Chapter 6: The File That Could Destroy Them All
Nobody moved after the call ended.
It was strange how silence could feel louder than screaming.
My sister stood frozen near the hospital door.
My parents looked like strangers.
And Michael…
Michael looked like a man who had just confirmed his worst suspicion.
“Backup file,” Detective Harper repeated.
She looked at Michael.
“What does he mean?””
Michael didn’t answer immediately.
That scared me.
Because Michael always had an answer.
In courtrooms, people feared him because he was prepared.
He knew every detail.
Every weakness.
Every hidden piece of information.
But now?
He looked genuinely unsettled.
“Michael.””
He looked at me.
“I need to check something.””
“What?””
He reached into his bag and removed his laptop.
He opened it carefully.
Detective Harper watched.
“What are you looking for?””
“A file.””
“What kind of file?””
Michael typed quickly.
“The reason I started investigating.””
The screen reflected in his eyes.
For almost a minute, nobody spoke.
Then he stopped.
His fingers froze.
“No.””
I felt my chest tighten.
“What?””
He turned the laptop slightly.
There was a folder.
Empty.
Michael stared.
“Someone accessed it.””
Detective Harper stepped closer.
“When?””
Michael checked the activity log.
“Tonight.””
My father suddenly spoke.
“You’re blaming us again?””
Michael ignored him.
His eyes remained on the screen.
“No.””
A pause.
“I’m blaming someone much smarter.””
I frowned.
“What was in that file?””
Michael closed the laptop.
“Proof.””
“Proof of what?””
He looked at me.
“Proof that your family’s problem with you didn’t start tonight.””
I felt cold.
“What does that mean?””
Michael sighed.
“Sarah, your father’s company has a private investment division.””
I nodded.
“I know.””
“A year ago, there was an internal investigation.””
“About what?””
“Missing funds.””
The room went silent.
My father’s face changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
I looked at him.
“Dad?””
He looked away.
Michael continued.
“The investigation found someone had been moving money through fake accounts.””
Detective Harper frowned.
“Who?””
Michael looked at my father.
“Someone close to the Collins family.””
My father immediately said:
“This is ridiculous.””
But his voice lacked confidence.
I looked between them.
“Who?””
Nobody answered.
Then Erica whispered:
“Daniel.””
Everyone turned.
She was crying again.
“Daniel told me he could fix everything.””
My sister looked at me.
“He said if I married him, I’d finally have the life I deserved.””
I stared.
“What does that have to do with me?””
Erica’s face collapsed.
“He said you were the reason I never got anything.””
My heart hurt.
Because that was the lie she had been fed.
A lie she had chosen to believe.
“He said your parents would always choose you if you had a baby.””
I swallowed.
“So he convinced you to hurt me because you were jealous?””
“No.””
Erica shook her head.
“At first, I just wanted the money.””
The honesty was brutal.
Then she continued.
“But Daniel changed the plan.””
Michael looked up.
“How?””
Erica wiped her tears.
“He said the insurance wouldn’t be enough.””
My blood ran cold.
“He said if something happened to you, your husband would be blamed.””
Detective Harper looked serious.
“Why would he think that?””
Erica looked at Michael.
“Because he said he had evidence.””
“What evidence?””
She hesitated.
Then whispered:
“Fake evidence.””
Michael went completely still.
“What did he create?””
Erica looked terrified.
“A video.””
My stomach dropped.
“A video of what?””
She looked at me.
“Of Michael hurting you.””
The room became chaos.
Detective Harper immediately began asking questions.
Michael didn’t move.
He looked almost numb.
Then his phone buzzed.
Everyone looked.
A message.
From an unknown number.
Michael opened it.
His expression changed.
“What?””
I whispered.
He turned the phone around.
There was a video attachment.
And one sentence.
*You should have let your wife disappear quietly.*
Detective Harper reached for the phone.
“Don’t open it.””
But Michael already knew.
He stared at the screen.
Then looked at me.
“Sarah.””
“What?””
His voice was quiet.
“The person who made this video…”
A pause.
“It wasn’t Daniel.””
My heart stopped.
“Who was it?””
Michael looked at the message details.
Then at my parents.
And I knew before he spoke.
Because my father had started crying.
Not angry tears.
Not defensive tears.
Guilty tears.
Michael whispered:
“The video was created using an account registered to Robert Collins.””
My father.
My own father.
The man who blocked the door.
The man who protected Erica.
The man who watched me fall.
And suddenly I understood.
Erica wasn’t the mastermind.
She was just the weapon.
May you like
The real person who planned my destruction had been sitting at the Thanksgiving table all night…
wearing the face of my father.
