The choice of revenge

Chapter 8: The Choice of Revenge

Eloise's world was no longer black and white. It had become a maze of shadows and deceit, where each path she took seemed to lead her further into the darkness. The truth about her father had shattered the foundation of everything she believed in. Yet, as much as she wanted to hate him, to cast him aside, she couldn't deny the deep connection she still felt for the man who had raised her.

She had spent the entire night pacing her apartment, the weight of betrayal too heavy to carry. Revenge. It was the only thing that seemed to make sense now. It was the only thing that could give her the closure she so desperately craved.

Her father had played a dangerous game, and so had Daniel. But Eloise was done being manipulated. She wasn't going to just stand by while they destroyed everything she had worked for. She would fight back, but the question remained—who would she fight first?

The morning sun peeked through the blinds, casting long shadows across the room. Eloise sat in front of her laptop, the pieces of the puzzle slowly coming together. She had never been one to back down from a challenge. But this wasn't just about power. It was about reclaiming her life, her trust, and her dignity.

The first step was clear: she needed to take down Daniel. But she couldn't do it alone. She needed allies. And that's where things got tricky.

Hours later, Eloise sat in a small, dimly lit café, her fingers drumming impatiently on the table. Across from her, Adrian was nervously shifting in his seat, glancing around as if someone might be watching them.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked, his voice low and filled with doubt.

Eloise met his gaze, her expression hardened. "I'm done playing games. Daniel doesn't know what's coming for him. We need to hit him where it hurts—his business, his reputation, everything he's worked for. But we need to be smart about it."

Adrian hesitated, his eyes scanning the room before returning to her. "I'll help you. But you know this isn't going to be easy. Daniel's a dangerous man. He won't go down without a fight."

Eloise's lips curled into a bitter smile. "I know."

She pulled out a folder from her bag, the same one Adrian had given her days before. Inside were documents that could bring Daniel to his knees—proof of his illegal activities, his ties to Ramos, and his plan to manipulate the market. It was enough to ruin him.

But it wasn't enough. Eloise needed more. She needed a personal stake. She needed to destroy him in a way that would make him feel the same pain she had endured.

That night, Eloise made a bold decision. She picked up the phone and dialed the number that had been burned into her mind.

"Ramos," she said when the line picked up, her voice steady despite the anxiety bubbling inside her. "I have something that could change everything."

Ramos chuckled on the other end. "Eloise, always the strategist. What's your game this time?"

"I want to make a deal," she said, her voice cold and calculated. "You want Daniel, and I want my freedom. I'll give you everything you need to take him down, but you'll owe me."

There was a long pause. "And what do you want in return?"

"I want him to pay for what he did to me," Eloise replied. "I want his empire to fall. I want him to suffer like I have. You want him out of the picture, don't you?"

Ramos let out a slow breath. "You're playing a dangerous game, Eloise."

"I know," she said, her eyes narrowing. "But I'm done being a pawn. I'm taking control now."

The days that followed were a whirlwind of planning, alliances, and risky moves. Eloise spent every waking moment strategizing, ensuring that every step she took would bring her closer to her goal. She was no longer the woman she had been before—naive, trusting, and vulnerable. She was a force to be reckoned with now.

But there was one more hurdle left. Her father.

Eloise knew she couldn't take down Daniel and Ramos without confronting her father first. She had to know why he had betrayed her, why he had allowed her to fall into this web of lies.

The confrontation was inevitable.

She found him sitting in his office, looking as composed as ever, a faint smile playing on his lips as she walked in.

"Eloise," he said, his voice calm, almost dismissive. "I knew you'd come eventually."

"Why?" Eloise's voice cracked as she asked the question that had been burning in her chest for days. "Why did you do it? Why did you let them use me? I thought I could trust you!"

Her father's expression didn't change. He remained stoic, his hands clasped in front of him. "I did it for you, Eloise. For your safety. I thought you were better off not knowing. The world is a dangerous place, and I did what I had to do to protect you."

Eloise's eyes filled with tears, but she wiped them away, her anger taking over. "You don't get to decide what's best for me anymore. You've already ruined everything. I trusted you, and you betrayed me. Just like Daniel."

Her father sighed, a deep weariness settling into his features. "I never wanted this for you, but you don't understand the game we're playing. You're too far in now. You can't back out."

"I can and I will," Eloise spat, her hands shaking with rage. "You've played me like a puppet, but I'm done being your pawn."

Eloise's phone buzzed incessantly, the messages coming in faster than she could read them. Adrian had warned her about playing both sides, but she hadn't truly understood the weight of his words until now. The deeper she dug, the more dangerous the game became

Her father's words still echoed in her mind, "You're too far in now. You can't back out." Those words were a threat, not a warning. It wasn't just about loyalty anymore. It was about survival.

Eloise had spent too many years living in the shadow of her father's decisions, but now, for the first time, she saw the man for who he really was: a player in a game much bigger than she had ever imagined. It wasn't about love. It wasn't even about power. It was about controlling the narrative—manipulating every move, every player on the board. And she had been one of his pieces all along.

But there was something else. The cryptic conversations. The little moments of hesitation when he spoke about her mother. What was he hiding? Eloise couldn't ignore the nagging suspicion in her gut. There was more to this betrayal than just power. There was a personal vendetta—something buried deep in their family history that she hadn't even begun to uncover

The Visit

Eloise knew she had to confront her father one last time, but this time, she would not walk in blindly. She had one last card to play—the document she had found weeks ago hidden among his things. It was a file marked with her mother's name.

The sun was setting when Eloise walked into her father's office again. His back was to her, looking out of the large bay windows at the sprawling city below. There was a calmness in the air, but Eloise knew better than to let it fool her. The calm before the storm.

"You've been busy," he said, not turning around.

Eloise stood still, her hands clenched tightly at her sides. "I've uncovered things you've kept hidden from me for far too long."

Her father turned, finally facing her, his eyes narrowing. "Eloise, this obsession with the past is clouding your judgment. You're playing a dangerous game. You don't even know the half of it."

"I know enough," Eloise replied, her voice cold. "What did you do to my mother?"

For a split second, a flicker of fear crossed his face—so quick that Eloise almost missed it. He quickly masked it with his usual composure, but the damage was done. She had seen it.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, his tone steady, but there was a hint of something else—a tremor in his voice.

Eloise placed the file on the desk, the papers almost too heavy for her hands to hold. "I found this," she said, watching his reaction closely. "What's in here? What did you really do?"

Her father's face paled. He took a step back, his hand gripping the edge of the desk for support. "Eloise, you need to let it go. What happened to your mother was a tragedy, but it's over. There's no need to stir things up."

"No," Eloise said, her voice rising with the weight of her emotions. "It's not over. Not until you tell me the truth. What did you do?"

The silence in the room was suffocating. Then, her father sighed, his shoulders slumping as if the weight of years of guilt had finally caught up with him.

"I didn't want you to know this," he whispered. "But your mother wasn't just caught in the crossfire. She was part of a larger game... a game I never wanted you to be involved in."

Eloise's heart pounded. "What are you saying?"

"She was working for Ramos," he finally confessed. "And the plan... it went wrong. The deal, the betrayal—everything spiraled out of control, and she paid the price. I couldn't protect her.

Eloise's world spun out of control. Her mother, working for Ramos? Had her entire life been a lie? Was everything her father had told her nothing but a mask to hide the truth? How deep did the betrayal go?

Her father's eyes were filled with regret. "I tried to stop it, Eloise. I did. But once she got involved with Ramos, there was no turning back. They used her. And when she tried to get out, they silenced her."

Eloise stepped back, the realization crashing down on her. "You... you let them kill her. You let it happen."

Her father's eyes filled with pain, his voice barely above a whisper. "I tried to save her. But it wasn't just Ramos. There were other people involved—dangerous people. I couldn't protect her from everyone."

The revelation hit Eloise like a freight train. Everything she had thought about her family, about her father, had been a lie. He had been part of the very system that had destroyed her mother—and he had never told her.

Eloise turned away, the hurt too much to bear. She didn't know what to say, what to feel. There was no forgiveness in her heart, only the weight of the truth.

The Price of Power

But the truth wasn't going to stop her. It wasn't going to make her back down. Now that she knew the full extent of the game, Eloise had one choice left: to end it.

She was no longer the naive girl who had trusted her father. She was someone else now. Someone capable of taking down everything he had built.

And so, she picked up the phone once again. This time, it wasn't her father she was calling. It was Ramos.

"I'm ready to make a deal," Eloise said, her voice steady and cold. "But this time, it's not just about Daniel. It's about taking down everything."