{"id":5836,"date":"2026-08-19T21:33:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T21:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/realstoryus.com\/?p=5836"},"modified":"2026-08-19T21:34:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T21:34:24","slug":"part-3-husband-beat-me-for-three-hours-at-deaths-door-i-called-someone-from-decades-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/realstoryus.com\/?p=5836","title":{"rendered":"PART 3 \u2013 Husband Beat Me for Three Hours\u2014At Death\u2019s Door, I Called Someone From Decades Ago"},"content":{"rendered":"

PART 3 \u2014 THE HUSBAND WHO NEVER EXISTED
\n\u201cVictoria, Julian isn\u2019t your husband\u2019s real name!\u201d
\nThe security feed went black.
\nFor one terrible second, nobody moved.
\nThen a mechanical voice echoed through the phone.
\n\u201cFive minutes remaining.\u201d
\nA red timer appeared on the screen.
\n04:59.
\n<\/strong>04:58.
\n<\/strong>04:57.
\n<\/strong>My brother was alive.
\nAfter three years of mourning him, Thomas was somewhere beneath the Kensington estate with a gun pressed against his head.
\nAnd the man I had shared a bed with for six years was not even who he claimed to be.
\n\u201cTake me to the vault,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gabriel turned sharply toward me.
\n\u201cYou can barely breathe.\u201d
\n\u201cThen carry me.\u201d
\n\u201cYou heard him. He wants you alone.\u201d
\n\u201cIf I don\u2019t go, Thomas dies.\u201d
\nGabriel stared into my eyes.
\n\u201cHe may kill both of you.\u201d
\n\u201cThen help me make certain he doesn\u2019t.\u201d
\nDavid tightened his arms around me.
\nBlood was already soaking through the front of his shirt where my body rested against him.
\n\u201cMa\u2019am, Mr. Gabriel is right,\u201d he said. \u201cYou need a surgeon immediately.\u201d
\n\u201cMy brother needs me more.\u201d
\nAnother voice came from the phone.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cFour minutes and thirty seconds remaining.\u201d
\nI looked at Gabriel.
\n\u201cYou said my father\u2019s final order had been activated.\u201d
\n\u201cIt has.\u201d
\n\u201cThen follow it.\u201d
\nHis jaw tightened.
\n\u201cThe order was to protect you at any cost.\u201d
\n\u201cMy father would never sacrifice Thomas to save me.\u201d
\nA shadow of pain crossed Gabriel\u2019s face.
\n\u201cNo,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cHe wouldn\u2019t.\u201d
\nBehind us, Maya suddenly laughed.
\nEveryone looked at her.
\nOne of Gabriel\u2019s men held both her arms behind her back, but she appeared strangely calm.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re all wasting time,\u201d she said. \u201cThe underground vault was designed to survive a military attack. There is only one entrance, and Julian controls it from inside.\u201d
\nGabriel stepped toward her.
\n\u201cHow do we open it?\u201d
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t.\u201d
\nHe raised his gun and pressed it beneath her chin.
\nMaya\u2019s smile did not disappear.
\n\u201cYou can kill me,\u201d she whispered. \u201cBut then Victoria will never learn why her husband chose her.\u201d
\n\u201cHe chose me because of my family,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Maya looked at me almost pityingly.
\n\u201cNo, Victoria.\u201d
\nHer voice softened.
\n\u201cHe chose your family because of you.\u201d
\nThe countdown continued.
\n03:56.
\nGabriel seized Maya by the collar.
\n\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d
\nShe looked past him and focused on me.
\n\u201cAsk your uncle what happened in Prague thirty years ago.\u201d
\nGabriel went completely still.
\nIt was the smallest reaction imaginable.<\/p>\n

But I saw it.<\/p>\n

Maya saw it too.<\/p>\n

Her smile widened.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never told her, did you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTold me what?\u201d I demanded.<\/p>\n

Gabriel ignored the question.<\/p>\n

He turned toward two of his men.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake Maya upstairs. Lock her inside the west drawing room. Two guards at the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

Gabriel looked at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe stays where I can see her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is trying to confuse you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe knows something about my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe knows how to lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo do you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The words came out before I could stop them.<\/p>\n

Silence filled the basement corridor.<\/p>\n

Gabriel\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n

But I refused to look away.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou disappeared for almost thirty years,\u201d I said. \u201cMy father erased you from our lives. Now you arrive with armed men and expect me to trust you without an explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI came because you activated the jade.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019m grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

My voice trembled, but not from fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut gratitude is not trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

The timer reached three minutes.<\/p>\n

David carefully lowered me onto the bottom step.<\/p>\n

Gabriel moved to stop him, but I raised one bloody hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive me the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of his men placed it in my palm.<\/p>\n

The screen showed only the countdown.<\/p>\n

I pressed the speaker icon.<\/p>\n

\u201cJulian.\u201d<\/p>\n

For several seconds, there was no answer.<\/p>\n

Then his voice emerged from the darkness beneath the estate.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sound terrible, Victoria.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hearing his calm voice filled me with something hotter than pain.<\/p>\n

For six years, that voice had whispered promises against my skin.<\/p>\n

It had apologized after every cruel word.<\/p>\n

It had assured me that Maya was merely a guest.<\/p>\n

It had ordered men to beat me until seventeen bones fractured.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me see Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll see him when you arrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do I enter the vault?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBring the jade pendant to the old wine cellar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe jade isn\u2019t here.\u201d<\/p>\n

A pause.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen retrieve it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has already been delivered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Julian\u2019s breathing changed.<\/p>\n

That was the first sign of fear I had ever heard from him.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou already know.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the other side of the corridor, Gabriel watched me carefully.<\/p>\n

Julian spoke again.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs he there?\u201d<\/p>\n

I said nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cGabriel Vance is standing beside you, isn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel took the phone from my hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, Adrian.\u201d<\/p>\n

The entire basement seemed to grow colder.<\/p>\n

Adrian.<\/p>\n

Maya closed her eyes.<\/p>\n

David stared at Gabriel.<\/p>\n

And I forgot how to breathe.<\/p>\n

The man on the phone laughed quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wondered how long it would take you to say that name.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel\u2019s voice remained controlled.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should have stayed dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo should you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRelease Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBring me the pendant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pendant is beyond your reach.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen your nephew is beyond yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel\u2019s grip tightened around the phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Thomas dies, I will tear apart every person, company, and country that ever protected you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou couldn\u2019t protect your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n

The words struck him like a bullet.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou couldn\u2019t protect his wife,\u201d Julian continued. \u201cYou couldn\u2019t protect his empire. And judging by Victoria\u2019s condition, you failed to protect his daughter too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel lifted the phone closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have two minutes to pray.\u201d<\/p>\n

He ended the call.<\/p>\n

I looked at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is Adrian?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel did not answer immediately.<\/p>\n

The timer continued counting down on the disconnected screen.<\/p>\n

02:31.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHis full name is Adrian Vale,\u201d Gabriel finally said.<\/p>\n

Maya looked away.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is he?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe son of Elias Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n

The name awakened a distant memory.<\/p>\n

My father had once kept an old newspaper clipping locked inside his desk.<\/p>\n

I had seen it only once.<\/p>\n

Two businessmen stood outside a newly constructed Manhattan tower.<\/p>\n

One was my father.<\/p>\n

The other man was tall, handsome, and dark-haired.<\/p>\n

The headline called them the architects of a new American empire.<\/p>\n

\u201cElias Vale was my father\u2019s business partner,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was more than that,\u201d Gabriel said. \u201cHe helped create Vance Enterprises.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened to him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel glanced at the countdown.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was accused of stealing hundreds of millions from the company. Your father presented evidence to the board. Elias was removed, arrested, and later died in prison.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Adrian blamed my father.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdrian blamed the entire Vance family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maya laughed again.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou make it sound so simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel pointed his weapon toward her.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it wasn\u2019t simple, was it, Gabriel?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour father didn\u2019t expose Elias Vale because he was a thief. He exposed him because Elias discovered what happened in Prague.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel took one step toward her.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaya.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was not a warning.<\/p>\n

It was a threat.<\/p>\n

She smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cThirty years of secrets, and now everyone is frightened of one dying woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

I tried to push myself upright.<\/p>\n

Pain ripped through my abdomen, and David caught me before I fell.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake me to the wine cellar,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

Gabriel shook his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe timer is almost finished.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no safe way inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know this house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know the rooms your husband allowed you to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis estate belonged to the Kensington family for more than a century. Julian only purchased it after our wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat purchase was part of his plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stared at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat plan?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo place you directly above the vault.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mechanical voice returned through the phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne minute remaining.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked at David.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe old wine cellar has a dumbwaiter behind the northern shelves.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded slowly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was sealed before we moved here, but the shaft runs beneath the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel understood immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think it connects to the vault.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father used to tell me that old wealthy families never built only one escape route.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel ordered three men to search the kitchen entrance.<\/p>\n

David lifted me again.<\/p>\n

Maya called after us.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe shaft won\u2019t save you!\u201d<\/p>\n

I turned my head.<\/p>\n

She was smiling, but her eyes were fixed on the timer.<\/p>\n

She wasn\u2019t afraid for Julian.<\/p>\n

She was waiting for something.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaya knows the countdown isn\u2019t for Thomas,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

Her smile disappeared.<\/p>\n

Everyone stopped.<\/p>\n

Gabriel looked at the phone.<\/p>\n

00:42.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happens when it reaches zero?\u201d he demanded.<\/p>\n

Maya said nothing.<\/p>\n

Gabriel\u2019s guard twisted her arm.<\/p>\n

She winced but remained silent.<\/p>\n

I watched her face.<\/p>\n

The way she glanced toward the ceiling.<\/p>\n

The way her body leaned almost imperceptibly toward the stairs.<\/p>\n

The answer struck me.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt isn\u2019t a death countdown,\u201d I said. \u201cIt\u2019s an escape countdown.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJulian knew you would breach the estate. He showed us Thomas to hold our attention while something else happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked toward the upper floors.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not trying to keep us out of the vault.\u201d<\/p>\n

David understood.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s trying to get someone else out of the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel turned toward his men.<\/p>\n

\u201cLock down every exit!\u201d<\/p>\n

The men shouted into their radios.<\/p>\n

The timer reached ten seconds.<\/p>\n

00:10.<\/strong><\/p>\n

00:09.<\/strong><\/p>\n

00:08.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Maya suddenly drove her heel into the guard\u2019s knee.<\/p>\n

He lost his grip.<\/p>\n

She pulled a thin metal pin from her hair and stabbed it into his neck.<\/p>\n

The guard collapsed.<\/p>\n

Maya ran.<\/p>\n

Another man reached for her, but every light in the estate went out.<\/p>\n

Darkness swallowed us.<\/p>\n

The timer reached zero.<\/p>\n

A massive explosion shook the eastern side of the mansion.<\/p>\n

The concrete floor rolled beneath us.<\/p>\n

Stone cracked.<\/p>\n

Somewhere above, windows shattered in rapid succession.<\/p>\n

David turned his body, shielding me as debris fell from the ceiling.<\/p>\n

Emergency lights blinked on.<\/p>\n

Maya was gone.<\/p>\n

So was the guard\u2019s gun.<\/p>\n

Gabriel shouted orders.<\/p>\n

Voices answered from different floors.<\/p>\n

Then one of his men spoke through the radio.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe garage tunnel has collapsed!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStatus on the exterior?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo vehicles just broke through the southern gate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStop them!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t identify the passengers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel looked toward the empty staircase.<\/p>\n

Maya had not been trying to escape alone.<\/p>\n

Someone else had been inside the house.<\/p>\n

Someone important enough for Julian to sacrifice his entire security system to protect.<\/p>\n

David carried me toward the old wine cellar while Gabriel\u2019s men searched for another entrance.<\/p>\n

The cellar door had been blown partly off its hinges.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of broken bottles covered the floor.<\/p>\n

The smell of wine, smoke, and dust filled the air.<\/p>\n

The northern shelves had collapsed.<\/p>\n

Behind them was a narrow steel panel.<\/p>\n

David pulled it open.<\/p>\n

A dark shaft descended beneath the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a maintenance ladder,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t carry her down that,\u201d Gabriel said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can climb,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n

Both men looked at me as though I had lost my mind.<\/p>\n

I pushed away from David.<\/p>\n

My feet touched the ground.<\/p>\n

Pain exploded through every bone in my body.<\/p>\n

The room spun.<\/p>\n

I nearly collapsed.<\/p>\n

But I remained standing.<\/p>\n

Julian had spent years teaching me that I was weak.<\/p>\n

Maya had made me believe I was alone.<\/p>\n

The men who attacked me had reduced my body to something barely alive.<\/p>\n

But Thomas was beneath my feet.<\/p>\n

And I would crawl through hell before I abandoned him.<\/p>\n

I gripped the ladder.<\/p>\n

David climbed below me, supporting most of my weight.<\/p>\n

Gabriel descended behind us.<\/p>\n

The shaft was narrow and freezing.<\/p>\n

Every movement tore at my injuries.<\/p>\n

Blood slid down my arms and dripped onto the metal rungs.<\/p>\n

Halfway down, I heard a muffled gunshot.<\/p>\n

Then another.<\/p>\n

\u201cThomas!\u201d I shouted.<\/p>\n

There was no answer.<\/p>\n

We reached the bottom.<\/p>\n

A stone tunnel stretched before us.<\/p>\n

At the far end stood a steel vault door.<\/p>\n

It was open.<\/p>\n

Gabriel raised his weapon.<\/p>\n

David moved in front of me.<\/p>\n

We entered slowly.<\/p>\n

The chair from the security feed stood in the center of the chamber.<\/p>\n

Blood stained the ropes.<\/p>\n

But Thomas was gone.<\/p>\n

Julian was gone too.<\/p>\n

Only a small speaker remained on the floor.<\/p>\n

It clicked on.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, Victoria.\u201d<\/p>\n

Julian\u2019s recorded voice echoed through the chamber.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou always were stubborn.\u201d<\/p>\n

I searched the room.<\/p>\n

There were no visible exits.<\/p>\n

Gabriel examined the walls.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have probably learned my name by now,\u201d Julian continued. \u201cAdrian Vale. Son of the man your father murdered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father didn\u2019t murder him,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n

The recording continued as though answering me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will be told Elias Vale died in prison. That is a lie. Your father arranged his death before he could reveal the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel struck the speaker with the heel of his shoe.<\/p>\n

It cracked, but the voice continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will also be told I married you for revenge. That is only partly true.\u201d<\/p>\n

A monitor on the wall flickered to life.<\/p>\n

Our wedding photograph appeared.<\/p>\n

Julian\u2014Adrian\u2014stood beside me, smiling beneath a shower of white rose petals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI married you because you were the key to something your father hid thirty years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

The photograph changed.<\/p>\n

It showed the jade pendant.<\/p>\n

A line of unfamiliar symbols had been carved into its back.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pendant is not merely a family token. It contains half of a cipher.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next image showed a second pendant.<\/p>\n

This one was black.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other half belonged to my father.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel\u2019s face lost all color.<\/p>\n

I saw it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the cipher?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

He remained silent.<\/p>\n

Julian\u2019s voice answered for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt opens the Vance Archive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Images flashed across the monitor.<\/p>\n

Bank records.<\/p>\n

Government seals.<\/p>\n

Photographs of powerful executives, judges, senators, and foreign officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe archive contains evidence of every illegal transaction used to build Vance Enterprises. Bribery. Blackmail. Political manipulation. Weapons contracts. Disappearances.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a lie,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it?\u201d<\/p>\n

The screen changed again.<\/p>\n

A grainy photograph appeared.<\/p>\n

My father stood beside Elias Vale in a dimly lit room.<\/p>\n

Between them was Gabriel.<\/p>\n

All three men were much younger.<\/p>\n

On a table lay two pendants\u2014one green and one black.<\/p>\n

A body was visible on the floor behind them.<\/p>\n

The dead man\u2019s face could not be seen.<\/p>\n

Across the bottom of the image was a date.<\/p>\n

Prague \u2014 October 14, 1996.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thirty years ago.<\/p>\n

The year Gabriel vanished.<\/p>\n

Maya\u2019s words returned to me.<\/p>\n

Ask your uncle what happened in Prague.<\/p>\n

I slowly turned toward him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened in that room?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel stared at the photograph.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot what Adrian wants you to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen tell me what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before he could answer, the steel door slammed shut behind us.<\/p>\n

Locks engaged inside the walls.<\/p>\n

Gas began hissing from vents near the floor.<\/p>\n

David pulled his jacket over my mouth.<\/p>\n

Gabriel fired at the door controls.<\/p>\n

The bullets did nothing.<\/p>\n

The monitor changed to a live video.<\/p>\n

Thomas appeared on the screen.<\/p>\n

He was in the back seat of a moving car, his face bruised and covered in blood.<\/p>\n

Maya sat beside him with a gun against his ribs.<\/p>\n

Julian was driving.<\/p>\n

\u201cVictoria!\u201d Thomas shouted. \u201cDon\u2019t give Gabriel the pendant!\u201d<\/p>\n

Maya struck him.<\/p>\n

The camera shifted toward Julian.<\/p>\n

His face looked different now.<\/p>\n

Gone was the cold arrogance he had worn inside the mansion.<\/p>\n

He looked almost desperate.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have one hour to bring the green pendant to Pier Seventeen,\u201d he said. \u201cCome without Gabriel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabriel grabbed the monitor.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdrian!\u201d<\/p>\n

Julian ignored him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you fail, Thomas dies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The feed went black.<\/p>\n

Gas continued pouring into the chamber.<\/p>\n

My vision blurred.<\/p>\n

David searched the walls desperately.<\/p>\n

Gabriel removed a small device from his coat and attached it to the vault controls.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou knew this door could trap us,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou also knew about the archive.\u201d<\/p>\n

He did not answer.<\/p>\n

I reached inside my torn blouse.<\/p>\n

The sealed letter from the red suitcase was still tucked against my body.<\/p>\n

David must have placed it there when he carried me.<\/p>\n

My father\u2019s handwriting covered the front.<\/p>\n

I tore it open.<\/p>\n

Inside was a single sheet of paper.<\/p>\n

The message contained only four lines.<\/p>\n

My dearest Victoria,<\/strong><\/p>\n

When the jade returns to Gabriel, the final game will begin.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do not let him open the Vance Archive.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gabriel is the man who killed Elias Vale.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My hands began trembling.<\/p>\n

I slowly raised my eyes.<\/p>\n

Gabriel stood beside the locked door with his back toward me.<\/p>\n

Then he turned.<\/p>\n

He saw the letter in my hand.<\/p>\n

And the expression on his face told me everything.<\/p>\n

He knew exactly what my father had written.<\/p>\n

Gabriel lifted his gun.<\/p>\n

David stepped in front of me.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

Gabriel pointed the weapon directly at David\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Victoria,\u201d he said. \u201cBut your father never intended you to survive long enough to read that letter.\u201d\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 4\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

CLICK HERE CONTINUE TO READ PART 4 \u2013 Husband Beat Me for Three Hours\u2014At Death\u2019s Door, I Called Someone From Decades Ago<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PART 3 \u2014 THE HUSBAND WHO NEVER EXISTED \u201cVictoria, Julian isn\u2019t your husband\u2019s real name!\u201d The security feed went black. For one terrible second, nobody moved. Then a mechanical voice … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/realstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/realstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/realstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5836"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/realstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5842,"href":"https:\/\/realstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5836\/revisions\/5842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/realstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}