you killed the one person who could expose you.”

Tears fell down my face now. I didn’t try to hide them. The pain of losing my brother hit me all over again. But this time it was mixed with pure rage.

“You are going to rot in here, Richard,” I told him. My voice was hard and cold. “I’m going to make sure of it. I will use every lawyer, every connection, every dollar I have to keep you behind these walls for the rest of your life. You will never see your sons again. You will never touch another company. You are finished.”

Hawthorne’s smile faded. For the first time, I saw fear in his eyes.

“You think you’re better than me?” he asked.

“I know I am,” I replied. “I may have made mistakes, but I never killed my own blood to protect a lie.”

I stood up. My legs felt weak, but I stayed strong. I put the phone down and looked at him one last time through the glass.

“Goodbye, Hawthorne. Enjoy your cell. And one more thing, your wives are going to hear about this.”

The guard took him away. I walked out of the prison with heavy steps. The sunlight outside felt too bright. I sat in my car for a long time, tears still on my face.

Sebastian had died because he knew too much. Not because of brakes failing by accident. It was murder. Cold and calculated.

I thought about Maya and the new life she was building. 

I wiped my face and started the car. I needed to see Maya. I needed to hold her and tell her the full truth about what happened to Sebastian.

The drive back to the city felt long. My mind was full of memories of my brother. His laugh. His charm. His mistakes. But he did not deserve to die for knowing someone else’s secret.

When I reached the company, I sat in the car for a moment. I would tell her everything. Then I would make sure Hawthorne paid for what he did.

The past was painful, but the future was still ours to build.

I got out of the car and walked toward the entrance. It was time to stop carrying these secrets alone.