Chapter 5: The Secret Between Father and Son
I stared at the photograph until my eyes burned.
Sarah.
My wife.
Standing outside the hospital three years ago.
The same day I lost her.
And beside her…
My father.
Richard Hayes.
The man who looked me in the eyes at her funeral and told me he had never spoken to her before.
The man who claimed he barely knew her.
My hands shook as I zoomed in on the image.
The quality was grainy.
Old.
But clear enough.
Sarah’s face wasn’t the face of someone who was afraid.
She wasn’t crying.
She wasn’t being forced.
She was angry.
She was pointing at Richard.
And Richard looked like he was trying to explain something.
A memory surfaced.
A conversation from years ago.
Before Sarah died.
I had come home late from work.
Sarah was sitting at the kitchen table.
She had a stack of papers in front of her.
When I walked in, she quickly covered them.
“What are those?””
“Nothing.””
I laughed.
“You too?””
She smiled sadly.
“Sometimes people hide things because they’re trying to protect someone.””
I remember sitting beside her.
“Protect who?””
She looked at me.
And for a second, I thought she was going to tell me.
But she didn’t.
“Forget I said anything.””
I hated that memory.
Because now I wondered how many times Sarah had tried to warn me.
And how many times I had been too distracted to listen.
My phone buzzed.
Another message.
This time from an unknown number.
*Do not confront Richard yet. You don’t know what he’s capable of.*
I immediately typed back.
*Who are you?*
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
No answer.
I looked at the photo again.
The person who sent it knew something.
Something they were afraid to say.
I found Richard in the mansion library.
Of course he was there.
The room had always been his favorite.
Dark wood shelves.
Leather chairs.
Thousands of books nobody actually read.
He believed a powerful person needed a room that reminded others of power.
He looked up when I entered.
“I wondered when you would come.””
That sentence told me everything.
He expected me.
“You knew.””
Richard closed the book in his hand.
“About what?””
“Don’t do that.””
“Do what?””
“Pretend you don’t know.””
His expression remained calm.
It made me angrier.
“You met Sarah at the hospital the day she died.””
For the first time, his face changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
“I see.””
I placed the photo on the table.
His eyes moved to it.
Then back to me.
“Where did you get this?””
“Answer the question.””
Richard stood slowly.
“You should be careful with things you don’t understand.””
I laughed.
“That’s your response?””
“It’s advice.””
“No.””
I stepped closer.
“It’s a threat.””
The room became silent.
My father looked at me differently then.
Not like a son.
Like an opponent.
“You have always been emotional.””
“And you have always confused coldness with strength.””
His jaw tightened.
Good.
I wanted him angry.
I wanted him to stop pretending.
“What happened between you and Sarah?””
Richard walked toward the window.
“Your wife was intelligent.””
“That’s not an answer.””
“She discovered things.””
“What things?””
He didn’t respond.
I slammed my hand on the table.
“What things?””
Richard turned.
“Things that would have destroyed this family.””
I stared at him.
“Our family?””
“Yes.””
“No.””
My voice lowered.
“You destroyed this family.””
His eyes hardened.
“You don’t know what you’re saying.””
“I know my daughter was afraid in her own home.””
A brief silence.
“She was being influenced.””
“By who?””
Richard didn’t answer.
And I realized something.
He wasn’t defending Victoria.
He was protecting something else.
“What did Sarah find?””
Richard looked away.
Then he said:
“Your wife made mistakes.””
My blood ran cold.
“Don’t talk about her like that.””
“She wasn’t perfect.””
“No one is.””
“She trusted the wrong people.””
I stepped closer.
“Like you?””
Richard looked at me.
And for a moment, I saw something I had never seen before.
Fear.
Not guilt.
Fear.
“What did Sarah know?””
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he walked to a cabinet and pulled out a small wooden box.
My eyes narrowed.
“What is that?””
Something changed in his expression.
“You were never supposed to see this.””
He opened the box.
Inside was a stack of letters.
My heart stopped.
Because I recognized the handwriting immediately.
Sarah’s.
I reached for them.
Richard moved the box away.
“No.””
The single word shocked me.
“You have her letters?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because she asked me to keep them.””
I stared at him.
“That’s impossible.””
“Is it?””
“Sarah hated you.””
His face tightened.
“She was angry with me.””
“That’s not the same thing.””
Richard looked down at the letters.
“She understood more than you ever did.””
I wanted to grab them.
Demand answers.
But something stopped me.
Because suddenly I wondered.
What if these letters revealed something I wasn’t ready to know?
“What did she write?””
Richard was quiet.
Then:
“She blamed me.””
My breathing slowed.
“For what?””
He looked at me.
“For failing you.””
The answer wasn’t what I expected.
“You’re lying.””
“I wish I was.””
He closed the box.
“Sarah believed I pushed you too hard. She believed my obsession with success turned you into someone who only knew how to work.””
My hands clenched.
“That doesn’t explain why you hid this.””
“No.””
He looked at the box.
“It doesn’t.””
A long silence followed.
Then he said something that made my entire body freeze.
“She also wrote that if anything happened to her, you should not trust Victoria.””
My heart pounded.
“Then why did you let Victoria stay?””
Richard looked at me.
“Because by the time I realized how dangerous she was, it was already too late.””
I left the library with more questions than answers.
That had become the pattern of my life.
Every truth opened another door.
Every door led to something darker.
I found Daniel waiting in my office.
He looked nervous.
That alone concerned me.
Daniel was never nervous.
“What happened?””
He stood.
“Sir, I found something.””
I closed the door.
“What?””
He placed a folder on my desk.
“The guardianship agreement.””
I opened it.
“Is it fake?””
“No.””
That surprised me.
“But something is wrong.””
He pointed at a page.
“The signature.””
I looked closer.
“My signature is real.””
“Yes.””
“Then what’s wrong?””
Daniel hesitated.
“The date.””
I frowned.
“What about it?””
“The document was signed six months before Sarah died.””
I looked up.
“What?””
Daniel nodded.
“That means this wasn’t created because you were grieving after her death.””
My stomach tightened.
“It was created while she was alive.””
“Yes.””
I stared at the paper.
Six months before.
Sarah was still alive.
Victoria and Richard weren’t reacting to a tragedy.
They were preparing for something.
Something before Sarah died.
“Find everything,” I said.
Daniel looked at me.
“Everything?””
“Every financial record. Every legal document. Every communication between Victoria, Richard, and anyone connected to this.””
He nodded.
Then stopped.
“Sir?””
“What?””
“There’s one more thing.””
“What?””
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“I checked the document history.””
“And?””
“It was edited after your signature.””
“When?””
“Three days after Sarah’s funeral.””
The room went silent.
“Who edited it?””
Daniel swallowed.
“The account used to access the file belonged to…”
He stopped.
I stared at him.
“Say it.””
Daniel looked down.
“Your company account.””
“That’s impossible.””
“No, sir.””
He pushed another paper toward me.
“It’s not impossible.””
I looked at the name.
The person who accessed the file.
The person who changed the agreement after Sarah’s death.
The person who had been helping Victoria and Richard hide everything.
And I felt the ground disappear beneath me.
Because the person wasn’t a stranger.
It was someone I trusted.
Someone who had been standing beside me through every crisis.
The name at the bottom of the page was:
May you like
*Daniel Cross.*
My own lawyer.
