Chapter 7: The Man Who Knew My Father
I stared at the message until the screen went dark.
Then I turned it back on.
I needed to see it again.
Maybe I had read it wrong.
Maybe my exhausted mind was creating another nightmare.
But the words remained.
He still hasn’t told you what he did the night your father died.
I looked at Daniel.
His expression told me everything.
“You know who sent this.””
He didn’t answer.
“Daniel.””
He slowly sat down.
“Yes.””
My stomach tightened.
“Who?””
He looked miserable.
“Your uncle.””
I grabbed my coat.
“Take me to him.””
Daniel looked surprised.
“What?””
“You heard me.””
“Emily, you don’t understand.””
“I understand one thing.””
I walked toward the door.
“Everyone keeps telling me I don’t understand.””
I turned around.
“I’m tired of being the only person in the room who doesn’t know the truth.””
Two hours later, we arrived at a small house outside the city.
I hadn’t been there since I was eighteen.
The paint was faded.
The garden was overgrown.
But the house looked exactly the same.
Daniel stayed in the car.
“I’ll wait.””
I didn’t respond.
I knocked.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the door opened.
A man stood there.
Older.
Tired.
But familiar.
“Emily?””
My uncle Thomas looked like he had seen a ghost.
I swallowed.
“Hello, Uncle.””
His eyes moved behind me.
To Daniel sitting in the car.
Then back to me.
“You finally know.””
Those words hurt.
Because they meant everyone had been waiting for me to find out.
Everyone except me.
“What happened to my father?””
Thomas looked away.
“Come inside.””
The house smelled like old books and coffee.
The same smell my father’s study used to have.
I sat at the kitchen table.
Thomas remained standing.
“Your father loved you more than anything.””
“Then why did he hide things from me?””
His face tightened.
“Because he was trying to protect you.””
I shook my head.
“That’s what everyone says.””
Thomas sighed.
“Because it’s true.””
“No.””
I looked at him.
“Protection doesn’t feel like betrayal when you’re the one being protected.””
He was quiet.
Then he finally sat.
“Your father discovered Daniel had been lying.””
“I know.””
“No.””
Thomas shook his head.
“You know about the money. The affairs. The gambling.””
He leaned forward.
“You don’t know the biggest lie.””
My hands tightened.
“What lie?””
Thomas looked toward the window.
“Daniel didn’t meet you because of your father.””
My heart sank.
“Then why?””
“Because your father asked him to.””
I froze.
“What?””
Thomas nodded slowly.
“Your father knew he was sick.””
I felt my chest tighten.
“He knew?””
“Yes.””
My father died suddenly.
At least that was what I had always believed.
“He knew he didn’t have much time.””
I looked down.
“So he wanted Daniel to…”
“Watch over you.””
The words felt like a punch.
My father had chosen Daniel.
Trusted Daniel.
Believed Daniel was a good man.
And Daniel destroyed everything.
“Why would my father trust him?””
Thomas looked ashamed.
“Because he didn’t know the truth.””
“What truth?””
Thomas stood and walked to an old cabinet.
He removed a box.
Inside were documents.
Photos.
Letters.
He placed one photograph in front of me.
A younger Daniel.
Standing beside my father.
And another person.
My mother.
I stared.
“I don’t understand.””
Thomas whispered:
“Daniel knew your mother before she died.””
I felt cold.
“My mother died when I was eight.””
“Yes.””
“Daniel knew her?””
Thomas nodded.
“And he was the last person your father accused of lying to him.””
The room spun.
I grabbed the table.
“No.””
“I’m sorry.””
“No.””
I pushed the photo away.
“This doesn’t make sense.””
Thomas opened another document.
“This is why your father changed his will.””
My eyes moved across the page.
And then I saw it.
A name.
Daniel Carter.
My husband’s name.
Written beside an inheritance agreement.
I looked at Thomas.
“What is this?””
He looked at me with sadness.
“Your father planned to give Daniel everything he needed to start over.””
“Why?””
“Because he thought Daniel was like a son.””
My hands shook.
“And then?””
Thomas looked toward the door.
“And then your father discovered Daniel had been stealing from him.””
I stopped breathing.
The room went silent.
“Stealing what?””
Thomas’s voice lowered.
“The one thing your father cared about most.””
I waited.
“The company.””
My eyes widened.
The company.
The same company where Daniel worked.
The same company where he received his promotion.
The same company where Richard was his boss.
Suddenly, everything connected.
Daniel wasn’t chasing a promotion.
He was chasing something bigger.
I stood.
“Where is Daniel?””
Thomas looked confused.
“Outside.””
I walked toward the door.
But before I opened it, Thomas said:
“Emily.””
I turned.
“You need to know one more thing.””
“What?””
Thomas looked terrified.
“Your father didn’t die naturally.””
My blood ran cold.
“What did you say?””
May you like
Thomas whispered:
“Your father was murdered.””