Chapter 9: The Friend Who Knew My Secrets
I stared at the screen.
I waited for my mind to reject what I was seeing.
For the video to glitch.
For the image to change.
For some impossible explanation to appear.
But it didn't.
The person standing behind me in my father's office was exactly who I thought it was.
My best friend.
Nathan Reed.
The boy who had grown up three houses away from mine.
The boy who taught me how to ride a bike.
The boy who sat beside me at my mother's funeral because he knew I couldn't stand alone.
The boy who visited me during my first month in prison.
The boy who looked me in the eyes and said:
“Finnley, I swear I'll help you prove the truth.””
My hands went cold.
“No.””
The word escaped before I could stop it.
Claire looked at me.
“Who is he?””
I didn't answer.
Because saying his name out loud made it real.
Adrian leaned toward the screen.
“Finnley.””
I looked at him.
“Don't.””
He stopped.
I watched the video again.
The timestamp appeared in the corner.
The night before my arrest.
The night everything changed.
On the screen, I walked into my father's office carrying a folder.
I remembered that night.
I remembered being angry.
I remembered my father calling me because he wanted to talk about the company.
I remembered thinking he was going to accuse me.
I remembered Nathan texting me earlier that evening.
*Your dad wants to talk? Be careful. Something feels wrong.*
I thought he was protecting me.
I thought he was warning me.
But now...
Now I wondered if he was guiding me.
The video continued.
My younger self placed the folder on my father's desk.
Then Nathan entered.
My heart pounded.
I had forgotten he was there.
Or maybe I never knew.
The camera angle changed.
A hidden camera.
My father had been recording everything.
Nathan walked toward the desk.
He looked calm.
Too calm.
My father turned toward him.
“Why are you here, Nathan?””
Even through the old recording, I heard the tension in my father's voice.
Nathan smiled.
The same smile I had seen a thousand times.
The same smile I trusted.
“I came to help.””
My father didn't smile back.
“With what?””
Nathan glanced at me.
Then at the folder.
“With the problem you created.””
My younger self looked confused.
“What problem?””
The Nathan on the screen opened the folder.
Inside were financial documents.
Company records.
The same documents that later became evidence against me.
I felt sick.
Nathan had planted them.
Or at least, he was involved.
My father stood.
“Where did you get those?””
Nathan shrugged.
“Does it matter?””
My father's expression changed.
He knew.
He understood before I did.
“Nathan.””
His voice became quiet.
“What have you done?””
The video froze for a second.
Then continued.
Nathan stepped closer.
“I gave you every chance.””
My chest tightened.
Every chance?
What was he talking about?
“You think this company belongs to you forever,” Nathan said.
“You think you can just decide who deserves what.””
My father stared at him.
“You're talking about the research.””
Silence.
That one sentence changed everything.
Nathan looked toward the camera.
Almost like he knew it was there.
“Yes.””
My breathing stopped.
The research.
The thing everyone was willing to destroy lives over.
The thing my father had hidden.
Nathan knew.
My father continued.
“You were never supposed to know about that.””
Nathan laughed.
“That's where you were wrong.””
The screen flickered.
Then Nathan said:
“You trusted your son too much.””
My stomach turned.
He wasn't talking about me.
He was talking about my father.
“You thought Finnley was the only person you could trust.””
Nathan looked at me.
“But he was the easiest person to sacrifice.””
I stood up so quickly the chair fell backward.
“No.””
Nobody spoke.
I walked away from the table.
I couldn't watch anymore.
My entire life had been built around people I believed in.
My father.
My mother.
Reagan.
Elliot.
Adrian.
Nathan.
Everyone had a secret.
Everyone had a reason.
And I was always the person standing in the middle, taking the damage.
Claire came closer.
“Finnley.””
I shook my head.
“Don't.””
She stopped.
“I knew him.””
Her voice softened.
“I know.””
“No.””
I looked at her.
“You don't.””
My eyes burned.
“He was my family.””
Claire looked down.
“I know what that feels like.””
That stopped me.
Because she did.
She had lost my father.
She had lost her life.
She had lived in hiding while I grew up without her.
For the first time, I realized we weren't just chasing the truth.
We were both grieving the same thing.
The people we thought we knew.
I returned to the table.
The video was still paused.
Adrian looked at me.
“There is more.””
I nodded.
“Play it.””
The video continued.
Nathan picked up the documents.
“You should have handed over control years ago.””
My father looked furious.
“You have no idea what you're dealing with.””
Nathan smiled.
“I know exactly what I'm dealing with.””
He leaned closer.
“And soon, everyone else will too.””
My father looked toward me.
His expression changed.
Fear.
Not for himself.
For me.
“Finnley, leave.””
My younger self looked confused.
“What?””
“Leave now.””
Nathan moved.
Too quickly.
The camera caught it.
He reached toward my father.
And my father pushed him away.
The recording ended.
Everyone sat in silence.
Then Adrian spoke.
“Your father knew.””
I looked at him.
“Knew what?””
“That Nathan was dangerous.””
I looked back at the screen.
“Then why didn't he tell me?””
Claire answered quietly.
“Because he didn't want Nathan to know you were suspicious.””
I laughed.
A painful sound.
“So instead, he let me trust him.””
She looked at me.
“Because your father believed the truth would come out.””
I looked at the flash drive.
The evidence.
The recordings.
The secrets.
“And it almost didn't.””
No one disagreed.
Then Walter noticed something.
“Wait.””
He pointed at the screen.
“Look.””
The video timeline.
A second file had appeared.
Not from the flash drive.
From the laptop.
A hidden folder had unlocked.
The name was simple.
*For Finnley.*
My hands shook as I opened it.
Inside was one final recording.
My father's face appeared.
But this time, he wasn't in his office.
He was sitting in the same hidden room beneath the garage.
The room where we found everything.
He looked exhausted.
But determined.
“Finnley.””
I swallowed.
“I don't know when you will see this.””
His voice cracked slightly.
“But if you are watching this, then you know about Nathan.””
I closed my eyes.
My father knew.
“I am sorry.””
Those two words hurt more than anything.
“I am sorry that I made you carry a burden you never understood.””
He looked directly into the camera.
“But I need you to know something.””
A pause.
“Nathan was never the mastermind.””
Everyone froze.
The cabin became silent.
My father's next words were barely above a whisper.
“He was working for someone else.””
My heartbeat increased.
Someone else.
Another person.
Another secret.
“I spent months trying to find out who was controlling him.””
My father looked down.
“And when I finally discovered the truth, I understood why they had been so careful.””
The recording shook.
Then my father said:
“The person behind everything was not outside this family.””
A pause.
“They were inside it.””
The screen flickered.
A final image appeared.
A document.
A signature.
A name.
I stared.
Then I felt the blood leave my face.
Because the person who had controlled Nathan...
The person who had manipulated Elliot...
The person who had helped destroy my life...
Was the last person I expected.
The document showed a legal agreement.
And at the bottom was a signature.
*Camden Dennis.*
My father's name.
I looked at Claire.
“What does this mean?””
She looked terrified.
“I don't know.””
Adrian stood.
“Finnley.””
I looked at him.
His face was pale.
“There is only one possibility.””
“What?””
He pointed at the screen.
“Your father wasn't just investigating the person behind this.””
A long silence.
“He was connected to them.””
The cabin door suddenly shook.
Someone was outside.
Walter turned off the lights.
Nobody moved.
Then a voice came from the darkness outside.
A voice I recognized.
Nathan.
“Finnley.””
My blood froze.
“I know you're in there.””
He knocked once.
Slowly.
Calmly.
Then he said:
“You finally found out the truth.””
Another knock.
“But you still don't know the worst part.””
The room went silent.
Nathan whispered:
“Your father wasn't trying to expose me.””
May you like
A pause.
“He was trying to protect me from you.””
