Chapter 4: The Man Behind the Crash
The photograph sat on the table between us like a weapon.
I stared at the image until my eyes hurt.
The man standing beside the crashed vehicle wasn’t a stranger.
It was Daniel.
My childhood friend.
My former business partner.
The man who had stood beside me during the hardest years of building my company from nothing.
The man who had visited me in the hospital every day after my accident.
My fingers slowly curled into a fist.
“No,” I whispered.
Marcus watched my reaction carefully.
“I confirmed the image through multiple sources.””
I looked up.
“Are you telling me Daniel arranged the crash?””
Marcus shook his head.
“I’m telling you he met with the driver before it happened.””
Vanessa stood across from us, strangely calm.
Too calm.
I turned toward her.
“You knew.””
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“I knew something was wrong.””
“You knew Daniel was involved?””
“I knew Daniel was investigating you.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Investigating me?””
Vanessa walked closer.
“Ask yourself why your accident happened at the exact moment you were preparing to remove someone from your company.””
My expression changed.
“What are you talking about?””
She smiled.
“Your financial department.””
I said nothing.
Because she had mentioned something only a few people knew.
Before my accident, I had discovered millions of dollars missing from one of my company’s private accounts.
The person responsible had hidden the transactions carefully.
I never revealed the name publicly.
I was waiting for proof.
“How do you know about that?”” I asked.
Vanessa looked away.
“That’s not important.””
“It is everything.””
She sighed.
“You always thought everyone was against you.””
“No.””
I stepped closer.
“I learned to question people because the ones closest to me kept lying.””
Her face hardened.
“You should be careful with your accusations.””
“And you should be careful with your lies.””
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Lily appeared at the doorway.
She looked nervous.
“Dad?””
I immediately softened.
“What happened?””
She held a small envelope.
“This was under my bedroom door.””
My stomach tightened.
I walked over and took it.
The paper inside contained only one sentence.
*Stop looking for the truth.*
My blood turned cold.
Marcus immediately reached for his phone.
“I’ll increase security.””
I looked at Vanessa.
She wasn’t surprised.
That scared me more than anything.
“You know who sent this.””
She shook her head.
“No.””
“Then why do you look terrified?””
For the first time, Vanessa didn’t answer.
Lily moved closer to me.
“Dad, is someone trying to hurt us?””
I looked at my daughter.
The fear in her eyes was the same fear I had been hiding for weeks.
I knelt down.
“No one is going to hurt you.””
But even as I said it, I knew I couldn’t promise that.
Because the person behind everything had already entered my home.
That afternoon, I went through Daniel’s old records.
Every message.
Every meeting.
Every transaction.
And then I found something.
A payment made three months before my accident.
The sender was hidden.
But the account number was familiar.
It belonged to someone inside my company.
Someone I trusted.
I called Marcus.
“Find out who owns this account.””
He was silent for several seconds.
Then he replied.
“Sir…”
“What?””
“You might want to sit down.””
I looked at my legs.
“I’ve been sitting for six weeks.””
Marcus didn’t laugh.
“Because the account belongs to your brother.””
The room went completely silent.
My brother Ethan.
The person who had visited me every morning after the crash.
The person who told me Vanessa was a blessing.
The person who encouraged me to marry her.
I stared at the screen.
“No.””
Marcus lowered his voice.
“I’m sorry.””
I looked toward the window.
The entire world suddenly felt different.
The accident.
The medication.
Vanessa’s behavior.
Daniel’s involvement.
They were all connected.
But one question remained.
May you like
Why would my own brother want me gone?
And before I could find the answer, Ethan walked through my front door.
