PART 3 — THE SECRET BEHIND MY FATHER’S DEATH
I read the sentence three times.
ASK YOUR HUSBAND WHAT HAPPENED THE NIGHT YOUR FATHER DIED.
For several seconds, I couldn’t move.
The morning light coming through the window suddenly felt too bright.
My father’s death had always been the one subject I never questioned.
He had died eleven years earlier.
A late-night highway accident.
That’s what I had been told.
That’s what the police report said.
That’s what my mother had cried over.
That’s what Michael had listened to when I told him the story during our first year together.
And now someone was telling me it wasn’t true.
I looked at the photograph again.
Michael stood beside Sarah.
And beside them was a man I recognized immediately.
Daniel Cross.
Vega International’s former chief financial officer.
My father’s closest business associate.
The man who had disappeared from the company six months after my father’s death.
The man my father had once called “the most trustworthy person I know.”
My hands began shaking.
I called Victoria.
She answered immediately.
“Emily?”
“Cancel the car.”
A pause.
“Why?”
“I’m not going to the tower yet.”
“Emily, the board is waiting.”
“I know.”
I looked at the photograph again.
“I need to go somewhere first.”
“Where?”
I didn’t answer.
Because suddenly there was only one place I wanted to go.
The old Vega estate.
The house where my father had spent the final years of his life.
The house I hadn’t visited since his funeral.
The house my mother had refused to enter after his death.
I grabbed my keys.
Before leaving, I placed the photograph inside my handbag.
Then I looked down at my stomach.
My baby moved.
A gentle kick.
I placed my hand over it.
“I’m going to find out the truth,” I whispered.
Then I walked outside.
The old estate stood nearly forty minutes outside the city.
The gates were covered in vines.
The stone driveway was cracked.
The fountain in front of the house had stopped working years ago.
Yet the moment I stepped through the front door, memories came rushing back.
My father’s voice.
His laughter.
The smell of his office.
The wooden staircase where I had fallen when I was eight.
The library where he taught me how to read financial reports when I was fourteen.
I walked slowly toward his office.
The door was locked.
I tried the handle.
Nothing.
I remembered something.
My father had always hidden a spare key inside the grandfather clock.
I opened the glass door.
The key was still there.
My heart pounded.
I unlocked the office.
Dust covered everything.
His desk was exactly where it had been.
His leather chair.
His old telephone.
His books.
Even the small brass pen holder he had given me when I turned sixteen.
I sat down.
For a moment, I felt like a child again.
Then I remembered why I had come.
I opened the drawers.
Nothing.
I checked the filing cabinet.
Nothing.
I searched behind the bookshelves.
Nothing.
Then I remembered something my father had once told me.
He had been sitting right here.
I had been fourteen.
He had looked at me seriously and said:
“If anything ever happens to me, don’t trust the first story they tell you.”
At the time, I had laughed.
“Dad, why would anything happen to you?”
He had smiled.
“Because powerful people make powerful enemies.”
I had forgotten that conversation.
Until now.
I stood.
I walked to the bookshelf.
My father’s favorite book was an old leather-bound volume on corporate law.
I pulled it out.
Nothing.
Then I noticed the shelf behind it was slightly loose.
I pushed.
A click sounded.
The entire section moved.
Behind it was a narrow compartment.
My breath caught.
Inside was a small metal box.
I pulled it out.
There was no key.
Only a combination lock.
I stared at the numbers.
Then I remembered my father’s favorite phrase.
“Never forget the day everything changed.”
My father’s birthday.
I entered the date.
The lock clicked.
The box opened.
Inside were documents.
Photographs.
A flash drive.
And a handwritten letter.
My father’s handwriting.
I unfolded it.
My eyes moved across the first line.
Emily, if you’re reading this, then I was right to be afraid.
I stopped breathing.
I continued.
There are people inside Vega International who are trying to take control of the company.
My hands trembled.
I don’t know who I can trust anymore.
I read faster.
Daniel Cross is involved.
I closed my eyes.
Daniel.
The man in the photograph.
The man standing beside Michael and Sarah.
My father had known.
He had known before he died.
I continued reading.
But Daniel is not acting alone.
My heart began pounding.
There was another name.
I stared at it.
Then I whispered:
“No.”
The name was:
Richard Vega.
My uncle.
My father’s younger brother.
The man who had stood beside my mother at the funeral.
The man who had hugged me and promised he would protect me.
The man who had told me my father’s death was an accident.
I dropped the letter.
For years, I had trusted him.
My phone rang.
I jumped.
Victoria.
I answered.
“Hello?”
“Emily, where are you?”
“I found something.”
“What?”
“My father knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That he was in danger.”
Silence.
Then Victoria said something that made my blood run cold.
“Emily…”
“What?”
“The board just received an anonymous package.”
“What was inside?”
“A copy of your father’s death investigation.”
I stood completely still.
“That’s impossible.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Send it to me.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s already been opened.”
“By whom?”
Victoria took a breath.
“Richard Vega.”
My uncle.
I gripped the desk.
“Why would he have access?”
“He demanded it.”
“On what authority?”
“He claims he is still entitled to certain family-trust records.”
I laughed bitterly.
“He’s not.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you let him see them?”
“We didn’t.”
My smile disappeared.
“Then how did he get them?”
Victoria didn’t answer.
I already knew.
Someone inside the company was helping him.
And that meant the betrayal went deeper than I had imagined.
I returned to the city.
By the time I reached Vega Tower, the emergency board meeting had already begun.
The elevator doors opened on the executive floor.
Everyone turned.
Nobody spoke.
I walked into the conference room.
At the far end of the table sat my uncle.
Richard Vega.
He looked older than I remembered.
But his eyes were exactly the same.
Cold.
Calculating.
He stood.
“Emily.”
I didn’t respond.
He smiled.
“You’ve grown up.”
“I’ve had to.”
His smile faded.
Victoria stood beside me.
“Let’s begin.”
Richard looked at her.
“This is a family matter.”
“No,” I said.
His eyes moved toward me.
“This is a corporate matter.”
I sat down.
The board members followed.
Michael was there.
Sarah was there.
Jessica was there.
And Daniel Cross was sitting at the opposite end of the table.
Alive.
Older.
But unmistakable.
I stared at him.
He stared back.
Neither of us spoke.
Finally, I said:
“Daniel.”
He swallowed.
“Emily.”
Michael looked between us.
“You know him?”
I looked at Michael.
“My father trusted him.”
Daniel looked down.
“And my father was wrong.”
The room became silent.
Richard leaned forward.
“Enough.”
I turned toward him.
“No.”
His expression hardened.
“You don’t understand what you’re dealing with.”
“Then explain it.”
He didn’t.
I placed the photograph on the table.
Michael stared at it.
Sarah’s face drained of color.
Daniel closed his eyes.
Richard didn’t move.
I pointed to the photograph.
“Why were Michael, Sarah, and Daniel together six months before my wedding?”
Michael looked at Sarah.
“I don’t remember this.”
Sarah shook her head.
“I don’t either.”
“You’re lying,” I said.
Sarah’s eyes filled with tears.
“I swear—”
“Don’t.”
I placed my father’s letter beside the photograph.
“My father knew.”
Daniel looked at the letter.
Then he whispered:
“He found out.”
My entire body went cold.
“Found out what?”
Daniel looked at Richard.
Richard’s expression changed.
“Don’t.”
Daniel continued.
“Your father discovered that someone had been moving money through shell companies.”
Victoria immediately opened her folder.
“Do you have evidence?”
Daniel nodded.
“I do.”
Richard stood.
“This meeting is over.”
I looked at him.
“No, Uncle.”
He stopped.
“This meeting is just beginning.”
Daniel reached into his briefcase.
He pulled out a folder.
“I kept copies.”
Richard stared at him.
“You were supposed to destroy those.”
“I couldn’t.”
Daniel placed the folder on the table.
Victoria opened it.
Inside were bank transfers.
Company accounts.
Private agreements.
And names.
My father’s name.
Richard’s name.
Daniel’s name.
And then another name.
Michael.
I stared at it.
My husband.
The man I had married.
The man who had claimed he knew nothing.
The man who had looked me in the eyes and called me useless.
His name was attached to a transaction dated three months before our wedding.
I looked at him.
“What is this?”
Michael’s face went pale.
“I don’t know.”
“You signed it.”
“No.”
“That’s your signature.”
He shook his head.
“Emily, I swear I didn’t.”
Victoria examined the document.
“It’s authentic.”
Michael stood.
“I never authorized that transfer.”
Daniel looked at him.
“You were there.”
Michael turned.
“What?”
“You were in your father’s office that night.”
Michael’s face went blank.
“My father?”
Daniel nodded.
“Your father brought you to the meeting.”
I stared at Michael.
“You never told me your father knew my father.”
Michael couldn’t speak.
Richard suddenly slammed his hand against the table.
“Enough!”
Everyone looked at him.
His breathing was heavy.
And then he said the words that changed everything.
“Michael wasn’t supposed to marry Emily.”
The room froze.
Michael looked at him.
“What?”
Richard stared at me.
“He was supposed to get close to you.”
My heart stopped.
Michael stepped backward.
“No.”
Richard continued.
“The marriage was part of the plan.”
Sarah began crying.
Michael turned toward her.
“You knew?”
She shook her head.
“I knew there was something.”
“What did you know?”
“I knew your mother wanted you close to Emily.”
Michael looked at Jessica.
“Mom?”
Jessica covered her face.
“Michael…”
I felt sick.
Three years.
Three years of memories.
The first date.
The proposal.
Our wedding.
The pregnancy.
All of it suddenly looked different.
I whispered:
“So you never loved me?”
Michael looked at me.
Tears filled his eyes.
“Emily…”
“Answer me.”
He couldn’t.
And his silence was enough.
Then Daniel spoke.
“There is something else.”
Everyone turned.
He pulled another document from the folder.
“This was your father’s final instruction.”
I took it.
The page was dated two days before his death.
At the bottom was his signature.
And one sentence.
If Emily marries anyone connected to this organization, activate the succession protocol immediately.
I stared at the words.
Then I looked at Victoria.
“Why wasn’t this activated when I married Michael?”
Victoria’s face changed.
“Because someone suppressed it.”
“Who?”
She looked toward Richard.
Richard said nothing.
Then every phone in the room buzzed simultaneously.
The board members checked their screens.
Victoria looked at hers.
Her face went pale.
“What?”
I asked.
She slowly looked up.
“The succession protocol has just been activated.”
“By whom?”
Victoria turned the screen toward me.
A single name appeared.
EMILY VEGA.
I stared at it.
“I didn’t activate it.”
Victoria nodded.
“I know.”
“Then who did?”
Nobody answered.
Because another notification appeared.
SECONDARY AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED.
Then beneath it:
AUTHORIZED PERSON: MICHAEL VEGA.
Michael stared at the screen.
“I didn’t do that.”
The system began counting down.
29:59
29:58
29:57
Victoria whispered:
“If Michael doesn’t authorize the transfer before the countdown ends…”
“What happens?”
She looked at me.
“The company control transfers automatically.”
“To whom?”
Victoria’s face was almost expressionless.
“To the person named in your father’s final succession document.”
I looked at the document.
My father had named only one person.
Me.
But then the screen changed.
A second name appeared beneath mine.
One nobody expected.
One that made Richard stand up.
One that made Michael scream:
“No!”
The name was:
LUCAS VEGA.
My unborn baby’s name.
I stared at the screen.
My father hadn’t just protected me.
He had protected my child.
And suddenly I realized the person who had been trying to destroy my marriage had never truly been interested in Michael.
They had been trying to reach the next heir.
My baby.
Then the conference room doors locked automatically.
The lights went out.
And from the hallway came the sound of someone running.
Someone had entered the building.
Someone who wasn’t supposed to be there.
And when the emergency lights finally came on, Daniel Cross was gone.
So was the folder containing the evidence of my father’s murder.
I looked at Michael.
He looked at me.
And for the first time, we were afraid of the same person.
Because whoever had killed my father eleven years ago…
had just returned.
And this time, they were coming for my child…
