Chapter 7: The Night My Father Asked Me To Forget
Daniel didn’t sleep.
Not because he was afraid.
Because every time he closed his eyes, he saw the same thing.
The photograph of Claire outside the café.
The message.
The warning.
And the one sentence that kept repeating in his mind.
*Ask your sister what happened the night your father died.*
By sunrise, he was already standing outside Victoria’s apartment.
He didn’t call.
He didn’t knock gently.
He hit the door hard enough that the sound echoed through the hallway.
A few seconds later, Victoria opened it.
The moment she saw his face, she knew.
“What happened?””
Daniel held up his phone.
Her expression changed.
Not surprise.
Fear.
That was all he needed to see.
“You know who sent this.””
Victoria stepped back.
“Come inside.””
“No.””
“Daniel.””
“No.””
His voice was colder than he expected.
“You knew.””
Victoria looked away.
“I suspected.””
“You always say that.””
He stepped closer.
“You suspected the letter. You suspected Sabrina. You suspected Marcus.””
His eyes narrowed.
“What else have you been hiding?””
Victoria swallowed.
“Something I promised Dad I would never tell you.””
Daniel felt his chest tighten.
“Of course.””
“Daniel—”
“No.””
He shook his head.
“I’m tired of everyone protecting me from the truth.””
Victoria’s face softened.
“You don’t understand.””
“Then explain.””
She looked at him.
And for the first time in years, Daniel saw his little sister look afraid of him.
Not because he was angry.
Because she knew he was finally ready to hear something he couldn’t ignore.
“Your father didn’t die the way you think.””
The words stopped him.
“What?””
Victoria opened the door wider.
“Come in.””
This time, Daniel did.
Victoria sat across from him at her kitchen table.
The same table where they had spent countless holidays together.
The same place where they had laughed about old family stories.
Now it felt like an interrogation room.
Daniel waited.
Victoria looked down at her hands.
“Dad had a heart attack.””
“I know.””
“But that wasn’t the first thing that happened.””
Daniel said nothing.
“Three days before he died, he found out someone had been stealing from Mercer Consulting.””
Daniel frowned.
“Stealing?””
“Yes.””
“How much?””
“Millions.””
Daniel stared.
“Who?””
Victoria hesitated.
“Someone close.””
His jaw tightened.
“Marcus?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
“Then who?””
Victoria looked at him.
“Someone inside our family.””
The room went silent.
Daniel felt the old anger returning.
“Mom?””
“No.””
“Then who?””
Victoria looked away.
“I don’t know.””
That answer frustrated him.
“You said someone close.””
“I said Dad believed someone close was responsible.””
Daniel leaned forward.
“What did he find?””
Victoria took a breath.
“A series of transfers. Hidden accounts. Documents that proved someone had been moving money through different companies.””
Daniel remembered his father’s obsession with business.
The late nights.
The stress.
The arguments with Robert Bennett.
“He thought Robert Bennett was involved.””
“Why?””
“Because the accounts connected to Bennett Holdings.””
Daniel shook his head.
“But Claire’s father wasn’t involved.””
“No.””
Victoria looked down.
“Dad discovered that later.””
“And then?””
She was quiet.
“Then he tried to fix it.””
Daniel waited.
“He met Robert the night they died.””
The same night.
The hospital.
The chapel.
The night Daniel met Claire.
“What happened there?””
Victoria looked at him.
“I don’t know everything.””
Daniel almost laughed.
“Again?””
She ignored it.
“But I know they realized they had both been manipulated.””
“By who?””
Victoria’s eyes moved toward the window.
“Someone who wanted them to destroy each other.””
Daniel felt a chill.
“And Marcus?””
“Marcus only knew the beginning.””
“What does that mean?””
Victoria looked back at him.
“He knew his father hated ours.””
Daniel nodded.
“And he believed the wrong story.””
“Yes.””
“But why target me?””
Victoria’s answer came quietly.
“Because you were the only person who could expose the truth.””
Daniel froze.
He left Victoria’s apartment with more questions than answers.
But this time, he had something he didn’t have before.
A direction.
Someone had created a war between two families.
Someone had hidden evidence.
Someone had watched him.
And someone knew Claire was the key.
When Daniel returned home, Claire was sitting at the dining table surrounded by documents.
She looked up.
“You talked to Victoria.””
“Yes.””
“What did she say?””
Daniel pulled out a chair.
“She said Dad and your father were investigating someone.””
Claire went still.
“Who?””
“We don’t know.””
Claire looked at the papers.
“Then why would someone threaten us?””
“Because we’re close.””
“To what?””
Daniel looked at her.
“The truth.””
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Claire reached for one of the documents.
“There’s something I never told you.””
Daniel looked up.
“What?””
“When I found your father’s letter, there was another piece of paper with it.””
His expression changed.
“What piece?””
“I didn’t understand it.””
She handed it to him.
Daniel read the note.
It was short.
Only one sentence.
*The person you trust most is the one who will hurt you first.*
He looked at Claire.
“When did you find this?””
“Six months ago.””
“And you kept it?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because I thought it was about you.””
Daniel frowned.
“About me?””
Claire nodded.
“I thought your father was warning me about something you had done.””
The honesty hurt.
But he understood.
After the affair, after the lies, why wouldn’t she think that?
“What changed your mind?””
“Marcus.””
Daniel looked at her.
“Why?””
“Because when he saw this note, he reacted.””
“What did he do?””
Claire’s face became serious.
“He looked scared.””
Daniel leaned back.
“So Marcus knows something.””
“Yes.””
“Then we talk to him.””
Claire immediately shook her head.
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because Marcus has been lying for years.””
Daniel stood.
“Exactly.””
“That’s why we don’t go to him.””
He looked confused.
“Then what do we do?””
Claire looked at the documents.
“We find the person Marcus was afraid of.””
That evening, Daniel went through his father’s old files.
Not casually.
Not like before.
This time, he looked for patterns.
Dates.
Names.
Connections.
Hours passed.
Then he found something.
A company name repeated throughout the documents.
A company that meant nothing to him.
*Northbridge Holdings.*
Daniel searched the old records.
His eyes narrowed.
The company had been created six months before his father’s death.
And the owner?
Hidden.
No public record.
No obvious connection.
He called Victoria.
She answered immediately.
“Did you find something?””
“Yes.””
He gave her the company name.
Silence.
Then:
“Daniel…”
“What?””
“Where did you find that?””
“In Dad’s files.””
Her voice changed.
“Delete everything.””
He froze.
“What?””
“Daniel, listen to me.””
“No.””
His anger returned.
“Not again.””
“Please.””
“No.””
He stood.
“I need answers.””
Victoria’s voice shook.
“Daniel, you don’t understand.””
“Then explain.””
A long pause.
Then she whispered:
“Because Northbridge was created by someone who knew exactly how your father would die.””
Daniel stopped moving.
“What are you saying?””
“I’m saying Dad wasn’t investigating them.””
“Then what?””
Victoria’s voice became barely audible.
“They were investigating him.””
The line went quiet.
Daniel looked at Claire.
She saw his face.
“What happened?””
He couldn’t answer.
Because another notification appeared on his phone.
Another message.
This time, no warning.
No threat.
Just a photograph.
A photograph from four years ago.
The hospital.
His father’s room.
Daniel standing beside the bed.
Claire sitting nearby.
And behind them…
Someone else.
Someone Daniel recognized immediately.
His blood turned cold.
Because the person standing in the doorway wasn’t a stranger.
It wasn’t Marcus.
It wasn’t Sabrina.
It was someone who had spent the last four years pretending to mourn with him.
May you like
The message underneath the photo contained only five words.
*Your sister knows the rest.*
