CHAPTER 2: THE SECRET OF THE VALERIUS FOUNDATION

The young man introduced himself as Adrian Valerius.

He was the grandson of Victor Valerius, the billionaire founder of New Valerius.

After doctors stabilized Leo at a private hospital, Adrian investigated the pendant.

What he discovered shocked him.

Years earlier, the Valerius Foundation had funded an experimental housing project beneath the city.

Hundreds of poor families were promised food, healthcare, and protection.

Instead, the project became a disaster.

Government inspectors found dangerous conditions.

Several families disappeared during forced relocations.

The records were buried.

The media never learned the truth.

Among the missing families was Clara's.

Adrian met Clara again at the hospital.

"Where did your mother get the pendant?"

Clara stared at it.

"She said it belonged to my father."

Adrian's heart skipped.

He dug deeper into the old files.

Then he found a hidden report.

The report contained names.

Photographs.

DNA records.

One file made him freeze.

Leo and Clara's father had not disappeared.

He had been a whistleblower.

An engineer who uncovered corruption inside the Foundation.

And he had been murdered.

The order had come from someone powerful.

Someone still alive.

Someone sitting on the board of the Valerius Corporation.

Adrian realized the truth.

The people responsible for the suffering in the Narrows weren't strangers.

They were members of his own family.