Chapter 7: The Person I Trusted Most
The first thing I felt was not anger.
It was disbelief.
Because betrayal from an enemy was expected.
You prepared for it.
You watched for it.
You protected yourself against it.
But betrayal from someone you trusted felt different.
It didn’t break down the walls around you.
It made you question whether you had built them around the wrong people.
I stared at the photograph on my desk.
The handwritten message.
*She knows everything.*
Four words.
Four words that had turned my entire world upside down.
Olivia stood across from me, silent.
Waiting.
She knew better than to interrupt when I was processing something painful.
That was one of the reasons I trusted her.
Or at least, one of the reasons I thought I did.
“Say it,” I whispered.
She looked confused.
“Say what?””
“The name.””
Her expression tightened.
“Emma…”
“Say who you think wrote it.””
She looked down.
“I don’t want to accuse someone without proof.””
I almost smiled.
That was Olivia.
Even when everything was falling apart, she still searched for facts before conclusions.
“Then find the proof.””
She nodded.
“I will.””
I picked up the photograph again.
“Until then, nobody knows we found this.””
“Nobody?””
“Nobody.””
“What about Arthur?””
I paused.
The question bothered me because I didn’t know the answer.
Arthur had lied.
He had hidden the truth.
He had been part of a plan that hurt me.
But he had also warned me.
And now, somehow, he was caught in the middle of something even bigger.
“I don’t know yet.””
Olivia studied me.
“You still care about him.””
I looked away.
“I care about the person I thought he was.””
“That’s different.””
“Yes.””
A long silence followed.
Then Olivia opened her laptop.
“I’ll check the internal systems.””
“What exactly?””
“Who accessed your private files.””
“Marcus already admitted he did.””
“Yes.””
She typed quickly.
“But Marcus only opened the financial documents.””
“What about the personal files?””
Her fingers stopped.
“What personal files?””
I looked at her.
The question answered itself.
Olivia slowly turned the laptop toward me.
“Emma…”
The security system displayed every restricted file inside Northbridge.
Ownership agreements.
Legal documents.
Private correspondence.
The original Carter Logistics records.
The files my father left behind.
My stomach tightened.
“Someone accessed these?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
She checked.
Then looked at me.
“Last month.””
Last month.
Before Arthur knew about Northbridge.
Before the dinner.
Before everything exploded.
“Who?””
Olivia searched.
The name appeared.
I stared.
No.
Not again.
Because this time, the name hurt more.
“Emma?””
I didn’t answer.
Olivia looked at the screen.
Then at me.
Her voice became quiet.
“It was me.””
The room went completely still.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
I looked at Olivia.
My best friend.
My employee.
The person who had been beside me through every impossible moment.
“You accessed the files.””
It wasn’t a question.
Olivia swallowed.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
She didn’t answer.
That was the part that hurt.
Not the access.
Not even the secret.
The hesitation.
“Olivia.””
She closed her laptop.
“I can explain.””
I laughed quietly.
A sad, empty sound.
“That’s what everyone says.””
Her eyes filled with frustration.
“Emma, please.””
“No.””
I stood.
“I need the truth.””
“You deserve the truth.””
“Then give it to me.””
She took a deep breath.
“Your father contacted me before he died.””
The words stopped me.
“What?””
Olivia looked down.
“He asked me to protect something.””
My expression changed.
“You knew my father?””
“Not well.””
“Then why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because he asked me not to.””
I stared at her.
“That makes no sense.””
“It will.””
She opened her bag and pulled out a small envelope.
She placed it on the desk.
“My mother worked for your father.””
I looked at the envelope.
“Your mother?””
“Yes.””
I sat slowly.
Olivia continued.
“She was his assistant for fifteen years.””
That was impossible.
I had known Olivia for five years.
She had never mentioned this.
“My father never told me.””
“Because he didn’t want you involved.””
“Why?””
“Because of Victoria Hale.””
The name again.
Always the same name.
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a letter.
Not from my father.
From Olivia’s mother.
The handwriting was shaky.
Emma,
If Olivia gives you this letter, it means the past has finally found you.
I looked up.
Olivia’s face was pale.
I continued reading.
Your father spent years trying to protect you from people who saw his work as something to claim.
My fingers tightened.
Victoria Hale was one of them.
The letter continued.
But she was not alone.
I looked at Olivia.
“What does that mean?””
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
I kept reading.
There was someone else. Someone closer. Someone your father trusted.
My heart started racing.
Someone closer.
Someone trusted.
The same words.
The same pattern.
Your father knew betrayal would eventually come from someone inside his circle.
I lowered the letter.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
Olivia looked away.
“Because I didn’t know if I should.””
“That’s not an answer.””
She wiped her eyes.
“Because your father made me promise.””
“Promise what?””
“To protect you.””
The words hit harder than I expected.
Not the company.
Not the money.
Me.
My father had known.
He had known someone would come after everything.
And he had left people behind to protect me.
“Why did you access the files?””
Olivia looked at the desk.
“Because I was trying to find the truth.””
“About what?””
“About who your father was afraid of.””
I stared at her.
“And you found something.””
She nodded.
“Yes.””
“What?””
She hesitated.
Then opened another file.
A scanned document appeared.
A payment record.
My eyes moved over the details.
A transfer.
Twenty years ago.
From a private account.
To a company owned by—
I froze.
“No.””
Olivia whispered:
“Yes.””
The company name was clear.
Hale International.
But the recipient wasn’t Victoria.
It wasn’t Richard.
It wasn’t Arthur.
It was someone else.
Someone who had been there from the beginning.
Someone whose name I never expected to see.
“Emma…”
I looked at Olivia.
“Who authorized this?””
She pointed to the signature.
My hands went cold.
Because the signature belonged to my father.
I spent the next hour saying nothing.
Not because I had no questions.
Because I had too many.
My father.
The man I had trusted more than anyone.
Had made a payment to Hale International twenty years ago.
Why?
What was he hiding?
And why had he warned me about Victoria while leaving this behind?
Olivia sat quietly.
She didn’t defend him.
She didn’t make excuses.
That was one thing I appreciated.
She knew sometimes people needed the truth before comfort.
Finally, I spoke.
“My father wasn’t just fighting Victoria.””
“No.””
“He was hiding something.””
“Yes.””
“And you knew.””
Olivia nodded.
“I knew there were secrets.””
“Why stay?””
Her eyes met mine.
“Because your father was the only person who believed in my mother when nobody else did.””
I looked at her.
“He helped your family?””
“Yes.””
“And now you helped me?””
She smiled sadly.
“I tried.””
The word bothered me.
Tried.
Past tense.
“What happened?””
She looked nervous.
“Emma.””
“What?””
“There’s something else.””
I closed my eyes.
Of course there was.
Every answer opened another door.
“What?””
Olivia reached for her phone.
“I received a message yesterday.””
“From who?””
She showed me.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
My heart stopped.
*Ask Emma why her father lied about the night Northbridge began.*
I looked up.
“What does that mean?””
Olivia shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
But I did.
Or at least, I feared I did.
Because there was one thing about Northbridge’s beginning that I had never questioned.
The night everything changed.
The night my company received its first major investment.
The night my father celebrated with me.
The night he told me:
“Emma, this is the beginning of something incredible.””
I had always believed that night was the happiest moment of my life.
But now I wondered.
What if it wasn’t a beginning?
What if it was the moment everything went wrong?
My phone suddenly rang.
Both Olivia and I looked at the screen.
Arthur.
I answered.
“Hello?””
His voice was tense.
“Emma.””
“What happened?””
A pause.
Then:
“I found out who has been helping my father.””
My grip tightened.
“Who?””
Arthur’s voice dropped.
And when he said the name, I felt the last piece of my old life disappear.
“It’s someone you know.””
I closed my eyes.
“Who?””
Arthur answered:
“Your father’s former business partner.””
I froze.
“My father didn’t have one.””
Silence.
Then Arthur said:
“Emma…”
“What?””
“The man everyone thought died eight years ago…”
May you like
My heart stopped.
“Your father’s partner is alive.””
