One Night in Valeria - Chapter 24: Chapter 24
You are reading One Night in Valeria, Chapter 24: Chapter 24. Read more chapters of One Night in Valeria.
Liam sat alone in the back corner of The Velaria Financial Authority — a sleek marble building that held more secrets than safety. The private access room smelled of dust and digital heat. Only people with clearance deeper than board members could open the archives.
But he wasn’t here as a CEO today.
He was here as a son. As a man trying to fix a broken promise.
The terminal blinked to life.
Search Query: A.D. Atelier
Status: Private Entity
Origin: Offshore — Tiranian Accounts
Registered Agent: August Hale
His blood went cold.
Hale.
But not Klara.
Not Jessica.
He pulled the digital file open, scanning through the records — transaction lists, invoices, ghost shareholders. Everything tangled in false names and shell companies.
But one pattern repeated.
Every design sold by A.D. Atelier had a matching prototype sketch in a now-closed archive that once belonged to Klara Hale’s private vault. The same vault that went missing after her death.
Stolen.
Used.
And monetized.
He reached for his phone and texted Jessica:
Liam: I found something.
The person funding A.D. Atelier… they knew Klara. And they’re using your name to stay invisible.
The reply came almost instantly.
Jessica: Tell me where.
I’m done hiding.
Back in the studio, Jessica’s jaw clenched.
August Hale.
She didn’t recognize the name. Not directly.
But she remembered a story Mara had once told her a distant cousin of Klara’s who had disappeared from the family during some scandal decades ago. A failed artist. Bitter. Always in Klara’s shadow.
“August,” she whispered. “You really thought you could become me?”
She grabbed her coat and left without another word to Celeste.
This wasn’t about legacy anymore.
This was about theft. Identity. And justice.
Meanwhile, in a quiet corner of a luxurious brownstone in Velaria’s wealthiest district, a figure stared at a mood board filled with Klara Hale’s sketches altered, modernized, and market-ready.
A soft smile curled on August Hale’s lips as he placed a new headline onto the board:
“Velaria's Rising Star — Or Klara Hale’s Copy?”
He poured a glass of wine and stared at the pinned photo of Jessica in the red dress.
“Just like your mother,” he murmured. “But less careful.”
He took a sip.
“Let’s see how far you rise before they rip your wings off.”
But he wasn’t here as a CEO today.
He was here as a son. As a man trying to fix a broken promise.
The terminal blinked to life.
Search Query: A.D. Atelier
Status: Private Entity
Origin: Offshore — Tiranian Accounts
Registered Agent: August Hale
His blood went cold.
Hale.
But not Klara.
Not Jessica.
He pulled the digital file open, scanning through the records — transaction lists, invoices, ghost shareholders. Everything tangled in false names and shell companies.
But one pattern repeated.
Every design sold by A.D. Atelier had a matching prototype sketch in a now-closed archive that once belonged to Klara Hale’s private vault. The same vault that went missing after her death.
Stolen.
Used.
And monetized.
He reached for his phone and texted Jessica:
Liam: I found something.
The person funding A.D. Atelier… they knew Klara. And they’re using your name to stay invisible.
The reply came almost instantly.
Jessica: Tell me where.
I’m done hiding.
Back in the studio, Jessica’s jaw clenched.
August Hale.
She didn’t recognize the name. Not directly.
But she remembered a story Mara had once told her a distant cousin of Klara’s who had disappeared from the family during some scandal decades ago. A failed artist. Bitter. Always in Klara’s shadow.
“August,” she whispered. “You really thought you could become me?”
She grabbed her coat and left without another word to Celeste.
This wasn’t about legacy anymore.
This was about theft. Identity. And justice.
Meanwhile, in a quiet corner of a luxurious brownstone in Velaria’s wealthiest district, a figure stared at a mood board filled with Klara Hale’s sketches altered, modernized, and market-ready.
A soft smile curled on August Hale’s lips as he placed a new headline onto the board:
“Velaria's Rising Star — Or Klara Hale’s Copy?”
He poured a glass of wine and stared at the pinned photo of Jessica in the red dress.
“Just like your mother,” he murmured. “But less careful.”
He took a sip.
“Let’s see how far you rise before they rip your wings off.”
End of One Night in Valeria Chapter 24. Continue reading Chapter 25 or return to One Night in Valeria book page.