Chapter 7 - THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ACCIDENT
The darkness was absolute.
My mother grabbed my arm.
“Ethan.”
“I’m here.”
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Deliberate.
I reached for my phone.
No signal.
Marcus shouted from outside.
“Ethan!”
I ran toward the front door.
It wouldn't open.
I pulled harder.
Nothing.
Then the lights suddenly returned.
The room was empty.
But the hidden study had changed.
The folder containing my father's final documents was gone.
Claire stood beside the desk.
Her face was pale.
“Where is it?”
She shook her head.
“I didn't take it.”
I looked at the door.
Someone had been inside.
Someone who knew about the hidden room.
Someone who knew exactly what they wanted.
My mother suddenly pointed toward the desk.
“There.”
A small red light blinked beneath it.
A recording device.
I picked it up.
My father’s voice came through the speaker.
“If you're hearing this, then I'm dead.”
My mother began crying.
His voice continued.
“I discovered that Robert has been stealing from the company for years.”
I looked at Claire.
The recording continued.
“But Robert is not working alone.”
A pause.
Then my father said a name.
“Daniel Ross.”
I felt the room spin.
Claire closed her eyes.
My father continued.
“Daniel has been moving money through several shell companies. One of them is registered under the name of Claire Morgan.”
I turned toward Claire.
She looked at me.
“I can explain.”
My father's voice continued.
“Claire is not part of the theft.”
I froze.
“She is working with me.”
My mother covered her mouth.
The recording continued.
“If anything happens to me, she must be protected.”
I stared at Claire.
She was crying silently.
The truth came out in fragments.
My father had discovered the theft.
He had secretly hired Claire, who had previously worked in financial investigations.
Daniel had discovered the investigation.
He had threatened Claire.
Then my father died in a car accident.
The case had disappeared.
Claire had believed Daniel was responsible.
She had spent years trying to find proof.
But there was more.
My father’s final words were barely audible.
“Ethan must never know until he is ready.”
The recording ended.
I looked at Claire.
“Why did you lie to me?”
She wiped her face.
“Because your father asked me to keep you safe.”
“You were going to marry me.”
“Yes.”
“While investigating my family?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever love me?”
She looked directly at me.
“That was the only part that was real.”
I wanted to believe her.
I wanted to hate her.
I couldn't do either.
Then my mother spoke.
“Ethan.”
I turned.
She was holding another photograph.
It showed Uncle Robert.
Standing beside the car my father had been driving the night he died.
The photograph had been taken hours before the accident.
On the back was a single sentence:
“Robert was the last person to see him alive.”
My phone suddenly rang.
This time, the number was not unknown.
It was my uncle.
I answered.
His voice was calm.
“Ethan.”
I said nothing.
He continued.
“I heard the wedding was canceled.”
I looked at Claire.
Then at my mother.
“Did you kill my father?”
Silence.
May you like
Then Robert laughed.
“You always were more intelligent than I expected.”
